How and Why We Issue Alerts
When a charity is reported to engage or confirmed to have engaged in misconduct or questionable practices, we post an alert on the charity’s profile page to raise awareness and help inform your giving.
Ensuring You Have Access to as Much Information as Possible to Inform Your Giving
Charity Navigator's Alert Issuance Committee publishes reports of potential or confirmed misconduct or other questionable practices being investigated by the media or governmental agencies, in accordance with our alert methodology.
In issuing an alert, the Committee considers the following:
- The credibility and timeliness of the information.
- The nature, scope, and seriousness of the allegations or convictions.
- Whether or not the allegations have been proven.
- Other factors on a case-by-case basis.
It's important to note that alerts are issued to equip donors with information to guide their giving decisions. It is not within the scope or objective of the Committee to independently assess the accuracy of the information. The objective of the committee is to determine if a donor might find such information helpful when considering a contribution to the organization.
Levels of Alerts
An organization receives this alert if:
- Matters of concern relating to the organization have been reported in a media outlet Charity Navigator deems reliable, but to Charity Navigator’s knowledge, no legal proceeding has commenced, or the matter is not of a legal nature.
- Issues arise in a nonprofits state charitable registration (e.g. a nonprofit because delinquent in the State of California)
An organization receives this alert if a credible media outlet (as determined by Charity Navigator) has reported that a government agency or a private third-party has filed charges or brought a claim as part of a pending legal proceeding, alleging that the organization or its managers have engaged in illegal conduct, including but not limited to financial wrongdoing, discrimination, or violation of data security laws.
An organization receives this alert if a credible media outlet (as determined by Charity Navigator) has reported that:
The organization is engaged in bankruptcy proceedings; or
The organization has been found through a legal proceeding to have engaged, or have managers who have engaged, in illegal conduct, including but not limited to financial wrongdoing, discrimination, or violation of data security laws
.
An organization receives this alert if:
The organization lacks 501(c)(3) status; or
A credible media outlet (as determined by Charity Navigator) has reported that the organization has engaged, or have managers who have engaged, in substantial fraud or misrepresentation relating to the organization’s charitable purposes or activities, as determined through a legal proceeding
.
Frequently Asked Questions
Charity Navigator relies on publicly accessible information, either reported by a reasonably credible media outlet or announced in a press release by a relevant regulatory body. Our team regularly monitors news relating to the nonprofit space for material which falls within our alert methodology. Note that our committee does not independently assess the accuracy of the allegations referenced in alerts.
No alert is meant to exist in perpetuity, and Charity Navigator regularly monitors news relating to alert affected organizations to ensure that we are providing our users with the most up-to-date information possible. In the event that a significant length of time elapses with no new information related to an active alert, our team will automatically initiate a final review of the alert, which may result in removal if no new substantive information is present. The timelines are as follows:
Review Before Proceeding: Final review for removal is initiated after 12 months with no new substantive information.
Proceed with Caution: Final review for removal is initiated after 18 months with no new substantive information.
Proceed with Increased Caution: Final review for removal is initiated after 24 months with no new substantive information.
Giving Not Recommended: Final review for removal is initiated after 36 months with no new substantive information.
Please note, as detailed below, organizations can submit information at any time, which may result in removing an alert before these prescribed timelines. Additionally, information that surfaced during our team’s regular monitoring may result in a removal earlier than these timeframes.
Unfortunately, organizations with one or more active alerts of any type are not eligible for inclusion in our Where to Give Now Lists.
Generally speaking, issued alerts do not result in an organization’s donate button being disabled on Charity Navigator’s website. However, the donate button will be disabled in the following instances:
Giving Not Recommended: If an organization receives a Giving Not Recommended level alert, the donate button will be disabled where applicable due to the severity of the reported material.
Confirmed Delinquency: In accordance with California Assembly Bill 488, Charity Navigator must disable the donate button for organizations delinquent with the State of California.
An alert related to an organization’s delinquency within a state will be removed when the organization regains good standing within the state referenced in the alert. Delinquency-based alerts are generated automatically and removed automatically based on the data set released by the relevant state (i.e., California’s publication of organizations that May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes).
Should an organization’s delinquent status be cured before the release of a new data set by the relevant state, the organization may contact alerts@charitynavigator.org to have the alert removed before the next automatic update.
Charity Navigator makes a good faith attempt to notify organizations of Charity Navigator’s intention to issue an alert prior to publication. Organizations are encouraged to submit additional contextual or counterfactual information for the committee to review, either before or after publication, for potential prevention or removal of an alert.
Charity Navigator values accountability and transparency, and organizations who can demonstrate the falsity of a media report or that they have taken good-faith efforts to implement corrective action in response to the cited issue, and have been transparent with their donors around the cited issue and those corrective actions, may have their alert prevented or removed.
In the event that submitted information does not warrant prevention or removal of the alert, organizations are always afforded the opportunity to submit a statement for publication alongside the published alert.
Organizations who wish to submit information related to an alert may do so by emailing alerts@charitynavigator.org.
Concerned donors are invited to submit publicly available data to us for review and potential alert action may do so by emailing alerts@charitynavigator.org.
Protect Your Giving
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