Charities and nonprofits in Latvia
Latvia has a focused but active nonprofit sector built around biedribas (associations) and nodibinajumi (foundations) operating across social welfare, healthcare, environmental protection, civil society and rule-of-law, child welfare, support for Ukrainian refugees, and EU-funded development cooperation. Whether you are searching for a comprehensive list of Latvian charities, a biedriba register lookup, a Sabiedriskā labuma organizācija directory, or a single verified Latvian nonprofit to donate to, GiveRadar consolidates official Latvian Register of Enterprises data, public-benefit status, financial information, news coverage, and an independent integrity score for every Latvian nonprofit. Read about how GiveRadar works before you give.
How charities are registered in Latvia
Latvian biedribas and nodibinajumi register with the Register of Enterprises (Uznemumu registrs, UR) under the Law on Associations and Foundations. The UR maintains a public register that contains statutes, board members, and core financial data. Organizations meeting public-benefit criteria can apply for Sabiedriskā labuma organizācija (public-benefit organization) status from the State Revenue Service (VID), which signals stronger governance and unlocks tax benefits for donors. Annual reports must be filed with VID and are publicly accessible. The Latvian Civic Alliance and Public Benefit Commission provide additional governance benchmarks for the sector.
Major causes and well-known Latvian charities
The Latvian nonprofit sector covers a wide range of cause areas:
- Children and family: Ziedot.lv (Latvia's largest charitable platform), Charitable Foundation Hospitals to Children, and SOS Childrens Villages Latvia.
- Health: The Latvian Cancer Society, the Latvian Children's Fund, and hospital foundations.
- Humanitarian and refugee response: Latvian Red Cross (Latvijas Sarkanais Krusts), Caritas Latvia, and Ukraine-aid coalitions formed since 2022.
- Civil society and rule-of-law: PROVIDUS Centre for Public Policy, Delna (Transparency International Latvia), and Latvian Centre for Human Rights.
- Environment: Latvian Fund for Nature, Pasaules Dabas Fonds (WWF Latvia), and Latvian Ornithological Society.
- Disability and inclusion: Apeirons, Sustento, and Latvian Movement for Independent Living.
- Animal welfare: Dzivnieku draugs and various regional shelters.
Compare two organizations side by side with our charity comparison tool, or browse best disaster relief charities in Latvia and best health charities in Latvia to narrow by cause.
How to evaluate a Latvian charity before donating
Latvian nonprofit transparency is solid for registered organizations. Things to check before giving to any Latvian charity:
- UR registration: every legitimate Latvian biedriba or nodibinajums has a registration number; verify on the Register of Enterprises portal.
- Sabiedriskā labuma organizācija status: the strongest governance signal and required for donor tax benefits.
- Annual reports: filed with VID and publicly accessible; reputable larger foundations publish detailed accounts on their websites.
- Sanctions and watchlists: use our free charity checker tool to cross-reference every Latvian nonprofit against OFAC, EU, and UN watchlists automatically.
Each Latvian nonprofit profile on GiveRadar combines UR registration, public-benefit status, financials, governance, and third-party signals into a single 0-100 integrity score. Read our integrity score methodology for the full weighting.
Latvia charity explorer: browse, filter, compare
This page works as a Latvia charity explorer: every registered Latvian biedriba and nodibinajums we hold data on, ranked and filterable by region, cause area, public-benefit status, financial transparency, presence of a website, and size. Use the filters on the left to narrow by category (children, health, humanitarian, civil society, environment, disability, animal welfare, advocacy, and more), and the search bar to find a specific organization by name or registration number. The directory updates daily as we ingest new UR data and enrich existing records with contact details, financials, programs, and news coverage. To compare Latvian giving against other markets, browse all countries or jump straight to disaster relief charities globally.
Donating to charities in Latvia
Most Latvian nonprofits accept card and bank-transfer donations directly through their websites or via Ziedot.lv, the country's main giving platform. Latvian individual donors who give to public-benefit organizations qualify for personal-income-tax deduction up to 20% of taxable income (capped per fiscal rules); corporate donors enjoy similar treatment. International donors typically give cross-border via Transnational Giving Europe. GiveRadar links to each charity's official donation channel where available and flags fundraising pages that look unverified. For a structured donor walkthrough, read our donor due-diligence guide.