# Is charity-shop.org a real charity?

> No — and we say so plainly. Donations go to World Animal Rescue Network CIC, an asset-locked community interest company. The exact legal structure.

## Quick answer
No — Charity Shop is not a registered charity, and it never claims to be one. It is the online shop window of World Animal Rescue Network CIC, an asset-locked community interest company that receives every donation and directs funds to partner animal shelters across Asia, Africa and South America.

## The exact legal structure
Two organisations share one job. Charity Shop (charity-shop.org) is the shop window — it shows you costed gifts and sends you to the till. World Animal Rescue Network CIC is the rescue partner: a community interest company, registered in England & Wales, that receives and processes every donation on its secure platform.

A CIC is a not-for-profit company form regulated by the CIC Regulator, with a statutory asset lock written into its constitution: no shareholders, no dividends, no private gain. If the company ever closed, its remaining assets would pass by law to another asset-locked body — WARN’s nominated recipient is World Animal Protection, a registered charity.

## Why not just be a charity?
The CIC form lets a small organisation run fundraising infrastructure with charity-like locks but without charity-registration overheads at launch. The trade-off matters to donors: a CIC cannot claim Gift Aid — which is why you will never see a Gift Aid tick-box here. We’d rather be plain about the structure than imply a status that doesn’t exist.

## How can I check?
World Animal Rescue Network CIC’s company number and filing history are public at Companies House, linked from our about page. The about page states the full legal structure, the asset lock, and where the money goes.

## FAQs
### Does Charity Shop claim Gift Aid?
No. CICs cannot claim Gift Aid, so it is never offered on this site. Any site asking you to add Gift Aid to a donation here should be treated with suspicion.

### Who regulates World Animal Rescue Network CIC?
Community interest companies are regulated by the UK CIC Regulator and file annual accounts and a community interest report at Companies House, alongside the statutory asset lock.

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Source: https://charity-shop.org/answers/is-charity-shop-org-a-real-charity · Reviewed 17 July 2026 · Charity Shop UK — the online charity shop from World Animal Rescue Network (WARN).