EINs

Every charity has its own unique federal employer identification number (EIN), which it obtains by applying to the IRS. An EIN is typically a nine-digit number, shown like 12-3456789. A few charities have EINs with eight or fewer digits (normally shown with a leading zero like 01-2345678).

While charity names can be similar, no two charities have the same EIN. EIN checking is more precise than DNA testing.

We encourage charities to prominently display their EINs, to help donors find charities and avoid “charity” scams.

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While two charities may have very similar names, no two charities will have the same EIN (federal employer identification number).

• Because each charity has its own EIN, EINs are a great way to avoid confusion among charities.
• EINs are the fastest way to research specific charities.
• EINs are the quickest way to check whether an organization is actually a charity — and accordingly to avoid “charity” scams.

We encourage charities to prominently display their EINs, to help donors find charities and avoid “charity” scams.

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