Is this charity legitimate?  What percentage of charitable contributions are used for the charitable purpose?

In Utah, a charitable organization is required to be registered with the Utah Division of Consumer Protection before soliciting charitable contributions.  One way to know if a charity is legitimate is to see if the charity is registered with the Division.  If you contact the Division, we will be glad to tell you if the charity is registered with the Division.  Also, if the charity is registered with the Division, we can tell you the reported percentage of charitable solicitations collected that are used for the charitable purpose.

Another way to know if a charity is legitimate is to check the reputation of a charity.  Unfortunately, the Division cannot discuss complaints received against charities (this information is protected under the Utah Governmental Records Access Management Act or GRAMA), nor does the Division maintain a list of "legitimate" charities.

However, the Division may disclose public records, specifically, actions taken by the Division against a charitable organization.  If you would like to know if the Division has taken action against a business, please contact the Division and we will be happy to provide what information we can.

Because the Division cannot provide information about a charity unless we have taken action against the charity, we encourage you to check with other organizations that might have information that could be helpful to you, including other government agencies that may have jurisdiction over the charity.  Also, the Better Business Bureau is a good resource for consumers to research the kind of reputation a charity may have in a local community.  You may also want to check to see if the charity has a local business license with the city or county where the charity is located, or perhaps whether the charity is registered with an appropriate state agency.

Click here for more information about charities.