CharityIndex

Terms of service

Last updated: July 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of CharityIndex (the "Service"), including the website, the embeddable rating seal, the donor tools and any related features. By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. The Service

CharityIndex republishes and analyzes public data about U.S. tax-exempt organizations, principally the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File and e-filed Form 990 returns. The Service is an informational research tool. It computes ratings, signals and estimates from figures organizations reported themselves; profiles are generated automatically for every registered organization, and being listed is neither an endorsement nor an accusation.

2. No professional advice

Nothing on the Service constitutes financial, investment, legal or tax advice, and nothing on it is a recommendation to donate or not to donate to any organization. Ratings and signals are analytical opinions derived from reported figures under a published methodology (see Methodology). For decisions with legal or tax consequences, consult a qualified professional.

3. Data accuracy

We reproduce IRS filings faithfully, but source filings contain errors, amendments lag by months, classification codes are imperfect, and our parsing and aggregation are automated. Figures can be outdated by one to two fiscal years by the time they are published by the IRS. Verify any figure against the source filing before relying on it. If you believe a page contains an error that does not come from the source filing, contact us and we will review it.

4. Accounts

Accounts are free and are used for watchlists, saved comparisons and email alerts. You must provide a valid email address and are responsible for activity under your account. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or abuse the Service. You may stop using the Service, or ask us to delete your account, at any time (see the Privacy policy).

5. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • misrepresent the data or its source, remove attribution, or present ratings as endorsements or accusations;
  • scrape, crawl or bulk-download the Service at rates that degrade it for others, or circumvent rate limits and access controls;
  • use the Service to harass, threaten or defame organizations or individuals named in public filings;
  • resell access to the Service or use it to build a directly competing database without our written permission;
  • use the Service for any unlawful purpose.

Personal, journalistic, academic and internal business use is welcome, with attribution.

6. The rating seal and embeds

The embeddable rating seal and widget may be displayed by the organization they describe, or by third parties with attribution, provided the embed code is not altered to misrepresent the rating. We may update the seal's design and the rating it shows at any time; embeds always display the current rating.

7. Intellectual property

The underlying government data is public. The Service's original content — the methodology, ratings, guides, design, code and the CharityIndex name and marks — belongs to us or our licensors. These Terms grant you no rights in our marks. Short excerpts with attribution and a link are always fine.

8. Third-party links

Profiles link to organizations' own websites and to third-party sources such as the IRS and ProPublica. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party sites.

9. Disclaimer of warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR CURRENT.

10. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CHARITYINDEX AND ITS OPERATORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA OR GOODWILL, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SERVICE OR RELIANCE ON ITS DATA, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100).

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims arising out of your misuse of the Service or violation of these Terms.

12. Changes to the Service and these Terms

We may modify or discontinue features at any time. We may revise these Terms; the date at the top reflects the latest revision, and continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance. Material changes to account features will be announced by email or on the site.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the state in which the Service's operator is established, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Disputes shall be resolved in the courts of that jurisdiction.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms: [email protected].