What is the difference between GiveRadar and CAF America?

Different services. CAF America (Charities Aid Foundation of America), founded 1992, is a US 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 43-1634280) and the North American arm of the global Charities Aid Foundation network. It facilitates cross-border charitable giving for foundations, corporations, and individual donors by acting as a US-based intermediary that performs Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility on foreign grant recipients, then routes US-deductible donations through to approximately 2 million vetted nonprofits across 135 countries. GiveRadar is a free global research database covering 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries; we do not process grants or perform Equivalency Determinations. The two tools complement each other: institutional donors typically research recipient charities on GiveRadar, then use CAF America to handle the cross-border grant transaction with full US tax compliance.

Is GiveRadar a CAF America alternative?

Not directly, because we do different things. CAF America is a giving intermediary that handles the legal, tax, and compliance work of moving charitable funds across borders; GiveRadar is a research platform that surfaces registry-filed signals to help donors decide where to give. If your need is institutional cross-border grantmaking with US tax-deductibility for foreign recipients, CAF America's services (Donor Advised Funds, Equivalency Determination, Expenditure Responsibility, grant management) are exactly the right tool and we cannot replace them. If your need is researching charities before deciding which to support, GiveRadar provides registry-sourced operational signals that CAF America's vetting process does not expose publicly.

What is Equivalency Determination and does GiveRadar do it?

Equivalency Determination (ED) is one of the two IRS-approved methods US private foundations use to grant to foreign charities while preserving the foundation's qualifying-distribution status. An Equivalency Determination is a written legal opinion that a non-US charity is the equivalent of a US 501(c)(3) public charity, based on the foreign organization's governance, finances, and program activities. CAF America performs Equivalency Determinations as a core service through its compliance team. GiveRadar does not perform Equivalency Determinations; we surface registry-filed operational data that an ED process can build on. For US foundations conducting international grantmaking, CAF America (or another ED specialist like NGOsource) is required for the formal legal opinion; GiveRadar can supplement the research stage.

How much does CAF America charge?

CAF America's fee structure is not publicly disclosed in detail; their support and services are described as proportional to the volume and intensity of the donor's international grantmaking activity. Equivalency Determinations typically cost a few thousand US dollars per organization (industry standard), and grant routing, advisory services, and DAF management have additional fees. Pricing is structured for institutional donors (foundations and corporations) with significant cross-border giving budgets. GiveRadar charges nothing for browsing or for the free API tier (100 requests per day); paid tiers are publicly priced (Pro at 99 USD per month, Enterprise custom). The two products serve different buyer segments and the pricing reflects that.

Can I research a CAF America-vetted charity on GiveRadar?

Often yes, depending on the charity's country and registration status. CAF America's vetted network includes approximately 2 million charities across 135 countries; GiveRadar covers 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries through their official government registries. Where the two overlap, GiveRadar provides registry-filed financials, governance signals, automatic Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100, automated red flag detection, and per-charity news context that CAF America's vetting does not publicly expose. The honest workflow for an institutional grantmaker: identify the recipient charity, research it on GiveRadar for operational signals, then engage CAF America to handle the cross-border legal and tax work.

How does CAF America compare to GlobalGiving for international donations?

Different audiences and structures. CAF America serves institutional donors (foundations, corporations) and high-net-worth individuals who need formal Equivalency Determination, Expenditure Responsibility, and grant management infrastructure to maintain US tax compliance on cross-border giving; their model is service-led and fee-based on volume. GlobalGiving's crowdfunding platform serves consumer donors making smaller gifts to about 40,000 vetted projects, with a 5-12 percent fee plus 3 percent payment processing. CAF America also has a B2B offering through CAF International Network offices in multiple countries; GlobalGiving runs separately. For institutional grantmaking, CAF America. For consumer cross-border giving, GlobalGiving. For research before either, GiveRadar.

What is the relationship between CAF America and CAF in the UK?

