Unregistered charity

[Cheripie64]

I have been lucky enough to get a Christmas bonus this year.
Im a keen animal lover and have seen a very worthwhile cause of a rescue for mainly golden retrievers. They have rescued a lot of the breed from a disgusting kill centre in Bosnia, where the dogs ĺive in filth and all are underfed and have lots of health issues, and are treated very roughly and cruel.
I want to help, and have asked for their charity number and they have advised they are waiting for it from the charity commission.
Should I just donate or could this be a scam?

There is a large following on facebook, photos on Twitter certainly look legitimate.
Maybe I am just being cynical, but really want to make sure the donation gets to these poor dogs.
I feel a bit nasty questioning these wonderful people really.
What would you do?

Avoid! Unfortunately if you are in any doubt don't do it.

This might help: www.theguardian.com/society/2009/oct/12/setting-up-charity-law

How do you know they're wonderful people? Anybody can post anything, pretend to be anyone... It doesn't make you nasty to engage critical thought and evaluate whether somebody is all they claim. Lots of followers doesn't mean it's legit. If the emotive way you've written about it is how they have I'm not surprised lots of people have been drawn in.

Could be entirely legitimate, of course, but you can keep the money safe until registration comes through and you have some assurance the correct governance etc is in place.

Or you could research alternatives... There are lots of existing charities working hard to safeguard animals.

I’d rather give to a guaranteed bona fide charity. Our local animal rescue is facing closure next month if they don’t raise funds quickly. There are plenty of deserving causes.
Consider donating next year once the charity status is confirmed.

Avoid.
There are many registered and regulated charities that specifically look after dogs or even animals. Give to one of those if that is what you want to do with your money.