Vet a Charity for Free in under Three
Use our fast, new AI-assisted engine to create a detailed structured report on a charity in three minutes or less.
Your first 18 reports are free.
You Want to Change the World. Do They Just Want Your Credit Card?
When you donate your hard-earned money, it should change lives.
It’s frustrating to feel like a “wallet” rather than a partner in making the world better. You donate with high hopes, but deep down, you worry: I know they’re a real charity, but is my money actually helping?
Blind trust isn’t philanthropy. It’s a gamble. You deserve better than “hoping” your money does good.
Give With Confidence
Use The Charity Nine framework to vet any nonprofit in less than three minutes. Discover red flags, understand the group’s focus, and ensure your generosity goes where you intended.
Imagine the peace of mind that comes with knowing your favorite charity is a “Green Flag” organization.
- Zero Regret: Never wonder if you’ve been scammed or misled again.
- Strong Impact: Direct your funds to solid charities, doing the work you care about most.
- Joyful Giving: Restore the excitement of helping others, knowing the results are real.
Introducing: The Charity Nine
I’ve distilled my many years of nonprofit management and evaluation experience into a 9-point proprietary framework (The Charity Nine) and report — and trained an AI to help run it for you.
Nine Critical Questions for You
- Identity Check: Are they who they say they are?
- Charity Status: Is it a 501(c)(3) public charity?
- The Paperwork: Does it file its IRS Form 990 promptly?
- Program Spending: How much goes to spending on programs vs. overhead and fundraising?
- Mission Focus: What’s their actual top priority program?
- Top Executive Pay: Are salaries reasonable or ridiculous?
- Contractor Pay: What outsiders are earning money, and for what?
- Reserves: Are they appropriately funded or cash poor or bloated?
- Publicity Check – Red Flags: Are there negative news stories or alerts?
The Best Charities for YOU
The Charity Nine and AI Report run on principles found in my book, The Best Charities for YOU.
If you want to move beyond the quick summary and report and learn how to evaluate charities like a true insider, this is your playbook. Ditch the generic rating systems and become the only expert needed for your giving. Learn more about the book . . .
Reports Generated
We’re just getting started
The Charity Nine AI Report
Our fast, new AI-assisted engine creates a detailed structured report covering The Charity Nine for a charity in three minutes or less.
Your first 18 reports are free.
A report can gather information for you on more than 1.8 million charities and nonprofits. That’s every organization listed by the IRS in its master list of nonprofits.
More than 600,000 of them file an IRS Form 990 each year and provide a wealth of information about their finances and programs. The Charity Nine report finds and digs into those Form 990s for you.
What could take an experienced human researcher an hour or more, our AI-assisted report can do for you in three minutes or less.
View a Sample Report
View a report about Drug Policy Alliance.
Use the Master Key
Charity names can be confusingly similar. To drill into the precise charity you want, you’ll want to have its EIN (Employer Identification Number). It’s a completely public, 9-digit number (looks like: 12-3456789) assigned by the IRS. Think of it as a Master Key that tells our engine (and other research sites) exactly which organization’s info to unlock.
Don’t have the charity’s Master Key yet? Get it for free at CharityCheck101.org or get it from the organization.
How We Provide this Service
After you identify the charity with its name or Master Key, we’ll run the report and send your private report link to your email address. Keeping the reports we send you builds your own private Charity Nine database. We hate spam as much as you do — your info stays with us.
Your first 18 reports are on us — no credit card required. After that, add more reports on a pay-what-you-want basis (there are minimum payments). We keep track automatically so you always know where you stand.
We are an independent consumer tool, not a charity. Your support keeps our servers running and our reports available.
About Value
If paying a few dollars for a Charity Nine Report saves you from sending $50, $100, $1,000, or even more (perhaps repeatedly) to a charity that wastes money and lacks focus — the report has paid for itself many times over. It’s cheap insurance. An accountant or private investigator could charge you hundreds for this type of report.
FAQs
Q: Are the first 18 really free?
A: Yes! I want you to experience the clarity of the Charity Nine framework firsthand without any friction. No hidden fees, no credit card needed.
Q: I’m not a “numbers person” — is this hard to use?
A: Not at all. If you can type a number and a couple of words, and click a button, you can use this.
Q: Do I need to be wealthy to use this?
A: No! Whether you donate $50 or $5,000 or $50,000 to charity, you deserve clarity and confidence about every dollar you give.
Q: Are my searches private?
A: Yes. Your search history stays with us.
P.S.
If you want to move beyond vetting individual charities and take complete control of your philanthropy, check out my guide, The Best Charities for YOU. This practical toolkit teaches you how to define your own personal metrics for success and assess any organization like a seasoned insider, so you never have to rely on “expert” lists or ratings again. [Click here to become the only expert you’ll ever need in your giving.]
Terms and Conditions
The report is generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI). While AI is a powerful tool, it can produce information that contains errors, omissions, or inaccuracies. Sometimes it even hallucinates. You are responsible to independently review and verify all information presented in your report before relying on it.
Many churches and government units do not file with the IRS (not being required to do so) — so they’re not included in the IRS master list of nonprofits. Also, there are often delays in the IRS updating information in the list and the IRS list may contain errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.
The report and this site provide general information, not specific advice on individual matters. Persons wanting specific advice on the matters discussed should contact an advisor experienced in those matters.
We reserve the right to update our terms, conditions, pricing, or service approaches at any time in our sole discretion. Any changes may be effective immediately upon posting.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material or any report without express written permission is strictly prohibited.