Crypto donations: verify the charity and payment route

Start with the recipient, before opening a wallet

Use this guide when a message, social post or fundraiser asks you to send cryptocurrency to a charitable cause. The outcome is a documented decision: donate through a verified route, choose another payment method, or stop until someone resolves a discrepancy. You need the appeal, the organisation’s claimed legal name, a browser and somewhere private to keep your notes. You do not need to connect a wallet to perform these checks.

The registry instructions below concern US organisations. For another country, use its charity regulator and local rules; an absent US record says little about a foreign charity. The FTC’s crypto-donation warning dates from March 2022, and the FBI disaster-fraud advisory from January 2025. They remain guidance checked for this article, rather than evidence of a new campaign today.

1. Establish the charity’s identity

Write down the exact legal name, website, mailing address and the name of the person collecting donations. Reach the organisation through a website or contact channel you find independently of the appeal. Ask whether it runs the named campaign and whether the fundraiser acts for it. Save the answer and the page address so you can distinguish that confirmation from the original request.

Look for concrete information about the programme and how the organisation uses donations. Search its name with terms such as complaint, scam and review. A lack of search results does not establish legitimacy. A familiar logo, an emotional video or a post shared by your friend also leaves the recipient’s identity unresolved. The FTC recommends contacting the charity directly after an unexpected donation request. If you cannot establish who is asking, pause before considering any payment instructions.

2. Check the US registry with the correct name

Start at the IRS page titled Search for tax exempt organizations and follow its link to Tax Exempt Organization Search. Select the relevant database and search by the employer identification number, or EIN, supplied by the organisation. Compare the result’s legal name and location with your notes. If using a name search, try the legal name; Publication 78 does not list an organisation’s informal or doing-business-as name.

Publication 78 concerns eligibility to receive tax-deductible contributions. Other datasets cover filings, determination letters and automatic revocations. An old revocation entry may coexist with later reinstatement, so consult current information and the determination letter before drawing a conclusion. Some eligible recipients, including certain churches and government units, may not appear in Publication 78.

Save the database, search date and matching identifier. A matching record does not confirm that the sender controls the charity’s wallet. If there is no clear match, ask the organisation to explain it; do not infer fraud from that result alone.

3. Identify who receives and passes on the money

Separate the organiser, any fundraising platform or processor, the charity and the intended beneficiary. Ask which of them receives your payment first. The FTC explains that a crowdfunding organiser can control the money even when the campaign names someone else as the beneficiary. For other fundraising platforms, an intermediary may deduct fees and forward the remainder later.

Read the campaign’s rules for fees, timing and what happens if the chosen charity cannot receive the donation. Check whether the platform shares your personal information and with whom. Record those answers alongside the payment destination. If they remain unclear, consider giving through the charity’s own independently verified website. A processor’s receipt establishes a different stage from the charity receiving funds, and neither proves that beneficiaries have received assistance.

A direct gift to an individual also has different US tax implications from a qualifying charitable contribution. Avoid relying on the campaign’s use of the word charity to decide that question.

4. Confirm the payment route outside the appeal

The FTC warns that a demand to donate only by cryptocurrency is a likely scam signal and recommends credit card or check for charitable giving. A legitimate organisation offering crypto as an option still needs independent verification. Open its known donation page yourself; do not rely on the address, QR code or link in an unsolicited message. HTTPS encrypts the connection but does not establish who operates the page.

If you continue considering crypto, confirm the accepted asset, network and destination through the organisation’s verified channel. Ask it to explain any payment processor or newly issued address. Search the wallet address online, as the FTC recommends, while recognising that no warnings found does not prove ownership. Resolve differences before paying. A small successful transfer would demonstrate delivery to that address, not that the address belongs to the charity. Crypto payments typically cannot be reversed; you depend on a recipient sending money back.

5. Work through an address mismatch

Consider this fictional example. A relief appeal names a registered organisation but supplies a wallet address in a private message. Your registry search matches the organisation’s legal name. Its independently opened website lists a different donation route, and the sender says the message contains a replacement address.

Record both routes and the replacement claim without sending funds to test it. Contact the charity using the channel you found separately and ask whether the campaign, fundraiser and replacement destination are authorised. If it cannot confirm the replacement, stop using that route. You can decide whether to donate through a different verified method without resolving the sender’s identity yourself.

If the charity confirms that its processor creates individual payment addresses, retain that explanation and follow the official page’s instructions. A difference can have a legitimate explanation; this example is a verification exercise, not a finding about a real organisation. Review the route again if anyone changes the recipient after confirmation.

6. Keep a decision record and report suspected fraud

Keep the appeal, contact details, URLs, confirmation messages and your reasons for proceeding or stopping. If you donated, add the receipt, asset, network, amount, date and transaction identifier. Store personal information privately; a public wallet address can still connect your identity to financial activity. Share the relevant evidence through official reporting channels rather than posting a complete financial dossier.

For suspected crowdfunding fraud, report the campaign to the platform. The FTC accepts reports through ReportFraud.ftc.gov; its guidance also points to state charity regulators. The FBI asks charity-fraud victims to report to IC3 with identifying information, transaction details and an account of the contact. Explain what you verified and what remains a suspicion.

If you already paid, contact the payment provider through its official channel and ask what options remain. Do not pay an unsolicited recovery service or an extra fee claimed to unlock a refund. Reporting can assist an investigation, but it does not promise reimbursement. Keep this record for follow-up rather than continuing a conversation with an unverified collector.