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Home Tips > Useful > Fraudulent Charities In Time Of Crisis Or Disaster Rely On Expert Opinion When It Comes To Evaluating A Charity Organization To Donate When it comes to Charities in Time of Crisis or Disaster
The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance warns that fraudulent charities will likely emerge to try and scam donations from well-meaning People
The alliance offers these six tips to help consumers decide where to send donations:
Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers or other Web sites, as they might not have fully researched the listed relief organizations. Consumers can go to www.bbb.org/charity to research charities and organizations to verify that they're accredited by the BBB and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims.
Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fund raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will involve, at a minimum, a processing fee.
Be cautious when giving online.
Use caution, especially in response to spam messages and e-mails that claim to link to a relief organization.
Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas.
Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it may be difficult to get new aid workers to quickly provide assistance. See if the charity's Web site describes what they can do to address immediate needs.
Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups.
Some charities may be raising money to pass along to relief organizations. If so, you may want to consider "avoiding the middleman" and giving directly to charities that have a presence in the region.
Gifts of clothing, food, or other in-kind donations.
In-kind drives for food and clothing may not be the quickest way to help those in need, unless the organization has the staff and infrastructure to be able to properly distribute such aid. Ask the charity about their transportation and distribution plans. Be wary of those who aren't experienced in disaster relief assistance.
The Washington Secretary of State's Office advises consumers to donate directly to the charitable organizations that are properly registered and helping the cause. If the group is soliciting funds in Washington, it must be registered with this office.
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