CharityWatch listing

Nonprofit directory for us charities.

Cost to list: Editorial only; Editors choose; you can't buy in
Approval: Editorial review
Shows up in searches for: 1 business type; Top directory for 1
Popularity: Tranco #85,739; #700 of 1,712 directory sites
Countries: United States

Not established yet: whether links are dofollow. We leave gaps blank rather than guess. Checked Oct 20, 2026 · 3 sources

Is CharityWatch worth it?

Our reading of the measured data, not a score.

Yes, for some

Yes, for nonprofits.

CharityWatch made Google's top 10 in 3 of the 4 buyer searches we ran for the 1 business type it accepts, and was the top-ranked directory for 1 of those types. You can't buy or submit a listing; editors choose.

Strongest for: Nonprofits

What works

The top-ranked directory in Google for 1 business type, out of the 100 we searched
Editors choose what gets listed

Watch out for

We couldn't confirm it's live on Oct 20, 2026 (often bot protection)
Homepage returned a bot-challenge (HTTP 403) to automated checks on 2026-10-20; page content could not be read

Measured fit, by business type

How often CharityWatch made Google's top 10 in our US buyer searches for the types it accepts.

Nonprofits 3/4

Strong · best #1

See every search result →

Where CharityWatch shows up when people search

We ran 399 real buyer searches (Google US, desktop) for 100 business types on Oct 20, 2026 and recorded which directories made the organic top 10. Local packs and ads are not counted.

CharityWatch accepts 1 business type we measure. Here is every one, with what Google showed instead, so you can see where a listing would and wouldn't be found.

Nonprofits

3/4

CharityWatch ranked as high as #1 in 3 of these searches. Directories of any kind held 25% of the top-10 spots.

Directories

GreatNonprofits 2/4, GiveWell 1/4, Facebook Pages 1/4

Other sites

best-charities.org, forbes.com, give.org

Searches: “best charities to donate to”, “animal charities”, “top rated charities”, “charity ratings” result
Churches check eligibility

0/4

Not in the organic top 10, but cited in 1 AI Overview. Directories of any kind held 26% of the top-10 spots.

Directories

Yelp 3/4, Facebook Pages 1/4, Instagram 1/4

Other sites

reddit.com, hfotusa.org, revivekc.church

Searches: “church miami fl”, “best churches in kansas city”, “church sacramento”, “top rated churches omaha ne”

Bars show the searches where it made the organic top 10. "Directories" lists the tracked directories that did rank for the same searches, with their hit count. How we measure

What CharityWatch costs and who can list

As stated on CharityWatch's own pages or reported by a named source. Checked Oct 20, 2026.

Who can list: Nonprofits

Census audience: us charities · United States
Pricing: Editorial

CharityWatch states it does not charge organizations to be evaluated or listed and charities cannot pay for visibility or a favorable rating.
Approval: Editorial review. Editorial/invite-only: CharityWatch does not accept requests or applications from charities to be rated; it selects based on donor interest and watchdog priorities, generally charities with $1M+ annual public support, national interest and 3+ years in existence, adding roughly 15-20 charities per year. Primarily rates 501(c)(3) public charities (not churches, PACs, colleges, hospitals, museums).
Note: charitywatch.org returned a Cloudflare 403 to curl; browser pane unavailable, so profile link rel not inspected.
Sources: charitywatch.org/our-charity-rating-process
charitywatch.org/about-charitywatch/faq
charitywatch.org

Not established: link attribute (treat links as nofollow until you see the live profile). Prices and rules change; the linked pages are the authority.

How to get listed on CharityWatch

1
Prepare your details
- The community's own rules, read before posting
- An account with some genuine history
- A post that is useful on its own, not just a link
- Product URL, short description and images
Our standard checklist for this kind of site (community and consumer site), not a list published by CharityWatch.
2

Find the sign-up path

We haven't found a public submit page. Start from charitywatch.org.
3

Approval: editorial review

Editorial/invite-only: CharityWatch does not accept requests or applications from charities to be rated; it selects based on donor interest and watchdog priorities, generally charities with $1M+ annual public support, national interest and 3+ years in existence, adding roughly 15-20 charities per year. Primarily rates 501(c)(3) public charities (not churches, PACs, colleges, hospitals, museums).
4

Check the watch-outs

2 things to know before you post.

CharityWatch alternatives

Ranked by the same evidence: Google top-10 appearances for the business types CharityWatch serves, then audience fit, then Tranco popularity.

Questions about CharityWatch

Is CharityWatch worth it for getting listed?

Yes, for nonprofits. CharityWatch made Google's top 10 in 3 of the 4 buyer searches we ran for the 1 business type it accepts, and was the top-ranked directory for 1 of those types. You can't buy or submit a listing; editors choose. This is our reading of the measured data.

How much does a CharityWatch listing cost?

Editorial. What we found: CharityWatch states it does not charge organizations to be evaluated or listed and charities cannot pay for visibility or a favorable rating.. Checked Oct 20, 2026.

Is a link from CharityWatch dofollow?

Unknown. We haven't tested CharityWatch's link attribute and found no reliable report. Treat it as nofollow until you see the live profile.

How do I get listed on CharityWatch?

We haven't found a public submit page; start from charitywatch.org. Approval: editorial review (Editorial/invite-only: CharityWatch does not accept requests or applications from charities to be rated; it selects based on donor interest and watchdog priorities, generally charities with $1M+ annual public support, national interest and 3+ years in existence, adding roughly 15-20 charities per year. Primarily rates 501(c)(3) public charities (not churches, PACs, colleges, hospitals, museums).). Have your details ready first (see "How to list" above).

What are the best CharityWatch alternatives?

Ranked by the same evidence: GreatNonprofits, Charity Navigator, and GiveWell. The full list of 5 is above, with the searches each one appeared in.

Run CharityWatch?

Link to this profile with a TopDirs badge. Get the code →