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How to Research Charities 101

March 15, 2023

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F-Rated Charities Receive Top Ratings & ...

F-Rated Charities Receive Top Ratings & Seals From Nonprofit Trade Associations

June 22, 2023

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You Cannot Rely on the Government to Pro...

You Cannot Rely on the Government to Protect You From Bad Charities

November 13, 2023

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Yikes! $1 Million Charity Salaries

October 02, 2023

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Thank You for 20 Years

October 05, 2023

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Israel-Hamas War: Top-Rated Charities Pr...

Israel-Hamas War: Top-Rated Charities Providing Humanitarian Aid

October 21, 2023

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Article

Happy Hanukkah: Give Wisely this Holiday...

Happy Hanukkah: Give Wisely this Holiday Season!

December 04, 2023

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10 Tips For Giving in a Crisis

May 09, 2021

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CharityWatch, founded in 1992 as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is America's most independent, assertive charity watchdog. CharityWatch does not merely repeat what a charity reports using simplistic or automated formulas. We dive deep to let you know how efficiently a charity will use your donation to fund the programs you want to support. CharityWatch exposes nonprofit abuses and advocates for your interests as a donor.

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Happy Hanukkah: Give Wisely this Holiday Season!

Dec 04, 2023

Happy Hanukkah from CharityWatch!

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You Cannot Rely on the Government to Protect You From Bad Ch...

Nov 13, 2023

Often the public is focused on avoiding outright charity frauds and scams. While this is important, it is critical for donors to understand that even a "legitimate" charity may not have good governance or financial practices or be...

Often the public is focused on avoiding outright charity frauds and scams. While this is important, it is critical for donors to u...

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F-Rated Veterans Charities to Avoid This Veterans Day 2023

Nov 03, 2023

This Veterans Day follow CharityWatch’s 5 Steps for Informed Giving and read the below list of F-Rated Veterans & Military nonprofits to consider which organizations to avoid....

This Veterans Day follow CharityWatch’s 5 Steps for Informed Giving and read the below list of F-Rated Veterans & ...

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CharityWatch Updated Rating for Community Organized Relief E...

Oct 25, 2023

CharityWatch updated our letter grade rating of CORE in October of 2023 based on our analysis of its fiscal year ended 12/31/2022 audited financial statements and IRS Form 990, including a review of its Independent Auditors' Repor...

CharityWatch updated our letter grade rating of CORE in October of 2023 based on our analysis of its fiscal year ended 12/31/2022 ...

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Israel-Hamas War: Top-Rated Charities Providing Humanitarian...

Oct 21, 2023

CharityWatch announces a list of legitimate, efficient, and accountable charities involved in efforts to aid and assist the people of Israel – Palestine during active conflict in the region. On Saturday, October 7th, 2023, ...

CharityWatch announces a list of legitimate, efficient, and accountable charities involved in efforts to aid and assist the people...

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Operation Underground Railroad CharityWatch Rating

Oct 20, 2023

CharityWatch has assigned a "?" rating to Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) at this time due to our concerns related to the independence of the charity's board of directors and the circumstances surrounding the&nbs...

CharityWatch has assigned a "?" rating to Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) at this time due to our concerns relat...

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Laurie Styron talks to CNBC about how to donate safely to vi...

Oct 11, 2023

CharityWatch CEO and Executive Director, Laurie Styron, talks to CNBC about how to donate safely to victims of the Israel-Gaza conflict. View CharityWatch's list of Top-Rated charities providing substantial aid in the crisis. ...

CharityWatch CEO and Executive Director, Laurie Styron, talks to CNBC about how to donate safely to victims of the Israel-Gaza con...

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Thank You for 20 Years

Oct 05, 2023

October 1st, 2023 marked my 20th year with CharityWatch. I have only been able to continue this work because of you. Thank you.

October 1st, 2023 marked my 20th year with CharityWatch. I have only been able to continue this work because of you. Thank you.&nb...

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Yikes! $1 Million Charity Salaries

Oct 02, 2023

The list below includes the top three compensation packages of $1 million or more at each nonprofit, and is based on CharityWatch's most current information as of October 2nd, 2023. The Compensation column includes total of b...

The list below includes the top three compensation packages of $1 million or more at each nonprofit, and is based on CharityWatch'...

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Charity Annual Reports Rebranded as "Impact" Reports

Aug 25, 2023

A message from CharityWatch Executive Director, Laurie Styron...Because no independent charity rater has the unimaginable resources that would be required to independently investigate, verify, measure, and standardize the “impac...

A message from CharityWatch Executive Director, Laurie Styron...Because no independent charity rater has the unimaginable resource...

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Free Speech Concerns Limit Charity Regulation

Aug 18, 2023

Just because a charity is registered and in good standing with the IRS and state regulatory agencies does not guarantee that it will use your donations efficiently or effectively. It is possible for a charity to spend as little as...

Just because a charity is registered and in good standing with the IRS and state regulatory agencies does not guarantee that it wi...

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CharityWatch Fundraising Reduction Notice

Jul 31, 2023

The number one reason why Americans give is because they are asked. Therefore, charities do a lot of asking. If donors stop contributing to organizations that send them paper solicitations too often, charities will have strong eco...

