Answer: For IRS purposes, you don’t get a charitable contribution deduction unless you made your donation to a Qualified Organization (QO). To be a QO, the organization must
- Be a church or
- Be a government or
- Apply to the IRS
Concerning category #3, if it’s not listed in IRS Publication 78 it’s not a QO — and you don’t get a charitable contribution deduction. The latest IRS Publication 78 is available online only. Be careful: many organizations have similar names, and an organization could be listed by a former name or “aka” name.