Charity Christmas gifts: five things to check before you buy

Every Christmas, shelves fill with products that promise to support a good cause. Most of them are exactly what they claim to be. A few are vague in ways that matter. These are the five things worth checking before you buy, and they take about a minute.

1. Is the charity named, with its registered number?

A genuine charity partnership names the charity and gives its registered charity number. In Ireland you can check that number on the public register kept by the Charities Regulator at charitiesregulator.ie. A Northern Ireland charity has a separate number with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. If a product says only that it supports "a children's charity" or "cancer research", there is nothing for you to check.

2. Does it say how much goes to the charity?

"A portion of proceeds" tells you nothing. "€10 from every bauble" tells you everything. The advertising rules in Ireland are on your side here: the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland's code requires marketing that claims to benefit a charity to state the extent of that benefit, and the Consumer Protection Act 2007 prohibits misleading commercial practices generally. If the amount is not stated, ask, and treat a vague answer as an answer.

3. Is it per item, or a total?

There is a real difference between "€10 from each one goes to the charity" and "we will donate €500 from this range". Both can be honest. Only the first one changes when you buy.

4. Does the charity know about it?

Charity fundraising guidance in Ireland recommends a written agreement between a business and the charity it is raising funds for. That is not a legal requirement for selling a product with a donation attached, but it is good practice, and a seller who has it will usually say so. We say it on our own page, because the Trust gave us a letter of authorisation before we sold anything.

5. Can you see a total afterwards?

Ask whether the amount raised will be published or made available on request. A campaign that intends to tell you what it raised will say so in advance.

Our own answers to those five questions

Home at Last is a Christmas bauble campaign run by Happy Home Decor in Kilkenny. The charity is the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, registered charity 20102937 in Ireland and NIC100314 in Northern Ireland. €10 from every bauble goes to the Trust, per bauble, not as a capped total. The Trust gave us written permission before the campaign opened. A current or final total is available on request.

The Trust is volunteer-led and funded by donations. When someone from Ireland dies suddenly or tragically abroad, it helps their family bring them home, and it helps anyone who needs it regardless of background or circumstance. Bringing one person home costs on average between €6,000 and €7,000. The Trust has brought 2,612 people home, from 88 countries, to families in all 32 counties. In January it brought Martina's son Kyle home to his family in Kilkenny, which is why the two sisters behind Happy Home Decor are doing this.

The baubles are hand-blown at Jerpoint Glass in Co. Kilkenny, cost €29.99, and come gift boxed with a story card. You can read the full story on the Home at Last campaign page or buy one on the product page.