The number one reason why Americans give is because they are asked. Therefore, charities do a lot of asking. If donors stop contri...

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F-Rated Charities Receive Top Ratings & Seals From Nonprofit...

Jun 22, 2023

Millions of donors regularly search online for ratings of charities before making their giving decisions. This makes sense. Most of us have heard horror stories about charity frauds and scams and do not want to fall victim to ...

Millions of donors regularly search online for ratings of charities before making their giving decisions. This makes sense. Most...

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Garbage In, Garbage Out: 4 Reasons Why Automated Charity Rat...

Feb 16, 2023

The reliability of the automated charity ratings is only as good as the accuracy, consistency, comparability, and completeness of the reporting. In other words, garbage in, garbage out.....

The reliability of the automated charity ratings is only as good as the accuracy, consistency, comparability, and completeness of ...

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Charity Checkout Donations 101

Dec 27, 2022

"If everything's above board, that store is really just acting like an agent...they're really just taking your money and then at some point in the future passing it on to the charity," CharityWatch executive director, Laurie Styro...

"If everything's above board, that store is really just acting like an agent...they're really just taking your money and then at s...

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Joint Costs: Avoid This Popular Charity Accounting Trick!

Dec 09, 2022

In nonprofit financial reporting, the funds spent on telemarketing, direct mail, or other solicitation activities that also include an "action step" or "call to action" are referred to as "Joint Costs." Many charities report such ...

In nonprofit financial reporting, the funds spent on telemarketing, direct mail, or other solicitation activities that also includ...

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Is This Charity 'Legit'?

Nov 29, 2022

Is this charity "legit"? Or, more correctly, is this charity "legitimate"? This is one of the most common questions asked by donors. And yet, what a donor defines as a "legit charity" may be vastly different from what is required ...

Is this charity "legit"? Or, more correctly, is this charity "legitimate"? This is one of the most common questions asked by donor...

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The New Republic Joins CharityWatch in Warning Donors That N...

Nov 01, 2022

Attempts to computer-automate charity ratings have largely treated automation as an end unto itself, ignoring the complexity and incomparability of the underlying, unaudited financial data, often producing misleading and illogical...

Attempts to computer-automate charity ratings have largely treated automation as an end unto itself, ignoring the complexity and i...

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Sign Up for CharityWatch's Newsletter

Jun 08, 2022

Receive CharityWatch's bi-weekly email newsletter and sign up for a free account where you can save your favorite charities to a list and monitor their CharityWatch ratings, executive salaries, governance benchmarks, and other dat...

Receive CharityWatch's bi-weekly email newsletter and sign up for a free account where you can save your favorite charities to a l...

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Charities Helping In The Ukraine Crisis

Feb 25, 2022

Don't waste your charity donations on scams! Donate to these legitimate and efficient charities aiding those affected by the violence in Ukraine.

Don't waste your charity donations on scams! Donate to these legitimate and efficient charities aiding those affected by the viole...

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Busting the Myths of "The Overhead Myth"

Oct 21, 2021

Before donating to charity, many donors want to know what portion of their donation the nonprofit will spend on programs versus overhead. And this makes sense. Charities and nonprofit fundraisers often reference two industry-...

Before donating to charity, many donors want to know what portion of their donation the nonprofit will spend on programs versus ov...

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10 Tips For Giving in a Crisis

May 09, 2021

You will accomplish more with your donation by giving $100 to a legitimate and highly efficient charity than you will by giving $1,000 to a fraudulent or highly inefficient one. But you must educate yourself on how to do it. Use t...

You will accomplish more with your donation by giving $100 to a legitimate and highly efficient charity than you will by giving $1...

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5 Tips for Avoiding Charity Frauds & Scams

Apr 22, 2021

Your $10 donation to an efficient, effective, and legitimate charity will make a bigger impact in forwarding the cause you want to support than your $1,000 donation to a scammer or highly inefficient nonprofit...

Your $10 donation to an efficient, effective, and legitimate charity will make a bigger impact in forwarding the cause you want to...

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Don't Be Fooled By Name Rip-off Charity Scams

Jun 15, 2018

How much harm could there really be in confusing the names of two charities? Confusing a poorly-run charity for a well-run charity is one thing, but imagine how disheartening it would be if the entire amount of what you thought wa...

How much harm could there really be in confusing the names of two charities? Confusing a poorly-run charity for a well-run charity...

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Know Your Red Crosses: Is the International Committee of the...

Aug 01, 2005

Many people think of the Red Cross as only one entity. There are actually three major types of Red Cross organizations included in the Red Cross Movement: the national Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red C...

Many people think of the Red Cross as only one entity. There are actually three major types of Red Cross organizations included in...

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"It's the toughest of the bunch, rating more than 600 charities on a scale of A+ down to F. Because it disregards certain, potentially suspect, expenses and donations, it fails some nonprofits that the other raters approve."

CharityWatch "is the pit bull of watchdogs. Its staff members dig deeper than most other overseers, going to state and federal records to get information that charities do not volunteer, honing in on program efficiency and exposing abuses."

"These guys dive deep to let you know how efficiently a charity will use your donation to fund the programs you want to support. CharityWatch exposes nonprofit abuses and advocates for your interests as a donor."

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