BBB Wise Giving Alliance provides eight tips for
donating wisely
ARLINGTON, VA., May 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As
evidence of the devastation in Myanmar continues to
mount, many Americans are looking for ways to help by
donating to a relief organization or charity. The Better
Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance warns that -- as
occurred following the tsunami disaster in 2004 --
fraudulent charities will likely emerge to try and scam
donations from well-meaning Americans.
"Whenever there is a major natural disaster, be it home or
abroad, there are two things you can count on. The first is
the generosity of Americans to donate time and money
to help victims, and the second is the appearance of poorly
run and in some cases fraudulent charities," said Art
Taylor, President
and CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance. "Not only do
Americans need to be concerned about avoiding fraud, they
also need to make sure their money goes to competent relief
organizations that are equipped and experienced to handle
the unique challenges of providing assistance in Myanmar."
BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers the following eight tips to
help Americans decide where to direct donations and
ensure that their money provides the most benefit to the
victims in Myanmar:
Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a
charity. Be cautious when relying on third-party
recommendations such as bloggers or other Web site
references, as they might not have fully researched the
listed relief organizations. The public can go to
www.bbb.org/charity to research charities and relief
organizations to verify that they are accredited by the BBB
and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.
Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground continuing
presence in Myanmar. Because of the stringent conditions in
Myanmar, unless the charity already has staff inside
the country, it will be difficult for new aid workers to
attain visas and ultimately accomplish aid assistance
in the country. Check out organizations at
www.InterAction.org -- the nation's largest coalition of
international relief organizations -- to verify which aid
organizations are currently active in Myanmar.
Find out who will benefit in Myanmar and what type of
assistance they will be provided. The immediate needs
in Myanmar are food, water, shelter, transportation and
clean-up efforts. Because it has not been determined how
long organizations will be permitted to operate in
Myanmar, long-term goals might not be
achieved.
Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will
assist Myanmar 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. If a charity claims 100 percent of
collected funds will be
assisting Myanmar victims, the truth is that the
organization is still
probably incurring fund raising and administrative expenses.
They may use
some of their other funds to pay this, but the expenses will
still be
incurred.
Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising
money for other
groups that are active in Myanmar.
Some charities may be raising money to pass along to relief
organizations that
are already active in the region. If so, you may want to
consider "avoiding
the middleman" and giving directly to charities that have a
presence in the
Myanmar. Or, at a minimum, check out the ultimate recipients
of these
donations to ensure the organizations are equipped to
effectively provide aid.
Be cautious when giving online.
Be cautious about online giving, especially in response to
spam messages and
emails that claim to link to a relief organization. In
response to the tsunami
disaster, there were concerns raised about many Web sites
and new
organizations that were created overnight allegedly to help
victims.
Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations are not
recommended.
In-kind donation assistance is not practical. Most foreign
relief
organizations prefer cash donations so that supplies can be
purchased near the
relief site. In-kind drives for food and clothing--while
well
intentioned--will not end up being delivered to those in
need in Myanmar.
If tax deduction is a concern, donate domestically.
To help ensure your contribution is tax deductible, the
donation should be
made to a U.S.-based charitable organization that is tax
exempt under section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Go to IRS
Publication 78 on
www.irs.gov for a current list of all organizations eligible
to receive
contributions deductible as charitable gifts.
For more information on BBB Wise Giving Alliance and to view
more than one
thousand BBB Wise Giving Reports(TM) on charities and relief
organizations
across the nation go to www.bbb.org/charity.
To schedule an interview with a BBB spokesperson on donating
wisely to Myanmar
relief efforts, contact Alison Preszler at 703-247-9376.
About BBB Wise Giving Alliance
BBB Wise Giving Alliance helps donors make informed giving
decisions and
advances high standards of conduct among organizations that
solicit
contributions from the public. The Alliance produces
in-depth evaluative
reports on national charities based on comprehensive
Standards for Charity
Accountability and publishes the Wise Giving Guide, a
quarterly magazine on
philanthropic issues.
About BBB (www.us.bbb.org)
BBB is an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and
upholds high
standards for fair and honest business behavior. BBB
provides objective
advice, free business BBB Reliability Reports(TM) and
charity BBB Wise Giving
Reports(TM), and educational information on topics affecting
marketplace
trust. To further promote trust, BBB also offers complaint
and dispute
resolution support for consumers and businesses when there
is difference in
viewpoints. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 126
BBBs serve
communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and
monitoring nearly 4
million local and national businesses and charities. Please
visit
www.us.bbb.org for more information about BBB.
SOURCE Better Business Bureau (www.bbb.org)
Alison Preszler of Better Business Bureau, +1-703-247-9376, |
