Civic · official-source review · reviewed 2026-10-04
Verify a Charity Request Before You Donate
A familiar name can be copied. Find the organization and donation route independently before you give.
What this guide helps you doConfirm the organization, tax status where relevant, and payment route through independent sources.
Who this guide is for
People who receive an unexpected charity request or want to check an organization before donating.
Use the source document or official route that applies to your situation. This guide does not contact another person or verify external information.
Steps
Pause the request
Do not use a payment link from an unexpected message.
Find the organization
Search for its official name and contact details independently.
Check tax status if needed
Use IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search for federal tax-exempt status.
Confirm the donation route
Open the organization's known website or contact it through a known route.
Keep the receipt
Save the donation record and the source you checked.
Worked example
A reader receives a message about disaster relief. The reader searches for the organization independently, then checks the donation page on its official site.
Use your own source and details. The example is not a record about a real person or organization.
What the sources say
U.S. Internal Revenue Service · reviewed 2026-10-04
What this source supports: Independently check a charity and its donation route. IRS tax-exempt status is not a blanket endorsement of an organization.
Source limit: IRS search results concern federal tax status. They do not rate program quality, prove that a message is genuine, or endorse a charity.
These sources support the statements above. They do not show that every person needs this guide. They do not show a specific result.
Limits
IRS tax-exempt status is not an endorsement or rating. A directory search does not prove that a message or payment page is genuine.
IRS search results concern federal tax status. They do not rate program quality, prove that a message is genuine, or endorse a charity.
Use current instructions from the responsible organization. This guide is a planning aid, not an official decision or a substitute for qualified advice.
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This guide uses short, direct instructions as an ASD-STE100-style writing target. It is not a formal certification.