Taxpayer Subsidized PPP Funds Went to Charities with Failing Grades

May 25, 2022

Many highly inefficient charities with histories of very low program spending and "F" ratings from CharityWatch received taxpayer subsidized PPP funds that could have been better utilized by other, much...

Non-cash Donations Obscure How Efficiently A Charity Is Really Operating

Feb 8, 2022

A charity might spent 90% of your donation on fundraising and overhead costs, but by running large volumes of non-cash donations through its books, it can make itself appear to...

Easy Prey Podcast: Advice for Donating to Charity on This Giving Tuesday

Nov 24, 2021

"It just becomes this cyclical cesspool of fundraising," says Laurie Styron in her interview with Chris Parker for The Easy Prey Podcast when discussing a common charity accounting trick known as...

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...

Fundraisers for ‘F’ Rated Charities Hit with a Combined $170.2 Million in Legal Judgments

May 19, 2021

In separate actions in January 2021 and September 2020, the FTC joined forces with state charity regulators across the country to crack down on the predatory fundraising practices of for-profit...

CharityWatch Files Supreme Court Amicus Brief in Support of Charitable Nonprofits

Apr 22, 2021

(Updated April 29, 2021) In a case heard on April 26th, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) debated the merits and constitutionality of a limited disclosure rule...

NRA and NRA Foundation Facing Lawsuits—NY AG Seeks to Shutter NRA; DC AG Accuses NRA Foundation of Misusing Charitable Funds to Support NRA’s Wasteful Spending

Aug 7, 2020

“The NRA’s influence has been so powerful that the organization went unchecked for decades while top executives funneled millions into their own pockets,” said the NY AG in an August...

CharityWatch Supports California’s Bill to Discourage Charities from Exaggerating Non-Cash Contributions

Jul 12, 2019

CharityWatch has a new ally in the battle against the inconsistent and potentially misleading nature of “gifts-in-kind” (GIK) reporting by charities. The State of California is legislating a bill aimed...

‘Operation Donate with Honor’ – the FTC, 54 Attorneys General and 16 State Agencies Join Forces to Target Deceptive Fundraising for Veterans Causes

Jul 19, 2018

In an effort to "crackdown on fraudulent charities that con consumers by falsely promising their donations will help veterans and servicemembers," the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with law enforcement officials...

Celebrity Charity Finances Are Hidden Behind Closed Doors

Nov 1, 2016

In addition to giving back to the community or supporting a cause with a personal connection, there are a variety of reasons (public image and tax relief among them) why...

Update: The IRS Has Made It Too ‘E-Z’ to Start Charities

Mar 8, 2016

Less than a year ago CharityWatch warned donors to get ready for a stampede of solicitations thanks to the IRS's July 2014 introduction of a new "streamlined" application process for...

Long Running Family Charity Scheme Exposed

Jul 27, 2015

Unfortunately for most of us, we have been touched personally by cancer in some way. That makes it all the more shameful when bad actors in the charity world mislead...