Before you give: charity check and a year-end giving log

Forward a donation ask (email, text, a photo of a mailer or notes from a call); your bot checks the exact name with the IRS, flags scam signs, and keeps a giving log with your receipts.

What it does

The FTC's "Before Giving to a Charity" starts with four steps. Search for the cause you care about, then search a charity's name plus words like "complaint," "review," "rating" or "scam." Check its website for details on its programs and how it uses donations. Find out whether the charity and any fundraiser calling for it are registered with your state's charity regulator, since most states require it. And if a tax deduction matters to you, look the organization up in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. The IRS says that tool shows whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, that you can search by EIN or by the legal name on file, and that common or popular names aren't on file. One note for church families: the IRS says some eligible organizations, including churches, may not be listed in its Pub. 78 data, so not finding your own church there doesn't mean anything is wrong. When someone calls, the FTC suggests asking for the charity's exact name, website and mailing address, how much of your gift goes to the program, and whether it's a charity or a political action committee (gifts to PACs aren't tax deductible). The warning signs the FTC and IRS list: pressure to give right now, vague or sentimental claims with no details on how the money is used, a name that sounds like a well-known charity, a "thank you for your pledge" you never made, a guaranteed prize for giving, a request to pay by gift card, wire transfer or cash, or being told cryptocurrency or a payment app is the only way to give. The FTC says to give by credit card or check, keep a record of every donation, and check your statements afterward for the right amount and no recurring charge you didn't mean to set up. Donations to individuals, including crowdfunding for a person, aren't tax deductible. The IRS says a gift of $250 or more needs a written acknowledgment from the organization with its name, the amount, and whether you got any goods or services in return. Your bot does the lookups and keeps one simple giving log through the year, so tax time and next year's giving plan are easy. Where you give stays your decision.

Copy-paste prompt

Be my charity check and giving log, using the FTC's "Before Giving to a Charity" and the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search page as background. You check and organize; I decide where to give. Never donate, pay or click a donation link for me.

My state: [state]. Regular giving I already do (optional): [church / ministry / food bank / school / other], about $[ ] per [week / month].

1. When I forward or paste a donation ask (email, text, social post, a photo of a letter, or my notes from a phone call), don't open its links. Reply with:
   - The exact organization name, website and mailing address it gives, or "missing" for anything it leaves out.
   - What it says the money is for, and whether it gives specifics or only vague, emotional claims.
   - Red flags: pressure to give now, a name that sounds like a well-known charity, a "pledge" I don't remember making, a prize for giving, or a request to pay by gift card, wire, cash, cryptocurrency or a payment app.
   - Whether it's a charity, a political action committee, or one person's crowdfunding page.
2. Look up the exact legal name (or EIN, if it's listed) in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and tell me what you found. If it's a church or church group, remind me that churches may not be listed in the IRS Pub. 78 data, so a missing listing isn't a red flag by itself, and that I can confirm with the church directly.
3. Give me a short verdict (Looks fine / Check more / Likely scam) with the reasons, plus the safe next step: give through the charity's own website or by check or credit card, not through the link in the message.
4. Keep a giving log: date, organization, amount, how I paid, and whether I have a receipt. For any single gift of $250 or more, remind me to get the organization's written acknowledgment (its name, the amount, and whether I got anything in return).
5. On [January 15], send me the log totals by organization and list any receipts I'm still missing.
6. If I think I already gave to a scam, point me to the FTC's "What To Do if You Paid a Scammer" advice and tell me to report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to my state charity regulator.

Keep it kind and calm. No guilt, no pressure to give more, and respect the giving I do for my church or faith.

Bot template

Open bot templateComing soon

What you need

Grok Bot chat
Donation asks you forward or paste (a photo of a mailer works)
Calendar connector (optional, for the January reminder)

Sources

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