The real, current formula — no vague claims, just what the code actually does
FundTracker is early-stage, and our current scoring formula is intentionally simple: it measures how much verifiable information an NGO has published, combined with the scale of funds they've raised through campaigns tracked on our platform. It is not a full charity-vetting system yet, and we want to be upfront about exactly what it does and doesn't account for.
Every NGO starts with a base score of 50. Points are added based on data completeness and campaign scale:
A published website URL, sourced from GlobalGiving's organization data.
A mission or summary description is on file for the organization.
A logo was available from the source platform.
Scaled logarithmically, so early campaigns aren't unfairly penalized against long-running ones — raising more contributes more, but with diminishing returns.
Capped at 10 points, so having many campaigns doesn't dominate the score.
The final score is capped between 40 and 99. This means the score currently reflects how complete an NGO's public profile is and how much they've raised — not an independent audit of their financial integrity, tax status, or program outcomes.
Separately, individual campaigns (not NGOs) get a trend score used to sort our Trending page, weighted as:
How close the campaign is to its stated goal.
Funds raised relative to how long the campaign has been active.
Newer campaigns are weighted slightly higher to keep Trending fresh.
A function of total funds raised, used as a rough proxy for donor activity.
Campaign and NGO data currently comes from:
We're working toward incorporating registration verification, financial transparency reporting, and independent evaluator data (such as Charity Navigator or GiveWell) into future versions of this score. Until that's live, please treat the current Trust Score as a data-completeness indicator, not a full vetting result.
FundTracker scores are a starting point for research, not a substitute for it. Always review an organization's own published financials and verify registration status directly before donating.