RealityCharity wants to make sure you can feel good about doing good, and rest assured that you know where your hard-earned money is going. We protect the integrity, safety and security of our special philanthropic community by implementing strict identity verification techniques, similar to those employed by top financial institutions and others.

Users in the United States are strongly encouraged to undergo an automated online identity verification system through our partner, Equifax. This process is secure and confidential and only takes a few minutes. Users in other countries (as well as those that fail the online system) may be verified through a rigorous, offline manual identity verification process. Everyone on RealityCharity has the ability to have their identity verified.

You can immediately recognize people who have been identity verified. When you see the icon next to a username, we have successfully verified the actual identity of that user to make sure that he or she (or an organization) is indeed who they claim to be. If you do not see the icon, then we have not.

RealityCharity strongly discourages you from donating to those who are not identity verified, unless you know the Fundraiser personally.

The online verification system asks you personal questions that only you should know the answer to, using multiple data sources. You may be asked some very specific questions from your credit report. This is considered a "soft inquiry" and therefore does not impact your credit score at all, and is not an application for credit or creditworthiness. If you have not seen your Equifax credit report very recently, we strongly recommend that you download a current copy of one now to review alongside your online application, or even a legitimate person is likely to accidentally fail the online identity verification process.

To instantly receive a current copy of your credit report from Equifax now:

Click Here to View Your Equifax Credit Report Now

Note that the identity verification process does not verify whether the cause that the user is raising money for is “worthy” or “legitimate.” We recommend that all Fundraisers provide some documentary evidence on their donation page that is visible by the public to “verify” their need or cause and bolster their claim, but we cannot verify the authenticity of the documentation provided. Instead, RealityCharity is a self-policing community, like Craigslist, eBay®, and many others. Like other sites, we actively monitor the activity on the site for violations of our Terms of Use, and provide a "Report Abuse" link to the public on each listing page. Identity verification drastically diminishes the threat of potential fraudsters, as it removes their ability to remain anonymous. Not only does this serve as an enormous deterrent for the "bad guys," but it also allows the public to readily spot and report any fraudulent activity, whereby we may cooperate with the relevant authorities. The following image is an example of how documentary evidence may be available for download directly on a listing page:

For the most part, however, we strive to allow you to make your own decisions about where your hard-earned money should go. After all, the term "worthy cause" is highly subjective. At RealityCharity, we feel that everyone with a need or cause deserves a voice, no matter how unusual. We encourage you to donate to those that resonate with you.