Editorial
Plain-spoken essays on how to research a nonprofit, what the IRS Form 990 actually tells you, and why the direct-to-charity Stripe merchant account model beats every platform that takes a cut of your gift. Written by the GIVE→ALIGN team for donors who want to give well, not just give often.
Published · June 7, 2026
Most online giving platforms quietly take 2–8% of your gift through processing fees, optional tips, or fund-balance lag. Here's how a dedicated-Stripe-merchant-account model eliminates those leaks entirely — and what to ask any platform claiming '100% goes to charity'.
Read the essayPublished · June 7, 2026
A nonprofit's Form 990 is the most powerful trust signal you can read in 90 seconds — but only if you know which five lines to look at. We walk through compensation, program-services ratio, governance, and the two red flags that should give you pause.
Read the essayPublished · June 15, 2026
We refuse to ship a hand-wavy '93% match' that no one can audit. Here's the line-by-line breakdown of the deterministic scoring function — cause overlap, region fit, verification, transparency, AI ranking — and why every number is reproducible.
Read the essayWhile you wait
The why behind GIVE→ALIGN — from a 12-year-old who once wished for a list of every nonprofit working on what she cared about.
Read the founder note
