How to choose a charity fund you can trust: a checklist

1. Registration. A real fund is a legal entity. Ask for the EDRPOU code and check it in the free Unified State Register (usr.minjust.gov.ua). No code, no conversation.

2. Register of non-profits. The non-profit code (for charitable organisations: 0036) means the tax authority has recognised the fund as non-commercial. It is checked by the same EDRPOU code.

3. Reports. A living fund either already publishes reports (what was raised, what was bought, who it was handed to), or plainly names the date of the first one. A bad sign is not the absence of a report at a young fundraiser, but a refusal to name a date and promises that are quietly postponed.

4. Bank details. A donation must go to the organisation's account (a legal entity's IBAN), not to the personal card of a “volunteer”. A personal card is not always fraud, but it always means no oversight.

5. Specifics. “Help children” is not a goal. “A grocery pack for a family with 4 children, ≈ $205, deadline 30 August” is a goal you can check.

Pressure and tears instead of facts: manipulative photos of children, “urgent, one hour left”. Refusal to name the legal entity. Collection only to a crypto wallet or personal cards. The absence of people with names and faces: who are these “we”? Promises that “100% goes to help” without explaining who then pays for logistics, or refusal to talk about administrative costs at all.

When you support one verified fund every month, you give it the main thing: predictability. The fund can plan purchases, take people into regular support and spend less on finding new donors. And you get a history of the relationship: people you know and confidence that your money is working.