Search for Charities and Fundraisers
Most charities and all professional fundraisers that solicit donations in Minnesota must register with the Attorney General’s Office. You may search to see if a charity or professional fundraiser is registered to solicit donations in Minnesota using the search box immediately below.
If You Don’t Find the Charity or Fundraiser
Please note that not all charities must register with the Attorney General’s Office. Some are exempt from registering. Failing to register with the Attorney General’s Office may be a red flag, however, and you should be cautious in deciding whether to support an unregistered charity. If it does not appear that the charity is registered and you are still considering donating, do your homework beforehand. Tips on how to research a charity are provided below in the “How to Learn More About a Charity or Fundraiser” section.
All professional fundraisers must register with the Attorney General’s Office. If you are solicited by a fundraiser but it does not appear to be registered, please contact the Attorney General’s Office to report the matter.
If You Find the Charity or Fundraiser
If you find the charity or professional fundraiser you are looking for, then it is currently registered with the Attorney General’s Office. Registered organizations file reports every year that contain information about their operations, fundraising, and finances. These annual reports are public documents. Many documents filed by professional fundraisers and charities are available from the Attorney General’s Office upon request.
Be aware, however, that just because a charity (or any professional fundraiser that it uses) is registered does not necessarily mean it is worthy of your generosity. Before contributing, donors should know enough to assure themselves that the charity will use their donation to fulfill its charitable mission. See the next section on “How to Learn More About a Charity or Fundraiser” for more information.
How to Learn More About a Charity or Fundraiser
Doing research about a charity and any professional fundraisers it uses before you donate is vital. It will help ensure that most of your donation is actually being used to fulfill the charity’s mission and not going to the fundraiser instead. There are a number of ways you can learn more about a charity, its fundraisers, and what percentage of your donation actually goes toward a charitable purpose. You should visit the Office’s “Charities Information for the Public” webpage, which provides information about how to research charities and fundraisers. Financial information filed by professional fundraisers, separated by each charity for which the fundraiser solicits, is available on the Office’s website for review and download.
You may also call the Attorney General’s Office at (651) 757-1496 or (800) 657-3787. The Attorney General’s Office can answer basic questions about a charity or fundraiser, send you a copy of a charity’s annual report, and provide other tips on charitable giving.
Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison
445 Minnesota Street, Suite 1400
St. Paul, MN 55101
