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Health & Fitness

Want To Help Hurricane Victims? BBB Advises Donors To Check Charities Out Before Donating

If you want to donate to charities providing hurricane relief, the BBB can help you find charities that meet accountability standards.

Isaac has turned out to be a much less deadly storm than Katrina or Ivan, but pictures from the Gulf coast reveal that floodwaters from the storm have spread destruction over a wide area.

If you're motivated to help, the BBB advises you to check charities out carefully before giving aid. Some charities may not be equipped to provide relief to storm victims. And almost every disaster raises the possibility of scam charities trying to cash in on publicity about the storm.

The BBB has some general tips about donating to charities providing relief, listed below. But we also offer reports on more than 11,000 charities nationwide through our website. Our reviews look at how a charity handles its money, including how much of a donation is likely to end up helping people and how much goes into the pockets of fundraising firms. 

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The BBB evaluates charities based on 20 Standards of Charity Accountability, which address governance, finances, fundraising and effectiveness of a charity. BBB Accredited Charities must meet all 20 standards.

Here are our tips on making donations for hurricane relief:

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  • Rely on respected experts to evaluate a charity. Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers, because they may not have fully researched the listed relief organizations. The BBB provides a Wise Giving Guide to charities at www.bbb.org/charity. The guide shows which charities are accredited by the BBB and whether they meet the BBB’s 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
  • Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations assist victims. All charities have fund-raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card or text donation will involve at least, a processing fee.
  • Be cautious when giving online to unfamiliar charities. Be wary of spam messages and emails that claim to link to a relief organization. After the tsunami disaster in 2004, the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year, many websites and organizations created overnight allegedly to help victims turned out to be scams.
  • Find out if the charity has a presence in the affected areas. Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it may be difficult to get new aid workers into the area to provide assistance.  See if the charity’s website clearly describes what it can do to address immediate needs.
  • Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups. You may want to avoid the middle man and give directly to charities that have a presence in the region.  Check out the ultimate recipients of the donations to ensure that the organizations are equipped to effectively provide aid.
  • Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations may not be appropriate. Unless the organization has the staff and infrastructure to distribute such aid, the donations may be more of a burden than a help. Ask the charity about their transportation and distribution plans. Be wary of those who are not experienced in disaster relief.
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