Guide to Claiming Your Charity Listing

Why claim your listing

• Update the public profile yourself: about text, mission, website, phone, email, address, social links, and more.
• Share a fundraising, donation, or crowdfunding link on your public listing so visitors can support you (we do not process payments — the link goes to your chosen third-party page).
• See how complete your public profile is and which fields help most — without locked features or paywalls for basic editing.
• Keep categories, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), beneficiaries, and transparency information current.
• Upload a logo, annual reports, and financial statements so donors and partners see accurate materials.
• Claimed listings show a Claimed trust badge on the charity page, signalling that an organisation representative manages the profile.

What you'll need

Before you start, have the following ready:

• A Charity Finder account. You must sign in to submit a claim so we can verify identity and follow up if needed.
• An email address you can open. An address on your charity's own domain (for example you@yourcharity.org) is ideal, but any address you control works. We send a confirmation link to that inbox before our team reviews the claim.
• A registration document for the organisation, such as:
  • IRD Section 88 letter / tax-exemption confirmation
  • Companies Registry certificate of incorporation
  • Societies Ordinance registration
  Accepted formats: PDF, PNG, JPG, or WebP, maximum 15 MB.
• Your name and role at the charity (for example Executive Director or Communications Manager). An optional note to reviewers can speed things up.

How it works

1. Find your organisation in the directory and open its page. Choose Claim this charity (or Request access if someone else already manages the listing).
2. Sign in if you are not already signed in. You will be returned to the claim form.
3. Complete the form: your name, role, organisation email, certificate upload, and an optional note.
4. Check the email you provided and click the confirmation link. This proves you control that inbox. Until you confirm, the claim stays in email verification and is not reviewed by the team.
5. After confirmation, our team reviews your details and the certificate. If approved, you receive access to edit the listing at Manage listing.

If you miss the confirmation email or need to correct something, you can submit the form again from the claim page; that resends a verification link with your latest details.

About domain matching

When you submit a claim, we check whether your organisation email's domain roughly matches the website domain we have on file for the charity. This is a soft check only — it never blocks a claim.

• Matching domain (for example the website is example.org and your email is person@example.org): the claim is still reviewed, but domain agreement is a helpful signal for reviewers.
• Different domain (personal email, free provider, or another org address): the claim is not rejected. It is simply flagged for a closer manual check, which can take a little longer. Your certificate and verification email remain the main evidence.
• No website on file: we cannot run the check. The claim proceeds like any other and is reviewed manually.

What you can edit once approved

Approved owners manage the listing from Manage listing. You can typically update:

• About and mission — English and Chinese about text, short excerpt, and mission statement.
• Contact — website, email, phone, WhatsApp, and address.
• Social and online presence — Facebook, X/Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, RSS feed (for passive "latest updates" on your page), newsletter sign-up URL, and intro video.
• Fundraising and donations — turn on a donate / crowdfunding CTA on your charity page, set the URL (for example your payment platform or in-house donate page), and customise the button label. Charity Finder does not process donations; we only display the link you provide.
• Directors — board / directors text as shown on the public page.
• Classification — categories, target beneficiaries, SDGs, organisation structure, and district focus.
• Transparency — toggles for annual report, financial audits, and directors listed on the website.
• Media and documents — logo, annual reports, and financial statements.

Manage listing also shows a profile completeness score and a soft checklist of missing fields. Completing fields improves how donors and partners experience your page; nothing is locked by score.

Planned (link-out, not a full events or volunteering platform): we plan additional "Get involved" links — for example volunteer (HandsOn, Time Auction, or your volunteer page), events (Eventbrite or your events page), and careers or partner open calls — so visitors go to the specialist tools you already use. We will not rebuild ticket registration, volunteer matching, or job applications on Charity Finder. Optional embeds or a short pinned announcement may come later; grant programmes for funders remain on Grant Finder.

What stays read-only

Official government and registry identity fields are not editable by owners, so the directory stays aligned with public records. That includes:

• Official names and aliases (English and Chinese, including subsidiary names) as reflected from IRD and related sources.
• Registration details such as charity number, business registration number (BRN), incorporation and effective dates, and society reference numbers.

If an official name or registration number is wrong, use Suggest a change or contact us rather than expecting the owner form to overwrite them.

If your claim is rejected

Reviewers may reject a claim if they cannot verify that you represent the organisation. You will be notified with any notes available. You can submit a new claim (from the charity page, Claim rejected — resubmit) with a clearer certificate, a different organisation email, or a fuller note to reviewers.

Tips for a smooth review

• Use a clear scan or PDF of an official registration document.
• Prefer an email on the same domain as the charity website when you have one.
• Mention your role and how you relate to the listed entity (especially for subsidiaries or parent bodies).
• Confirm the verification email promptly so the claim enters the review queue.