How GiveRadar Works

GiveRadar helps you make smarter donation decisions by aggregating charity data from official government sources, calculating trust scores, and surfacing red flags — all in one place.

Step 1: We Collect Data from Official Sources

Our system continuously imports charity data from government registries, tax authorities, and open data portals worldwide. This includes registration records, financial filings (like IRS Form 990 in the US or CCEW annual returns in the UK), officer appointments, and more.

We currently track 8 million+ organizations across 60+ countries, with new data imported daily.

Step 2: We Enrich and Normalize

Raw registry data is often incomplete. A charity might have financial data in one database, officer names in another, and a website listed nowhere. GiveRadar cross-references multiple sources to build the most complete picture possible:

  • Matching charities across registries using registration numbers, EINs, and name matching
  • Discovering websites and social media profiles via web search
  • Extracting contact details from charity websites
  • Pulling financial data from tax filings and annual reports
  • Monitoring news coverage and public sentiment

Step 3: We Calculate Trust Scores

Every charity on GiveRadar receives a Trust Score from 0 to 100, calculated from:

  • Financial Health (40%) — Revenue trends, overhead ratio, program spending percentage, whether they file financial reports on time
  • Transparency (30%) — Data completeness, public availability of financial information, officer disclosure, website presence
  • Reputation (20%) — News sentiment analysis, community reviews, external ratings (Charity Navigator, GuideStar, DZI Seal)
  • Governance (10%) — Board size, executive compensation relative to budget, red flags and sanctions screening

Step 4: We Surface Red Flags

GiveRadar automatically detects potential concerns:

  • High executive pay relative to the charity's budget
  • Low program spending — too much going to admin and fundraising
  • Missing financial filings — charities that stopped reporting
  • Negative news — media coverage with negative sentiment
  • Sanctions matches — screening against international sanctions lists

Users can also report concerns directly on any charity's profile.

What Makes Our Data Reliable?

All data on GiveRadar comes from official public sources — government registries, tax authorities, and regulatory filings. We don't accept payments from charities to improve their scores. Charities can claim their profile to update contact information, but they cannot modify their financial data or trust score.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is GiveRadar free?

Yes. Searching charities and viewing basic information is free without an account. Creating a free account unlocks full financial details, contact information, and officer records.

How often is the data updated?

We import new data continuously. Financial filings are typically updated annually when charities submit their tax returns. Registration data and news are updated more frequently.

Can I trust the Trust Score?

Trust Scores are calculated algorithmically based on publicly available data. They are a useful starting point for research but should not be the sole basis for donation decisions. We always recommend verifying important information directly with the charity.

My charity's data is wrong. How do I fix it?

Find your charity on GiveRadar and click "Claim" to verify your identity. Once verified, you can update your profile with correct information.

What countries does GiveRadar cover?

We currently cover charities in 60+ countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Japan, India, Brazil, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and many more. See the full map.