Give to charities that have an established system of internal controls in place, like the American Red Cross.
It makes me proud to be an American when I see the generosity of my friends and neighbors, who like millions of other Americans have stepped up their charitable giving in an effort to ease the pain of the victims of the devastating earthquake in Haiti.
Like many others, I want to ensure that the charitable dollars that I give will do the most good…so in a time of crisis, how do you know which charity to support? Because I am a Certified Fraud Examiner, I can tell you that there is no way to avoid fraud completely. There is always a chance that an individual may commit fraud, even at a respected charity. However, that worry does not preclude us, as a society, from our moral obligation to help others in a time of need.
When I give, I seek out charities that seem to have strong internal controls in place. I look for organizations that specialize in charitable works, rather than contributing to smaller groups that seem to “dabble.” I also look for charities that have low administrative costs. Websites like Charity Navigator can help you make the right decision for your charitable giving.
What to Avoid
Because there are so many people in this country who are profoundly and emotionally moved by the pictures they see on TV, and willing to give their money to help this painful situation, fraud and scams related to the earthquake in Haiti are running rampant. To combat these scammers, the FBI has issued the following list of guidelines:
- Do not respond to any unsolicited (spam) incoming e-mails, including clicking links contained within those messages.
- Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as surviving victims or officials asking for donations via e-mail or social networking sites.
- Verify the legitimacy of nonprofit organizations by utilizing various Internet-based resources that may assist in confirming the group’s existence and its nonprofit status rather than following a purported link to the site.
- Be cautious of e-mails that claim to show pictures of the disaster areas in attached files because the files may contain viruses. Only open attachments from known senders.
- Make contributions directly to known organizations rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf to ensure contributions are received and used for intended purposes.
- Do not give your personal or financial information to anyone who solicits contributions: Providing such information may compromise your identity and make you vulnerable to identity theft.
If you have the means, please give generously in times of disaster and economic hardship. If you decide to donate to a smaller organization, take the time to research it. When in doubt, in my opinion, the American Red Cross is a worthy place to donate for emergency response situations such as the earthquake in Haiti.
Which organizations do you support? Leave a comment below.
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