CAF America is the North American arm of the Charities Aid Foundation network, with the UK-based Charities Aid Foundation as the parent organization. The CAF International Network includes regional offices in Australia, Canada, India, and other jurisdictions, providing a global infrastructure for cross-border giving. The UK CAF distributes over 1.4 billion USD per year in grants globally; CAF America handles the US-incoming-and-outgoing portion of that flow. For US donors funding causes in the UK or Commonwealth countries, the CAF Network's multi-jurisdictional structure can simplify routing in ways that single-country intermediaries cannot match.

Does CAF America have an API or open data?

CAF America does not publish a public API or open data product. Their service model is primarily account-managed advisory and grant-processing for institutional donors, with custom client portals for ongoing grantmaking relationships. GiveRadar publishes a public REST API (free 100 requests per day, Pro at 99 USD per month for 10,000 daily requests) and a public OpenAPI specification, accessible without sales engagement. For developers, researchers, and platforms building on top of nonprofit data, GiveRadar removes the friction CAF America's relationship-led model maintains.

Should a US foundation use CAF America or directly grant to foreign charities?

Depends on volume and risk tolerance. Direct international grants from a US private foundation require the foundation to perform its own Equivalency Determination or apply Expenditure Responsibility, both of which require ongoing legal and compliance work. For foundations making one or two cross-border grants per year, the cost of internal compliance may exceed CAF America's intermediary fees. For foundations with mature international grantmaking programs and in-house legal capacity, direct granting may be cost-effective. CAF America's value proposition is removing the legal and operational complexity of cross-border giving in exchange for fee-based services. GiveRadar can support either path with research-grade operational data on prospective recipients.

Is CAF America the same as NGOsource for Equivalency Determinations?

No, they are separate organizations though they overlap on the same workflow. NGOsource is a project of the Council on Foundations and TechSoup that maintains a shared Equivalency Determination repository, allowing US grantmakers to access already-completed EDs at lower cost than commissioning new ones. CAF America performs EDs as part of its broader cross-border giving service alongside Donor Advised Funds, grant management, and advisory services. Foundations often use both: NGOsource for the EDs themselves and CAF America (or similar) for the grant routing and DAF infrastructure. GiveRadar is upstream of either: the research layer that helps identify which foreign charities to consider in the first place.

Comparison

GiveRadar vs CAF America (Charities Aid Foundation of America): an honest comparison

Two complementary tools for institutional cross-border giving. CAF America is a US 501(c)(3) cross-border giving intermediary that handles Equivalency Determination and grant routing for foundations and corporations. GiveRadar is a free global research database. The two pair naturally: research on GiveRadar, route the grant through CAF America.

Skip to verdict See full comparison

GiveRadar in one paragraph

A free global charity research database launched in 2026. Aggregates 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries from 50+ official government registries. Computes an Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100 from registry-filed data, plus automated red flags, sanctions screening, and news context. We do not process donations, do not handle Equivalency Determinations, and do not run Donor Advised Funds. Free public web interface, free API tier (100 req/day), Pro at 99 USD per month, transparent pricing.

CAF America in one paragraph

A US 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 43-1634280) founded 1992 and the North American arm of the global Charities Aid Foundation network (parent UK CAF distributes over 1.4 billion USD annually). Facilitates cross-border charitable giving for institutional donors (foundations, corporations) and individuals through Donor Advised Funds, Equivalency Determination, Expenditure Responsibility, and grant management services. Vetted network of approximately 2 million charities across 135 countries. Fee-based services proportional to grantmaking volume; pricing not publicly disclosed.

The 30-second verdict

If you are a foundation, corporation, or institutional donor making cross-border grants and need US-tax-compliant routing through Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility, CAF America is the established choice and we cannot replace what they do. If you are doing the research step that comes before deciding which charity to fund (anywhere in the world), GiveRadar is a free public research layer with registry-sourced data, an Integrity Assessment, and red flag detection that CAF America's vetting process does not expose externally. Pair the two: GiveRadar for the research, CAF America for the cross-border legal and tax work.

