Donations
Donating to a Charity
Who should I donate to?
It's best to donate to charities you know and trust, or ones you’ve researched. You can start by checking the Charities Register.
Can I claim a tax credit for my donation?
Yes. You can claim a tax credit if you donate to a charity or organisation with donee status.
Donee status is administered by Inland Revenue, and most registered charities are eligible.
If your employer offers payroll giving and you donate to a donee organisation directly from your pay, you’ll receive an immediate tax credit on the amount of your donation.
You can out more information on Inland Revenue's website.
How can I check if a charity registered with Charities Services?
What can we do if a collector approaches us to make a donation?
Door-knock collectors
Don't be shy about asking to see identification, or asking them to call back after you have had an opportunity to phone the charity. If they are a registered New Zealand charity they will have a charity number starting with CC. Falsely claiming to be a registered charity is an offence. If you suspect fraud, you can contact the police or report the incident to compliance@dia.govt.nz.
Phone/telemarketing appeals, on-street collectors, and spam emails
Many phone callers or on-street collectors asking for donations represent profit-making agencies who keep part of your donation for themselves or charge fees for their fundraising services. Find out if the person works for a telemarketing or fundraising company, or whether they are a volunteer or employee of the charity itself. You may prefer to donate directly to the charity.
Phone collectors and spam emails may ask for your credit card number or bank account details. If you do prefer to make a donation over the phone, make sure the charity is well known. Look up the charity's number and call them back yourself, especially if they contacted you by phone or email. Don't reply or click on links sent to you in spam email. Some of these emails may contain a virus.
Where can I find out more about avoiding scams?
Netsafe and CERT NZ are the experts on staying safe online in New Zealand. CERT NZ has developed a list of tips to help you avoid online scams and attacks.
Can a charity make donations?
Charities can make donations in the form of grants to individuals or other entities, ongoing donations, or even one-off donations to causes that further their charitable purpose. Often the first question is "Who can we donate to so we can be confident that our money goes to the people most in need?"
Can my charity or funder give money to overseas charities?
Yes, a registered charity can send funds overseas, as long as it will advance your charitable purpose and is consistent with your rules. You can check your charitable purpose and your rules document on the Charities Register.
We want to make a donation to a New Zealand charity that works overseas. How can we find out more about them?
If you are donating to a New Zealand registered charity that works internationally you can look them up on the Charities Register.
How can we make sure our donations get where they need to go?
When donating internationally, local governments will usually have lists of approved or registered agencies operating in specific crisis areas. Many governments, including the UK, Australia, and Canada, have their own public register of charities as well:
It's always worth checking local registers first, and contacting them for more information. In addition, we have guidance on what you should do to ensure your donation has an impact.
Will giving money to an overseas charity have an impact on my charity's status as a donee organisation with Inland Revenue?
To qualify as a donee organisation, your funds must be "wholly or mainly" applied to purposes in New Zealand. You can find more information about what this means on Inland Revenue's page on tax exemptions , and a full interpretation here.
If your intended donation will significantly change how you spend your funds for the year, we recommend you talk to Inland Revenue first via email charities.queries@ird.govt.nz.
Our charity works or gives overseas and we want to find out more about our tax and other obligations.
You can watch the webinar "Know more about your tax obligations" from Inland Revenue or look at Inland Revenue's page on charities . You can also watch our webinar on protecting your charity when giving money overseas .
How do we find out what overseas/international charities are involved in the area that we want to donate in?
Local government will often have information on charities registered or operating in the area. If you still have questions, you can contact the charity and ask them how they plan to use donations.
The group we want to donate to is not a registered charity, is it ok to still donate to them?
There is no restriction in New Zealand to only give to registered charities. Many organisations are doing great work, but they may not be registered as a charity. You won't be able to find them on our Register, but as most will have a website you can find more about their work there. They also may be incorporated as a society or trust board with the Companies Office where you can find more information.