How to Check a Charity in Florida Before Donating

To check a charity in Florida before donating, run the organization’s name through the state’s free Check-A-Charity database, then confirm its federal tax-exempt status through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. The first tool tells you whether the charity is legally registered to solicit in Florida and shows how it spends the money it raises. The second tells you whether your gift is actually tax-deductible. Together they take about five minutes and catch problems either would miss on its own.

Nearly every organization that asks for money in or from Florida has to register with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) and renew that registration every year under Chapter 496 of the Florida Statutes.¹ So a missing or out-of-date registration is meaningful information.

Look Up the Charity on Check-A-Charity

Go to the Check-A-Charity page on the FDACS website. You can search by the organization’s business name or by its license or registration number, and an advanced search lets you narrow results by exact wording or partial matches.² If the registration number is printed on the mailer, email, or website that prompted your search, use it. A lot of charities operate under names that sound alike, and the number pulls the right file.

Clicking an entry in the results opens the organization’s profile, with registration history, financial statements, and current compliance status. The system shows whatever the charity most recently filed, so an up-to-date profile is itself a good sign. You can also verify registration and financials over the phone by calling FDACS at 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352).³

Read the Financial Report

Every registered charity files an annual financial statement covering the prior fiscal year. Under Section 496.407, that statement includes a balance sheet, revenue and expenses, and a breakdown of expenses into three categories: program services, management and general, and fundraising.⁴ That three-way split is the most useful number for a donor. A charity that spends 80 cents of every dollar on actual programs looks very different from one that spends 80 cents on fundraising and executive salaries.

Scrutiny scales with size. Charities receiving less than $500,000 in annual contributions can file without outside review. Between $500,000 and $1 million, an independent CPA must review or audit the financials. At $1 million or more, a full independent audit is required.⁴ A charity may also submit its IRS Form 990 with all schedules in place of a standalone statement, which gives you a second copy of similar data through the IRS.

The profile also lists any professional solicitors or fundraising consultants the charity hired and what they were paid. A charity cannot legally hire a professional solicitor who isn’t registered with FDACS.⁵ If a paid solicitor is taking a large cut of every dollar raised, that’s a reasonable prompt to give somewhere else.

What It Means if the Charity Isn’t Listed

A blank result doesn’t automatically mean fraud. Section 496.406 exempts several categories of organizations from registering:

Small volunteer-run charities receiving less than $50,000 per year, provided all fundraising is done by uncompensated volunteers and no money goes to officers, employees, or professional solicitors. A charity that crosses the $50,000 threshold has 30 days to register.
Charities that only solicit their existing members, not people who become “members” by donating.
Federally chartered veterans’ organizations, including their posts and chapters.
Individuals collecting for a specific named person, so long as every dollar goes to that person.

⁶ Churches and other religious organizations generally fall outside Chapter 496’s registration requirement as well, though a religious-sounding name alone doesn’t confer an exemption.

The claim of exemption has to fit the facts. If a group solicits the general public, employs paid fundraisers, and is clearly larger than the exemption allows, “we’re exempt” doesn’t hold up. Call FDACS and ask.

Confirm 501(c)(3) Status Through the IRS

State registration and federal tax status are two different things. Check-A-Charity confirms the first. For the second, use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, which shows whether an organization is currently eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions under Publication 78.⁷

The IRS tool also gives you the organization’s Form 990 filings, any Form 990-N e-Postcards from small filers, the original determination letter granting tax-exempt status, and the Automatic Revocation list of organizations that lost their exemption for failing to file returns three years running.⁷ A group on the revocation list can’t receive tax-deductible gifts even if it’s still registered in Florida.

One thing to expect at the small end: organizations with annual gross receipts normally at or below $50,000 can file the simplified Form 990-N (e-Postcard), which contains only basic information such as the organization’s name, EIN, and principal officer.⁸ Sparse federal financials on a tiny charity are normal, not a warning sign.

Warning Signs in the Solicitation Itself

Even a properly registered charity can be approached through a fraudulent pitch. The FTC flags several patterns:⁹

Pressure to give immediately. Real charities take your gift on your schedule.
Requests for cash, gift cards, or wire transfers. These are untraceable, and no legitimate charity insists on them.
A thank-you for a donation you never made, used to walk you into confirming a “recurring” gift or handing over payment details.
A name that’s one or two words off from a charity you already trust.
Vague emotional appeals with no specifics about how the money will be used.
Claims that a gift is tax-deductible when the organization isn’t actually a qualifying 501(c)(3).
Offers of sweepstakes winnings in exchange for a donation, which are illegal.

Caller ID can be spoofed to show a local number no matter where the call actually originates. If someone phones asking for money, hang up, find the charity independently, and call back at a number listed on its official website.

Reporting a Suspicious Charity

If a solicitor looks unregistered or the pitch feels fraudulent, file a complaint with FDACS online at complaints.fdacs.gov or by calling 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352).¹⁰ Include the solicitor’s name or organization, the date and method of contact, what you were told, and any documentation.

You can also report to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC doesn’t resolve individual disputes, but each report enters the Consumer Sentinel database shared with more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies, which helps investigators spot patterns across cases.¹¹ Filing with both the state and the FTC is worth doing when the operation appears to cross state lines.

1
Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Solicitation of Contributions
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Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Check-A-Charity
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Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. How Do I Check on a Charitable Organization
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 496.407 – Financial Statement
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes Chapter 496 – Solicitation of Funds
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 496.406 – Exempt Organizations
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Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
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Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Filing Requirement for Small Exempt Organizations – Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
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Federal Trade Commission. Donating Safely and Avoiding Scams
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Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Charity Scams
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Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov