There are ways to verify that an organization is performing the type of charitable work that you expect of them.
There are four sites where you can get information about the charity of your choice. Each site offers different information and has different methods to analyze the nonprofit/not for profit/charitable organizations.
Guide Star can offer the EIN# of a charity. The Guide Star site offers a free upgrade. By completing the information and registering, you can gain additional information about the charity, such as their full address, registered contact information, three years of Form 990, Revenue and expense data, name of the CEO and Board of Directors and more.
The EIN# stands for Employer Identification Number and is issued by the IRS. It identifies a business (or a charity) as an entity. Often charities can have similar names, or scams are set up to use a similar name of a recognized charity to get donor's money. It is best to identify a charity by their EIN#, which is a unique number.
501(c)(3) a a determination status issued by the IRS. It is a special tax category. By having 501(c)(3) status the nonprofit has been recongnized by the IRS a being tax exempt.
Form 990 is the form that a nonprofit files with the IRS each fiscal year. It offers detailed financial information about the organization and its governance. Filing Form 990 with the IRS will justify an organization's tax exempt status to the IRS.
Obtaining prior Form 990's of the charity can give you additional information about its ongoing accomplishments.
Charity Watch has certain additional information about a charity and requires membership.
Charity Navigator does analysis of a charitable organization and assigns a special "Beacon Score" under their "Encompass Rating System", which is a thorough review of data about the charitable group.
BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Standards for Charity Accountability offers 20 parameters under various headings like "governance" "finance" "fundraising". The parameters measure a charitable organization's effectiveness.
By using a few of these sites, or all, you will be able to obtain more information about the charity you might donate your money to.
Verify before you donate to avoid scam nonprofit organizations, and verify before you write a charity into your estate plan.
Start by going to one of the sites mentioned above, inserting the name of the charitable organization and see what you can find.
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