How to check if a charity is registered
You’ve decided to donate to a good cause, close to your heart. But it’s important to use a charity checker to make sure you are donating to a registered charity, making you feel more secure in your donation and ensuring the funds go to the right place. There are regulatory authorities for charities in the UK – the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland and the OSCR in Scotland.
Why it’s important to verify a charity’s registration
There are a number of reasons why it’s important to check a charity’s registration status before you donate. Overall, it gives peace of mind to you that your good deed of donating money is benefitting the right people. There are certain legal requirements to run a charity – for example, it must be run for public benefit and not for profit. When you register a charity there are a number of questions to answer, including who the organisation helps and where it operates. You can check what has to be answered on the Government website.
How to check charity registration
If you’ve decided to donate, there are a number of ways that you can check the charity registration status of the non-profit you want to donate to.
Search the Charity Commission website (England and Wales)
If the charity you’re looking at is based in England or Wales, you can easily search on the Charity Commission website. You can search by charity name, where the charity operates, by income or by sector. On the register, you can find the names of trustees, works, aims and finances of the charity you’re looking for.
Use the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland (CCNI) site
Similar to the Charity Commission website for England and Wales, you can use the CCNI website to search the charity register in Northern Ireland. Again, this tool is free to use and you can search by different filters such as income, region of operation and what the charity does.
Search the OSCR (Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator) website
If you’re based in Scotland, instead of the Charity Commission website you’ll be looking at the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator to look at the list of registered charities in Scotland.
Search the GoFundMe charity directory
It’s also easy to search for registered charities on GoFundMe using the GoFundMe Charity Directory. It’s easy to search for different charities and also if you’d like some inspiration on fundraising for charities in the UK, have a look at our blog here on the best ones to raise money for.
What to look for in a reputable charity
It’s important to look for certain things to ensure the charity or good cause you are donating to is reputable. There are certain signs that you can spot that are a sign of a registered, reputable cause.
Charity registration number
Every charity that is registered will have a unique number and usually, this is displayed prominently on the charity website. You can then use this number to check the charity register to make sure they are a registered charity.
Charitable purpose
The charitable purpose of a charity doesn’t relate to it being reputable, but before you make a donation it’s good to double check to see what they do with your money and where it goes – just to make sure you’re happy with it before making your donation.
Financial transparency
Charities are not for profit and should be fully transparent about finances. You can view a charity’s financial records and reports on their finances on the charity commission website by searching their name or charity registration number.
Contact information
Reputable charities usually have easy to find contact details for any questions or queries about donations and what they do. This is something to look out for when considering if a charity is reputable or not – it should be fairly easy to get in touch.
How to choose a charity to donate to
There are hundreds of charities doing brilliant work across the country and the globe. If you’ve got a cause you want to donate to, take some time to consider who to give your money to. We’ve got an article about how to donate to charities online. And, if you’re inspired to do some fundraising of your own it’s easy to start a GoFundMe for a charity and get raising today.