(Getty Images)
Following natural disasters or public tragedies, people want to help as much as possible, which sometimes comes in the form of crowdfunding efforts and donations. To make sure that scammers don’t take advantage of your heartfelt efforts, the Better Business Bureau in Evansville IN and the BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance are offering the following tips:
Crowdfunding advice
Crowdfunding has become so popular that it is not unusual for fundraising to start within hours after a tragedy has occurred. Please keep in mind that while some crowdfunding sites take precautions in carefully screening, vetting and managing postings after a tragedy, others might not. If unsure, review the posting procedures described on the crowdfunding site and also find out about transaction fees and other specifics.
Does the appeal respect victims and their families?
Charitable organizations or crowdfunding postings raising funds should get permission from the families to use either the victims' names and/or any photographs of them. Don’t assume there is an official connection if photos are displayed.
How will donations be used?
Be cautious about vague appeals that don’t identify the intended use of funds. For example, is money being collected for funeral expenses, reconstruction or other family needs? Also, unless told otherwise, donors will assume that collected funds quickly collected after a tragedy will be distributed or spent just as quickly.
Tax Deductibility
Donor-restricted contributions to help a specific individual/family are not deductible in the U.S. as charitable donations, even if the recipient organization is a charity. See IRS Publication 526, page 7, for more information on this subject.
Review recent announcements to avoid duplication of effort.
Be mindful of public announcements that identify assistance being provided to victim families to help avoid donating to duplicative efforts.
Check out charities with BBB.
As always, we remind donors to check out charities by visiting BBB.org to verify if the charity meets the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. For additional donation advice, visit the BBB Wise Giving Alliance website at Give.org, the standards-based charity evaluator.
Local charities:
Red Cross
Salvation Army
United Way
ABOUT BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE: BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB’s Give.org) is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness of nationally soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 holistic standards that address charity governance, effectiveness reporting, finances, fundraising, appeal accuracy, and other issues. National charity reports are produced by BBB’s Give.org, and local charity reports are produced by local Better Business Bureaus – all reports are available at Give.org.
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. The International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.