Checking Charities, GoFundMes and P2P Fundraisers: A Donor’s Verification Toolkit

Introduction — Why verification matters now

Online giving and peer‑to‑peer fundraisers let donors move quickly to help people and causes. That speed is powerful — and it also creates opportunity for scammers who set up fake charities or hijack legitimate campaigns. This toolkit gives practical, repeatable checks you can use in a few minutes before donating, plus what to do if something goes wrong.

Key principles: donate to organizations or people you can verify, use traceable payment methods, and pause before acting on high‑pressure appeals or links you didn’t request.

Step‑by‑step verification checklist

1) Verify identity and purpose

• If the fundraiser names an individual or local group, confirm the organizer’s relationship to the beneficiary — ask for direct contact details (phone/email) and call or message them using information found independently (not a link in the post).
• Look for clear, specific answers about how funds will be used and who controls the payout.

2) Check the platform and its verification

• Major crowdfunding platforms (for example, GoFundMe) publish safety advice, verification hubs for emergency campaigns, and ways to report suspicious activity; use those features and review the fundraiser’s activity history (updates, comments, withdrawals).

3) Confirm tax status and filings (if tax deduction matters)

• If you expect a tax deduction, find the charity’s EIN and search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) to confirm 501(c)(3) status and recent Form 990 filings. For U.S. donors this is an authoritative record.

4) Use independent watchdogs and reports

• Cross‑check Charity Navigator, BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org), CharityWatch or Candid/GuideStar for ratings, accreditation and financial summaries. Watchdog reports help you interpret program‑expense ratios, governing board details, and transparency.

5) Prefer traceable payment methods

• Avoid requests to pay with gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or peer‑to‑peer apps unless you personally verified the recipient and understand the risks; credit card or the charity’s own secure donation page offer better dispute protections. High‑risk payment requests are a common scam signal.

6) Quick technical checks

• Check website URL carefully (type it yourself). Look for HTTPS and correct domain.
• Use WHOIS or domain lookup if a new charity’s site was registered very recently (a recently created domain can be a sign to investigate further).
• Reverse image search a main campaign photo to see if it’s been reused from elsewhere (common in fake appeals).

Red flags, real examples, and enforcement context

Common red flags: urgent pressure to give immediately; requests for untraceable payment methods (gift cards, wire, crypto); fundraiser names that mimic well‑known charities; inconsistent or missing contact information; organizer refuses to provide receipts or details about where money goes. If several red flags appear, step back and verify before donating.

Regulators and law enforcement continue to act against sham charities: the FTC and state attorneys general regularly bring cases where operators misrepresented how donations would be used. That enforcement underscores why verifying before you give protects both your money and legitimate relief efforts.

If you already donated or suspect fraud — immediate steps

1. Contact the crowdfunding platform and report the fundraiser (use the platform’s security/contact email). Platforms can freeze payouts or remove fraudulent pages.
2. Contact your bank or card issuer right away to ask about reversing the payment or filing a dispute (credit card payments have the strongest consumer protections).
3. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov/complaint) and, if the transaction involved online fraud or impersonation, consider filing with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Also notify your state attorney general’s consumer protection unit.
4. Collect evidence: screenshots, URLs, emails, payment receipts, and any communications. This helps investigators and makes disputes easier to process.

Quick donor cheat‑sheet (printable)

Following these steps takes between 5 and 20 minutes in most cases and dramatically lowers your risk of supporting a scam. When in doubt, wait and verify — real charities will understand.