The Charity Commission has published advice for people who want to give to charities during the Olympics to make sure they donate only to the real thing.

The Commission’s safer giving advice encourages anxious donors to use its website to check the charity’s name and registration number, where all registered charities are listed on the Commisions' online register. A mobile version of the site is now available.

Other advice includes checking whether a collector is wearing a proper ID badge; making sure that the collecting tin has a seal and that it is not damaged; and asking collectors how much of the donation is going directly to the charity, in order to make an informed choice before giving.

The Commission’s own online guidance on good practice CC20 Charities and Fundraising is available on its website. The sector regulator also recommends that those wishing to learn more read the Fraud Advisory Panel’s document Giving Safely, which can be found on its own website.

There will be an estimated 1.2 million visitors coming to the UK for the Olympic Games 2012 during July and August, alongside the millions of Britons who will be attending the event. 

Safe giving during Ramadam

The Charity Commission is also offering advice for giving during the Muslim festival of Ramadam.

Many of the community organisations and Mosques that people give to during this period are also registered charities.

Therefore the Commission and the Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) are reiterating the importance of checking that the charity you donate to is on the Commission’s register, and of following its safer giving advice.

The sector regulator is giving particular emphasis to television and radio appeals, which it says are particularly prevalent during Ramadan. Ofcom rules say charity appeals are allowed in programming only if they are broadcast free of charge, but charities can pay for fundraising adverts. More about Ofcom’s rules for charity appeals is available  on its website here. 

In relation to appeals running on satellite channels by organisations that may be based outside the UK, the Charity Commission only has jurisdiction over charities registered in England and Wales, and so it encourages donors who want the security of knowing they are giving to regulated charities to give to those registered in England and Wales.

Maulana Muhammad Sarfraz Madni, Chairman of the Mosques & Imams National Advisory Board (MINAB) said: "Many people will be giving very generously during the holy month of Ramadan and there are many charities that will be fundraising at the moment.

“By donating to charities registered with the Charity Commission, donors can have additional confidence that their donation will be used properly. Registered charities also benefit from the guidance and advice provided by the Commission. I would like to wish everyone Ramadan Mubaarak."

The Charity Commission is also urging any organisations that are charitable and are required to register to do so online on the its website. The Commission has produced some short adverts that can be found on YouTube in English, Urdu and Bengali publicising the benefits of registering as a charity.