How to Avoid the Trap of Donating to Charity
An estimated 2,300 children have been separated from their parents as a result of the Trump administration’s immigration policies. While President Trump signed a decree on Wednesday to change his stance on family separation (the zero-tolerance policy is still in place, which means people will continue to be prosecuted), it does not reunite those who have already been divided.
In many cases, parents cannot afford bail or are deported before they are reunited with their children, and images of children locked up in prison-like conditions and reports of rampant violence and neglect have fueled ire and mobilization across the country.
Only a person can want to help in any way possible, and for many people this means giving money to organizations and charities that do a good job. While you shouldn’t be deterred from making concessions in difficult times, you should also watch out for scammers who use people’s pain for financial gain.
After nearly every major incident in the United States – from 9/11 to Sandy Hook and Hurricane Katrina – fake charities and organizations sprout up to rob unsuspecting good Samaritans.
Here’s how to avoid being cheated.
Do your research
There are several places where you can research organizations and how they use their funds:
A good rule of thumb is to look for organizations that spend less than 20 percent of their funds on overhead costs, which you can find in the Charity Navigator.
One reason to donate to a larger organization is that they have the knowledge and experience to use the funds and not be overwhelmed by the influx of donations. A small shop run by people with no experience in managing millions of dollars will likely not be able to make the most of that money (and this problem has cropped up over and over after catastrophic events like the Sandy Hook massacre and even Hurricane Harvey ).
But this is not reliable. The New York Times reported, for example, on the Red Cross’s failed relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina, and ProPublica and NPR detailed how the Red Cross dropped a ball after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.
After natural disasters, new charities and organizations appear that intend to do good, and they will not have ratings on these sites. In this case, you can examine their website to see how the money will be used. If they do not have any information, this is a bad sign – and in fact, it will most likely violate the terms of the deal. The desire to raise money is fine, but the organization needs to have a plan for how it will be dispersed in the first place.
Another way to donate is that companies like GoFundMe check fundraising campaigns and update information on how money is being spent. To help families at the border, see this page .
Ask where your money goes
If you are giving money and cannot find on the organization’s website where it is going to, you can ask what it will be used for, or even indicate how the funds should be distributed. If the organization’s representatives are evasive or vague, consider sending money elsewhere.
Don’t donate to social media …
Donating via Twitter and Facebook is easy, but experts advise against it. The same is true for text messages and emails – scammers can easily send out phishing emails or fake text alerts. The best way to donate is directly through the organization’s website.
… with smart exceptions
However, the Center for Education and Legal Services for Refugees and Immigrants (RAICES) in Texas is the recipient of funds from a viral Facebook campaign to raise money to reunite children with their parents. It has raised over $ 15 million to date, which might seem like a huge amount for an obscure non-profit organization. But RAICES has a detailed breakdown of how the funds will be used:
- Legal Representation, Advocacy and Education (LEAF) Project : This project ensures that released unaccompanied children are represented in Texas “so they don’t have to do it alone.”
- Family Reunification and Bond Fund: Our Families FREE: This fund “supports legal services for detained separated parents and direct funding of bonds to release parents.” The bonds for these parents are set at a minimum of $ 1,500, and most often range from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000, according to RAICES.
Also important: Facebook does not charge a fee for charitable donations that are processed through the fundraising feature (places like GoFundMe do charge a fee, although they do opt out in some cases). You can also donate directly through the organization’s website if you want to help but don’t want to donate through Facebook, or if you want to become a RAICES volunteer . They are looking for lawyers and graphic designers as well as Spanish and French speakers. Lifehacker has also compiled this list of additional ways to help .
However, you can track and report back from the organizations you donate to in the years to come. They should be able to provide detailed reports on how all the money was spent.
If you think you have been cheated, you can file a complaint with the FTC.