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Free NGO Due Diligence Checklist Proportionate checks, ready in minutes

Choose who you're checking and what makes the relationship risky. You get a checklist with the evidence to keep for each check, based on UK Charity Commission, OFAC, EU and FATF R.8 guidance.

55checks in the library
4relationship types
4guidance frameworks
NGO due diligence checklist

Generated with complead.ai/free-tools/ngo-due-diligence-checklist

Standard risk

Implementing partner or grantee

For organizations that receive your funds or deliver programs with you. Showing the standard checks.

Completed
0 / 18

Standard risk, 18 checks.

Scope. This checklist covers the partner organization and its people, not aid beneficiaries.

Identity & registration

2

Governance & people

2

Screening

5

Financial controls

2

Agreement & end use

2

Ongoing monitoring

1

Decision & records

4

Guidance this checklist draws on

This checklist is general information, not legal advice. Adapt it to your own risk assessment and to the rules where you are registered and where you work.

Screen this partner now. Run the organization and its board through the free Sanctions Check. The PDF report is your evidence for the screening step.

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About partner due diligence

Proportionate

Higher-risk checks are added only when you tick a risk factor.

Evidence to keep

Every check says what to keep on file as proof it was done.

Mapped to guidance

UK Charity Commission, US OFAC and IRS, EU and FATF R.8.

Beneficiaries out of scope

The checklist covers partners and their people, not the people who receive aid.

Are you a nonprofit?

complead for Good gives you free sanctions and PEP screening for 12 months if your annual budget is under $500K.

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Frequently asked questions

What is NGO partner due diligence?

It's the set of checks a charity runs before and during a relationship with a partner, supplier, donor or trustee. You confirm who they are, assess the risk, screen them against sanctions lists and make sure funds are used as intended. Regulators expect the checks to fit the risk.

Do I need every item on the list?

No. The generator adds the higher-risk items only when you tick a risk factor. For a low-risk, long-standing partner the standard checks are usually enough. Record why you chose the level you did.

Should we screen the people who receive aid?

This checklist doesn't cover aid beneficiaries. The ICRC and humanitarian coalitions treat screening of final beneficiaries as a red line. Where your program works in a sanctioned context, check whether a humanitarian exemption applies.

How often should we repeat the checks?

At the start, when key facts change (new board members, a new bank account, a new location) and at renewal. For high-risk relationships, continuous sanctions monitoring is good practice.

What is the checklist based on?

The UK Charity Commission's due diligence guidance, OFAC's Risk Matrix for the Charitable Sector, EU sanctions practice and FATF's 2023 best practices paper on non-profit organizations. The links are under the checklist.