By Daily Press staff
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, generous Californians are looking for ways to help survivors of the hurricane ravaged Gulf Coast. Many charities are encouraging those wishing to help to send money, but before you whip out that checkbook make sure you know who you’re donating to.
As the Better Business Bureau witnessed in the weeks following the Tsunami of 2004, many scam artists, posing as charities, attempted to take advantage of the public’s generosity by operating “agencies” that would collect and disperse donations. In many cases dollars donated to those “agencies” never end up assisting victims.
The Better Business Bureau encourages the public to contribute to causes that will assist families and victims of any catastrophe. But before you donate to any charity, consider the following: ■ Find out how the charity plans to use donations to address the needs of the victims. ■ Ask the charity for written information about its finances and programs, specifically what percentage of money donated will go to assists victims and what percentage goes to administrative costs. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance calls for at least 60 percent of donated money to go towards program services and not more than 35 percent to go toward administrative costs. ■ Before contributing online, over the phone or through the mail, make certain that the charity is properly registered with appropriate state government agencies. ■ If you contribute, do not give cash. Use a credit card, or make a check or money order out to the name of the charitable organization, not to the individual collecting the donation. ■ Do not give your credit card number or other personal information to a telephone solicitor or in response to an e-mail solicitation. Ask to be provided with written information on the charity’s programs and finances. ■ Remember that only donations to U.S.-based charities that have charitable tax exempt status can be deductible as charitable gifts for taxes purposes. ■ Check on a charity’s BBB report by calling the Better Business Bureau at (909) 835-6064 or by logging onto www.give.org.
Red flags that donors may be dealing with a scam artist: ■ Appeals that are long on emotion, but short on describing what the charity will do to address the needs of victims and their families. ■ Charities that are inexperienced in carrying out relief activities, but are suddenly announcing a new effort to address victims of Hurricane Katrina. ■ Charities that imitate the name and style of a well-known organization in order to confuse people. ■ If donating online, before clicking on the link to “donate,” look at the organization’s URL in the browser window. Exercise caution if the domain name is hidden, is not familiar to you, or is not the same as the one stated in the text of the link. Sell, sell, sell: Before you unload your business
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 8, 2005. Read the original PDF.