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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Unregistered charity

28 replies

Cheripie64 · 19/12/2018 22:20

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 ?ive 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?

OP posts:

Wolfiefan · 19/12/2018 22:20

Well I wouldn’t start two threads about it.

Knittedfairies · 19/12/2018 22:32

No charity number, no donation. Find another charity that does the same work.

HeffalumpsDaughter · 19/12/2018 22:36

I’ve seen a few similar charities in places like Romania that some of my friend post about on FB. They make me feel uncomfortable, but I’m not really sure why. They all seem to be so desperate and saying things like ‘if we can’t raise x amount this dog will be sent to the kill centre’. They often seem to be individuals rather than actual charities. I may be cynical but I wouldn’t be happy donating to a place like that.

Shriek · 19/12/2018 22:38

Golden retriever rescue in Bosnia?!?! .

Many golden retrievers in Bosnia?

Having a Facebook account obviously means nothing.

Why two threads?

greyspottedgoose · 19/12/2018 22:39

Are they quite specific? Like a terrier in Bosnia would be left to die and they would save the money for retrievers only? 🤔

Original poster

Cheripie64 · 19/12/2018 23:12

Posted twice as first post did not appear to post, no need to be stroppy about it.
I did say mostly gr as they are a breed specific rescue, they have tried to get other breed specific rescues to help. There are crosses too.

OP posts:

RedOrange21 · 19/12/2018 23:17

Is the charity UK based or Bosnia based? Not sure they would get a UK charity number if not connected to the UK. In any case it does take a while to get set up as a charity.

Original poster

Cheripie64 · 19/12/2018 23:19

UK based, they only rehome in the UK

OP posts:

Honestlyofficer · 19/12/2018 23:30

There is a group called Serbia's Forgotten Paws, who do all you say, are definitely genuine and have a Golden retriever and labrador offshoot. They ARE a registered charity and do the most amazing and selfless work, rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming these beautiful and abused dogs. Check them out.. they may be just what you're looking for. www.facebook.com/groups/RGRAL/

Genevieva · 19/12/2018 23:41

There are unwanted golden retrievers in Romania and the countries of the former Yugoslavia. It was a fashionable breed there a while ago, a bit like French bulldogs here at the moment.

Charities do take time to register and get a number. They may or may not be doing good things with or without a charity number, but you can't do gift aid for a charitable organisation that is not properly registered and they are not regulated. There are different types of charities. To register as a charitable company you have to show a minimum annual revenue of about £5,000, which can be hard for small charitable organisations to do.

Jack65 · 19/12/2018 23:44

No charity number and operating as a charity in the UK? Very dodgy. Save your money and donate to a proper charitable cause.

SheCameFromGreeceSheHadaThirst · 19/12/2018 23:53

Should I just donate or could this be a scam?

Any 'unregistered' charity could be a scam, that's pretty obvious. Until they have a charity number you have nothing to go on other than your emotional response to their posts, and whether they are legitimate or not, it's that emotional response that they're banking on.

If you're not 100% convinced it's legitimate, why would you donate?

If you are 100% convinced it's legitimate, why do you need to ask what you should do?

BeachtheButler · 19/12/2018 23:56

In my view, no charity number = no donation. The fact that you need to ask the question indicates that you are doubtful.

Earslaps · 20/12/2018 00:01

Very small charities can be unregistered, if you raise under £5k/year you cannot actually register with the charity Commission unless you form a charitable company.

So go with your instincts- if it feels wrong don't donate. You could always write to them and ask about charitable status- if they are legit they should be able to explain the above and might be prepared to show some basic accounts.

Original poster

Cheripie64 · 20/12/2018 00:05

I am a bit doubtful, but not because anything the rescue has said or done, just because the world seems to be full of scammers, I can be a bit cynical.
Thank you and others that have made reasonable responses.

OP posts:

FlubQueen · 20/12/2018 00:21

Please don't go with an unregistered animal rehoming charity.

I used to work in the sector and saw small registered animal charities, who worked as campaigns organisations (ie, not specialist rehoming organisations) touting out animals when they had no expertise of vetting the animals or owners.

There are plenty of dogs in your part of the UK that need help.

FlubQueen · 20/12/2018 00:29

Sorry, if misread and thought you were looking to rehome a dog, rather than donate.

I'd still really steer clear of unregistered charities. There was a case near me a of "dog rescue" where the dogs were used for dogfighting, which was horrible. If you don't want to go for one of the bigger animal charities, pick a small one that does good work locally that's happy to register.

jigsawpiece · 20/12/2018 01:01

Unregistered charities can have a really tough time. You cannot register until you're over £5,000 turnover per year... yet you often can't get grants etc until you're registered, so it's a catch 22 situation.

However, you do not have to be registered as a charity to receive Gift Aid. You can achieve this by registering with HMRC as a "Charity For Tax Purposes". You can do this at any stage, at any level of turnover. Might be worth asking if they've done this?

Poster65 · 20/12/2018 14:02

I think its so sad that a lot of people think unregistered charities cannot be trusted. I agree with jigsaw piece so much - its hard for charities to boost their turnover and apply for grants when they cant apply to be a registered charity because they dont have enough turnover.

It takes some research but don't let it put you off supporting small charities, they really need you! I hope this thread educates some people!

Thats not to say in the OPs case that its not a scam, it could well be.

BarbaraofSevillle · 20/12/2018 14:14

It doesn't necessarily follow that an unregistered charity is a scam or is useless in it's work.

I foster cats for a 'voluntary organisation' that is very much transparent in it's finances, competent at what it does and one of the largest and most prominent rescue organisations in our city, it's just that the people who run it have chosen not to get tangled up in the bureacracy of dealing with the Charities Commision.

And being a registered charity is no way a marker of competence or respectability. Chuggers, hounding for more donations from those who already give, highly paid executives, nepotism, the list goes on.

ErickBroch · 20/12/2018 14:24

Work for a charity. I would not give to an unregistered charity personally however would give to individuals? I would give your best judgement and if you are only donating a small amount and it seems fine, then go for it.

eightoclock · 20/12/2018 14:43

Do you really think importing dogs from the other end of Europe is a good use of charity money? There are plenty of dogs in the UK killed because they don't have homes.
It costs a lot to import these dogs and they bring with them diseases and are often not suitable to be pets. It is not beneficial for animal welfare. Someone will be making plenty of money on this. Especially as they are only 'rescuing' a specific breed. Quite possibly the dogs are stolen to order.
Money you donate to animal rescue charities in the UK will go 50 times further. (Obviously do some research and choose a deserving one)

Estrelizia · 20/12/2018 14:52

Monkey World in Dorset do fantastic work looking after rescued apes and monkeys ,I'm sure you will have seen their never ending series on telly . But they are not registered as a charity so although charity registration is an indicator it may not always mean that non registered ones are not to be trusted although I would be cautious about overseas rescues and always donate to ones here in the UK where we have plenty of our own deserving animals.

TeaByTheSeaside · 20/12/2018 14:55

A lot of these "rescues" pose as charities but are in fact businesses. Making money out of transporting dogs into the country and "selling" to people like you.

Be very careful, OP.

Seniorschoolmum · 20/12/2018 15:01

If you want to donate, fair enough, but do it after they have their charity number, which you can check. Or just give it to Blue Cross instead.

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