Who they are

A bit of context on each platform before the side-by-side detail.

CAF America

Charities Aid Foundation of America was founded in 1992 as the North American arm of the global Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), itself a UK charity established in 1924. CAF America is a US 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 43-1634280) headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia. The mission is to remove the legal and operational barriers to cross-border charitable giving for US donors.

CAF America's defining service is acting as a US-based intermediary for international grantmaking. When a US foundation, corporation, or donor wants to support a foreign nonprofit, CAF America performs the required compliance work (typically Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility), accepts the donation as a US tax-deductible contribution, and routes the funds to the foreign recipient. This solves the structural challenge that direct international grants from US 501(c)(3)s often require complex compliance lift to maintain favorable tax treatment.

Services include the CAF American Donor Fund (a transatlantic DAF for dual UK-US taxpayers), Donor Advised Funds, Legacy Giving, grant management, and advisory services. The vetted network covers approximately 2 million charitable organizations in 135 countries. CAF America is part of the broader CAF International Network, with sister organizations in Australia, Canada, India, and other jurisdictions. The combined network distributes more than 1.4 billion USD annually globally. Fees are proportional to volume and intensity of grantmaking; pricing is account-managed rather than publicly disclosed.

GiveRadar

GiveRadar launched in 2026 as a free global charity research database. We are not a giving intermediary, do not perform Equivalency Determinations, and do not run Donor Advised Funds. Our function is research: aggregating registry-filed data from 50+ official government regulators across 65+ countries into a unified, freely-accessible schema.

Every charity in the database receives an automatic Integrity Assessment from 0 to 100 calculated across registration status, financial transparency, organizational transparency, third-party validation, and community signals. We surface automated red flags (high executive pay, low program spending, missing filings, sanctions matches) and per-charity news context through GDELT integration.

For institutional donors using CAF America for cross-border grant routing, GiveRadar serves as an upstream research layer: identify and vet the prospective recipient using registry-sourced operational data, then engage CAF America to handle the legal, tax, and compliance work of the actual grant. The two systems are designed for different functions in the same workflow.

Side-by-side comparison

These tools serve different functions; the table compares them across dimensions where each is meaningful. Last reviewed June 2026.

Dimension	GiveRadar	CAF America
Primary function	Free global charity research database	Cross-border giving intermediary for institutional donors
Geographic coverage	65+ countries via official government registries	135 countries via vetted nonprofit network
Records	7 million+ charities (registry-sourced)	~2 million vetted nonprofits
Equivalency Determination	No (research-only platform)	Yes; core service for US foundation grantmaking
Expenditure Responsibility	No	Yes; alternative compliance pathway when ED is impractical
Donor Advised Funds	No	Yes; CAF American Donor Fund and standard DAFs
Per-charity scoring	Integrity Assessment 0-100 (5 components, automated)	Internal vetting outcome (eligible or not); not publicly exposed as a score
Red flags / news context	Yes (auto red flags + GDELT news + Open Sanctions screening)	Compliance review per recipient; not exposed publicly
Public API	REST + OpenAPI spec; free 100 req/day; Pro 99 USD/month	No public API; account-managed client portals
Pricing transparency	Public, self-service; Pro 99 USD/month, Enterprise custom	Fees proportional to grantmaking volume; not publicly disclosed
Audience	Donors, journalists, researchers, grantmakers, developers	Foundations, corporations, high-net-worth donors with cross-border programs
Founded	2026	1992 (parent CAF UK established 1924)
Legal status	Private platform (Timmermans Media OÜ, Estonia)	US 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 43-1634280)
Network / parent	Independent	Part of CAF International Network (UK parent, plus Australia, Canada, India offices)

When to use which

For institutional cross-border giving, the answer is usually "both, in sequence."

