Advice on Gift Donations to Tsunami Relief Organizations Published

The Better Business Bureau recently released their list of advice when considering making charitable gifts to aid in relief of tsunami victims. Art Taylor, the president of the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance stated that "It's very easy to be overcome by emotion at this time and not really concentrate on making a gift donation to the right organization that can actually deliver the kind of relief that we want for the victims. It's valuable to take time to research these groups. You should always get written information before you donate, either off of a Web site or by having them send you information in the mail. There is a lot more information about organizations out there than people realize, but you have to ask questions."

Taylor added that "Experienced charities matter in relief efforts. It's very difficult to deliver the support to people in these areas, and so organizations that have a track record will rise above some of the newer organizations that have been just created to do this."

Other advice included asking the right questions. In referring to the types of information the Wise Giving Alliance finds out, Taylor offered that "We want to know if the charities are delivering relief in the way that's appropriate for us. "Some of us may want to give items. Some of us may want to support longer-term needs such as rebuilding of schools and roads. All of these things are going to need help over time, so we have to choose how we want to help and then pick an organization that will give us that type of help."

Taylor does not recommend making charitable gifts of cash. "Normally, scam organizations don't like to have checks given to them. Cash is harder to trace, obviously. So checks can be traced and so you have a much better chance of giving to a legitimate organization if you're giving by check," he added.

Advice also covers telemarketing and online giving. The group says telemarking is the most expensive type of fundraising out there. It states that very little of the money will actually end up going to the organization. If you're called by an organization over the phone, give it to them directly and not through a telemarketer. "Donating online requires extra precautions, Taylor said, "When you click to donate, you should make sure that the URL actually goes somewhere and that the browser names aren't hidden. Many disreputable organizations will take the names of some well-known charities and create Web pages so that the money can go to them, rather than the charities that you think they're going to."

Finally, inquiring whether your company might match your donation is a good idea. "Many companies have employee matching gift programs," Taylor continued. "So you can almost double your charitable gifts in some cases if you check with your company and make sure they're matching gift programs."