Frequently Asked Questions
Below are some of the questions we hear the most from donors and the charities listed and/or rated on our site.
For Donors
Does it cost to use Charity Navigator?
No, you do not have to pay to use our service. In our commitment to helping America’s philanthropists of all levels make informed giving/social investment decisions, we refuse to charge our users for this trusted data. As a result, Charity Navigator, a 501 (c)(3) public charity itself, depends on support from individuals, corporations, and foundations that believe we provide a much-needed service to America’s charitable donors.
Which charities do you evaluate?
We evaluate charities that are registered with the IRS under section 501 (c)(3) of the tax code (all donations are fully tax-deductible), file the standard IRS Form 990, and provide us with other data points about their organization.
What is the Giving Basket?
The Giving Basket allows you to support multiple charities in one convenient checkout while controlling how much of your personal information is shared with each organization.
How does the Giving Basket work?
From any charity rating page, simply click the “donate” button, choose an amount to give, and indicate whether you would like to donate anonymously. You can choose from multiple payment options, including PayPal, to complete your donation. Give Lively, which powers our Giving Basket, will email you your tax receipt. The charity you donated to will receive the donation within 30 days of the close of the month in which the donation was made.
Can I request that Charity Navigator evaluate a specific charity?
We currently provide ratings for more than 245,000 charitable organizations. We will continue to add more evaluations as we collect more data. We encourage you to suggest to any charities that you are interested in that are not yet rated that they visit our website and begin providing us with data so they can be evaluated. Even if we don’t rate a charity, you can still find basic information about it on our website.
Is this charity I am interested in legitimate?
We list all 1.6 million IRS-registered nonprofit organizations on our site. We only rate 501 (c)(3) nonprofits, commonly referred to as charities – these are the only organizations where your donation is tax-deductible. You can view the tax status on the charity’s profile page. Remember, just because the organization is a bona fide nonprofit doesn’t mean it is worthy of your support. Be sure to do your due diligence before you give.
We also list fake and fraudulent “charities” on our site to help protect your giving. We do this because we wouldn’t want someone to search for a fake charity, not get a result, and assume it’s safe to give. These listings always include a Giving Not Recommended alert along with the cited media or governmental investigation.
The CEO's salary of a charity I am reviewing seems high; should I still support them?
CEO salaries in nonprofits vary based on factors such as geography, organization size, experience, and expertise. We include CEO compensation in the “Salary Information” section of Culture and Compensation, along with a ratio comparing the highest-paid employee to the average total staff salary.
While salary-specific details are not a direct metric in our ratings, the overall allocation of expenses is scored by Charity Navigator, and this can be influenced by how a charity allocates funds for salaries.
Overall, we look for charities to spend the bulk of their budgets on their charitable missions, as reflected in their program expenses.
How did the charity I reviewed get the rating it has?
We evaluate charities registered with the IRS under section 501 (c)(3) of the tax code (all donations are fully tax-deductible), file the standard IRS Form 990, and provide us with other data points about their organization. Please visit the Methodology section of our site to read an in-depth explanation of our rating system.
What should I do if I believe a charity is acting illegally or unethically?
First and foremost, if you believe that a particular charity is operating unethically or illegally, then we strongly encourage you to report your concerns to the proper authorities. Nonprofit regulation resides in the hands of the IRS at the federal level and typically the Attorney General at the state level.
Furthermore, if you have objective and publicly available data that documents your concerns about this charity, then please forward it to the Charity Navigator Alert Issuance Committee at the following email address: alerts@charitynavigator.org. We kindly request that you send details to that email address directly to ensure the Committee directly receives all pertinent information. This Committee regularly reviews such matters and often chooses to place charities on our Charity Navigator Alert list in order to alert our users to information we believe is important and relevant to their philanthropic activities. For more information about our Alerts, please click here.
How can I contact a charity listed on your website?
Each charity’s page on our website will display as much contact information as we currently have available, including website URL, phone number, and physical address.
Where can I find the detailed financial information/charts on the website?
You can find the expense pie chart under the “Financial Health” section of the Accountability and Finance beacon. It is located directly below the Program Expenses percentage.