Use CAF America when

• You are a US private foundation, corporation, or DAF account holder making grants to foreign charities
• You need formal Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility to maintain US tax compliance on cross-border grants
• You want intermediary infrastructure to handle currency conversion, foreign anti-corruption compliance, and grant reporting
• You are a UK-US dual taxpayer interested in the CAF American Donor Fund's tax-efficient transatlantic giving structure
• You have ongoing international grantmaking volume that justifies the fee-based service relationship
• You value the CAF International Network's multi-country presence for grants in CAF-served jurisdictions

Use GiveRadar when

• You are researching a prospective grant recipient before engaging CAF America (or any other intermediary)
• You want registry-filed financial signals, governance data, and an Integrity Assessment alongside CAF America's vetting outcome
• You want sanctions screening, news monitoring, or red flag detection per charity
• You are a smaller foundation, journalist, academic, or individual donor without budget for CAF America's institutional services
• You need a programmatic API for nonprofit research, scaled cross-country comparison, or integration into your own grantmaking workflow
• Your research extends to charities outside CAF America's vetted network of ~2 million

The institutional grantmaker workflow

For a foundation officer planning a cross-border grant: start with GiveRadar to identify candidate organizations, surface their registry-filed financial signals, check for red flags and sanctions matches, and read recent news context. Once the candidate list is short, engage CAF America (or another ED specialist like NGOsource) to handle the formal Equivalency Determination, draft the grant agreement, route the disbursement, and manage post-grant reporting. Each tool stays in its lane and the overall process is faster, cheaper, and better-documented than either alone.

What we have in common

Both platforms are genuinely committed to making global giving safer and more effective.

Global mission

Both platforms exist to support international giving rather than focusing narrowly on a single country's nonprofit sector.

Verification layer

CAF America vets through Equivalency Determination and ongoing compliance review; GiveRadar verifies through official-registry presence. Different methods, same intent.

Cross-border focus

Both platforms recognize that nonprofit sectors and donor pools cross national lines, and both build infrastructure that respects that reality.

Public-good orientation

CAF America is itself a US 501(c)(3); GiveRadar keeps the donor-facing core product free. Neither extracts value from donor flows beyond stated service fees or commercial API tiers.

Honest about the limits

Where each platform is not the right tool. Both have meaningful gaps relative to the other.

Where CAF America is not a fit

• Researching charities outside their vetted network of ~2 million, especially smaller or newer organizations they have not engaged
• Self-service charity research without engaging a sales or services relationship
• Programmatic queries on the broad nonprofit universe (no public API)
• Smaller donors and small foundations whose grant volume does not justify CAF America's institutional fee structure
• Per-charity numeric scoring, public red flag detection, or news context as accessible data
• Independent journalism use cases requiring open access to underlying data

Where GiveRadar is not a fit

• Performing Equivalency Determination or Expenditure Responsibility for US foundation cross-border grants
• Operating Donor Advised Funds or accepting US tax-deductible donations on behalf of foreign charities
• Routing payment in foreign currency to international grant recipients
• Drafting grant agreements, anti-corruption compliance review, or post-grant reporting workflows
• Account-managed advisory services for foundations building international grantmaking strategies
• The honest caveat: institutional grantmakers conducting US tax-compliant cross-border giving need an intermediary like CAF America, NGOsource, or comparable; GiveRadar supplements but does not replace this layer

Research the world's charities

Search any of 7 million+ charities across 65+ countries, registry-sourced and free. Then engage your preferred cross-border giving intermediary with confidence in the underlying research.

Search charities How we score Data sources

Primary sources

All figures sourced from each platform's own published documentation. GiveRadar figures are live counts from this platform.

This page is written and maintained by GiveRadar. We make no claim to neutrality: we built GiveRadar and we believe in it. We have tried to represent CAF America fairly. CAF America is the established choice for institutional cross-border charitable giving and we recommend it without reservation for foundations and corporations conducting international grantmaking. The two tools answer different questions and combine well; this page exists to clarify which question each one answers. If you spot an inaccuracy, email [email protected] and we will correct it.