Charity Validation & Due Diligence

Extensive Vetting for Confident Giving

 

 

Every organization that receives a grant through CAF America is first evaluated using our extensive validation protocols built upon decades of experience and industry-leading best practices in international giving.

How our validation process works

Enhanced Expenditure Responsibility (EER)

Enhanced Expenditure Responsibility is our proprietary validation protocol for vetting previously-ineligible organizations.The goal is to establish the charitable purpose of a specific project as defined in section 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Once an organization passes EER, we guarantee that the organization is operating in compliance with all relevant international, American, and local laws.

 

Equivalency Determination (ED)

If a donor wishes to support capital campaigns, endowments, or construction, Equivalency Determination may be a more appropriate method of establishing an organization’s eligibility.

During ED, we collect detailed information on a foreign charitable organization in order to make a “good faith determination” as to whether or not the organization itself is the equivalent of a US public charity described in sections 501(c)(3) and 509(a) of the Internal Revenue Code.

As the leader in cross-border giving, CAF America offers two ED services:

  • Internal Review: We manage both the due diligence and the grantmaking.
  • Equivalency Determination Certificate: We issue an ED certificate so the donor can give directly.

 

The CAF America Eligibility Database

Once an organization passes our validation, it is entered into our Eligibility Database for a period of one to three years, depending on a risk level determined by CAF America. During this time, the organization can receive grants advised from any CAF America donor.

Validation services for American nonprofits

All domestic charities are automatically eligible with CAF America. However, we conduct a  reputation review on the organization to verify their charitable status and collect banking details. 

If a donor would like us to perform extra due diligence, our Enhanced Validation goes deeper and looks at board members and senior staff and collects a grant purpose for the use of potential funds.

 

Related resources

Fact Sheet

Enhanced Expenditure Responsibility

Fact Sheet

Equivalency Determination

Make a Gift Today

With CAF America, you can confidently make a contribution to support an established fund or a validated international grantee.

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