The rules this publication holds itself to.

Reporting. News, grants coverage and any analysis published on the site, including work by contributors and freelancers.

The ledger. Every donation, flow, country and grant record in the Charity Giving Tracker, and the figures derived from them.

Organization profiles. The narrative and the data on every organization page.

Frontline Watch. Every case of an aid worker killed, wounded, kidnapped or detained, and every person named in one.

Contributors are held to this document as a condition of publication. Where a contributor's own outlet or funder has an interest in a subject, it is disclosed on the piece.

Documents first. Financial figures come from annual reports, audited accounts, regulator filings, tax returns, foundation announcements and agency releases. Where a primary document exists, we use it rather than a summary of it.

Estimates are labelled. Modelled, projected or self-reported figures are never presented as counts. If a number is an estimate, the record says so and says whose estimate it is.

Two sources for contested claims. Any allegation of wrongdoing, misuse of funds or governance failure requires either documentary evidence or two independent sources before publication.

Anonymity is a last resort. Sources are named wherever possible. Anonymity is granted only where identification carries a real risk to someone's safety, employment or immigration status, and the reason is explained to the reader in general terms.

No pay for information. We do not pay sources for interviews, documents or access.

Uncertainty is stated. Where we cannot establish something, we say we cannot establish it. A gap in the record is reported as a gap, not filled with an inference.

What qualifies. A record represents a charitable commitment or disbursement that has been publicly documented. Pledges, commitments and paid-out grants are distinguished from one another rather than merged into a single figure.

Dating. Every entry carries the date of the event it describes, not the date we found it. Where only a period is known, the record reflects that period.

Currency. Amounts are normalized to US dollars so that entries can be compared across countries. The original reported figure remains the reference point for any correction.

Resolution. Recipients resolve to a single organization record and countries resolve to standard codes, so that money can be traced from origin to destination without double counting.

No double counting. Where a gift passes through an intermediary, it is recorded once. Re-granted money is not counted again as new giving.

Attribution. Every record carries its source. If a figure cannot be traced back to a document a reader could check, it does not go in the ledger.

Absence is not zero. An organization with no entries has not been assessed and found wanting — it means we have not yet documented its giving. Blank is blank, and the tracker does not treat it as a judgement.

Written, not generated from marketing copy. The about section is reported. It describes what an organization does, how it is funded, who runs it and what scale it operates at — in our words, not the organization's.

Scrutiny is included. Where an organization has faced substantiated criticism, regulatory action or documented controversy, the profile says so. A profile that reads like a brochure has failed this standard.

Board and governance data is factual. Named individuals are listed from public filings and official disclosures only.

Organizations cannot edit their own page. They can submit documents and request corrections under Section 06, which we assess like any other source. Nobody gets copy approval.

How to request one. Write to hello@charityjournal.org with the page or record, what is wrong, and the document that shows it. Requests supported by evidence are acted on fastest.

Response. We aim to acknowledge every correction request within three working days and to resolve it within ten.

Material errors are disclosed. Where a correction changes the meaning of a story or the substance of a figure, a correction notice is added to the page stating what was wrong and when it was fixed. Typographical fixes are made silently.

We do not quietly delete. Stories and records are not removed to settle a complaint. Where something should never have been published, it is corrected or retracted with a note explaining why, and the note stays up.

Revisions to the ledger are made in place. A superseded figure is replaced rather than left standing alongside its replacement, so that the record shows one current answer.

No coverage is for sale. No payment adds a row to the ledger, removes one, moves a position in a league table, or changes what a story says.

Commercial relationships are disclosed. The site is funded by display advertising, paid placement that keeps a specific article outside the paywall, paid job listings, and paid services offered to organizations in the sector. None of these confer editorial influence, and paid placement is labelled on the article where it appears.

Editorial and commercial are separated. Advertisers and clients receive no advance sight of coverage and no right to review it. Being a customer is not a reason to be covered, and it is not a reason to be spared.

Personal interests are declared. Anyone writing for Charity Journal must disclose employment, consultancy, board membership, donations or family ties to an organization they are covering. Where a conflict cannot be managed, the piece is reassigned.

Gifts and hospitality. We do not accept gifts, paid travel or hospitality from organizations we cover. Where attendance at an event is funded by an organizer, it is disclosed in the resulting coverage.

A named human is accountable for every published word. Nothing publishes without editorial review, and responsibility for what appears rests with the editor, never with a tool.

Software is never a source. Facts, figures and quotations come from documents and people. No claim enters a story or the ledger because a model produced it.

No synthetic people, quotes or images. We do not publish fabricated quotations, invented sources, or generated imagery presented as documentary. Illustrations that are not photographs are labelled as illustrations.

Approach before publication. Where a story makes a substantive allegation about an organization or a person, we put it to them before publishing and allow reasonable time to respond. A refusal to comment is reported as such.

Responses are represented fairly. Where a reply is given, its substance appears in the piece — not a fragment chosen to look weak.

Complaints. Complaints about accuracy, fairness or conduct go to hello@charityjournal.org and are reviewed by the editor. You will receive a reasoned answer, including where we conclude no change is warranted.

Escalation. If a complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction, say so in writing and it will be reviewed again, in full, by someone who did not handle it first where that is possible.

Legal threats do not shortcut this process. A demand backed by a lawyer receives the same assessment as one backed by evidence — we correct what is wrong, and we do not withdraw what is right.