The total revenue and expense bar graph is located within the “Accountability & Finance” section under “Additional Information,” where you should select “Total Revenue and Expenses.”
For Nonprofits
How does my nonprofit get listed on Charity Navigator?
Charity Navigator automatically lists all 501(c)(3) nonprofits included in the IRS Business Master File (BMF). No action is required. Once your nonprofit appears in the BMF, it typically appears on our site within two to three months. New organizations may take several months to be added to the BMF.
To be eligible for the Accountability & Finance Beacon, a nonprofit needs to be a 501(c)(3) that e-filed their last 3 Form 990s (the standard 990 not a 990EZ, 990PF or 990N). We receive this initial 990 data directly from the IRS.
For each other beacon, the criteria are different and will depend on the nonprofit providing data to us through the Nonprofit Portal or to Guidestar/Candid.
How does my nonprofit become Encompass Rated?
To receive an Encompass Rating, a nonprofit must be a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charity. Private foundations, consolidated subsidiaries, and organizations with revoked or inactive IRS status are not eligible.
Eligible nonprofits must also meet the following criteria:
- Charity Navigator must directly receive at least three electronically filed IRS Form 990s within the past six years (these do not need to be consecutive).
- At least three of the four most recent filings must be the standard Form 990, and the most recent filing cannot be a Form 990-PF, 990 EZ, or 990N.
- Report total functional expenses greater than zero, with program expenses not exceeding total expenses.
- Have no Charity Navigator “Giving Not Recommended” alert.
A nonprofit may be listed but not rated if it does not yet meet Form 990 filing requirements. All nonprofit organizations are welcome to submit additional information via the Nonprofit Portal.
Why did my organization receive donations via the Giving Basket?
Your nonprofit can receive donations because:
- It’s a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) public charity, in good standing with the IRS and state authorities
- It’s not a private foundation
- It has no “Giving Not Recommended” alert.
- The rating page has been claimed in the Nonprofit Portal and it’s opted in to receive donations.
If you prefer not to receive donations via the Giving Basket you can log into the Charity Navigator Nonprofit Portal and go to the “Update Profile” section. There you can manage your nonprofit’s donate button status.
How do I found out who my Charity Navigator portal representative is and/or change my nonprofit's official representative?
Any staff member can apply for access to the Nonprofit Portal, and each nonprofit can have multiple approved representatives.
These representatives can update the organization’s profile, submit data, and manage portal access for other staff members. We recommend designating at least one full-time staff member from your programs or development department to ensure continuity.
How did my nonprofit receive this rating?
We evaluate charities that are registered with the IRS under section 501 (c)(3) of the tax code (all donations are fully tax-deductible), file the standard IRS Form 990, and provide us with other data points about their organization. Please visit the Methodology section of our site to read an in-depth explanation of our rating system.
How can I update my nonprofit's rating/information?
Submit your request to become the representative here: https://www.charitynavigator.org/portal. Once fully verified, you can use the same nonprofit portal link to upload and edit information. Alternatively, go to your nonprofit’s public profile page and click “Is this your nonprofit” to access the portal.
When will my nonprofit's rating be updated?
We continually collect data from nonprofits directly, the IRS, and our data partners but we update published ratings on our site multiple times each year. Please check here for our 2026 Ratings Release Schedule.
We do have a 990 policy your website says we do not have. How can we update that?
How can we update our nonprofit's general information (name, mission, address, website URL)?
We receive the initial nonprofit information directly from the IRS Business Master File and the latest available IRS Form 990. Once verified, nonprofit representatives have access to the nonprofit portal, where they can update and submit information.
How can we supply you with a newer Form 990?
What is the Nonprofit Portal, and how does it work?
The Nonprofit Portal allows a staff member of any listed nonprofit access to their organizational account so that they can provide data and view other information regarding their Charity Navigator listing and rating. To apply for an account and receive access, go to – charitynavigator.org/portal.
Where can I find a Charity Navigator badge to use to promote our rating?
We offer a toolkit for nonprofits that have received a three or four-star overall rating from us. The toolkit is available via the Nonprofit Portal at charitynavigator.org/portal. The toolkit can help promote your Charity Navigator rating.
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