I’ve written a number of pieces about the various groups trying to get your money who then turn around and pocket most of it. It’s a real problem for donors so I put together this quick list that helps you donate with confidence.

As Ronald Reagan said, “Trust but verify.”

1) Research Them On Open Secrets

You want to get a sense of where they spend their money and it only takes a few minutes to check this out on Open Secrets.

Here’s a video I made that shows you how to do it: it’s easy! Do this and you’ll be ahead of 99% of the people who donate.

2) Do A Google or Bing Search On The Leadership

Figure out who is running the group; the President or treasurer, then do a quick search on their name,

In the case of the group Patriots for Economic Freedom that I’ve written about, a simple search shows that group treasurer Tyler Whitney doesn’t appear to be the conservative he purports to be, for example.

Hint: make sure you look a couple of pages into the search results. Sometimes, that’s where the interesting stuff is.

3) Ask Them!

Almost all these groups have email addresses or phone numbers listed, so why not reach out and ask them a question or two.

How much do you spend on candidates? What percentage of your money goes to fundraising and administation?

You’ve already searched them so you know the answer but you don’t need to tell them that.

You’ll find that the shadier groups won’t even return your phone call or email…people clamming up when asked simple questions is a good sign that they may be hiding something.

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I’m exposing corruption and trying to keep people from wasting their money but I need your help : please hit my tip jar to support my reporting.