Beware When Donating for Hurricane Relief
Matthew Rosenquist
CISO at Mercury Risk. - Formerly Intel Corp, Cybersecurity Strategist, Board Advisor, Keynote Speaker, 190k followers
Where there is Crisis, there is Always Fraud
Hurricane Harvey, a massive Category 4, has devastated coastal regions of Texas, the major city of Houston, and surrounding communities. Americans have a long history of helping those in need after disasters. Tens of millions and possibly hundreds of millions might be raised from donations, like in the case of previous hurricane Katrina. Giving to those who need help is noble. But be wary of the scammers who use such events to solicit funds in the name of victims, but keep it for themselves. It is a huge problem.
Undoubtedly, you will be bombarded by requests to donate. Expect emails, websites, advertising links, phone solicitations, pleas in social media, and text messages all asking for your help. Some will be outright scammers, taking advantage of people who passionately want to those impacted. Others may be legitimate charities but only actually deliver a small percentage of donated funds to the relief effort, with the majority being siphoned off for advertising expenses, operating costs, large executive salaries, and business overhead.
Take a moment to think. Instead of texting some random number, clicking a web link, or giving your financial data to an unverified person, I strongly recommend you do a bit of research. If in doubt, go to the website of a trusted charity or aid organization and donate directly through their site.
When a Dollar is only 50 cents
Keep in mind, that not all donated money goes to victims. Charities take some for operating costs, including salaries of employees and executives. The percentage can be shocking. In some cases, only pennies on the dollar, actually go towards the cause. There are many responsible organizations and there are plenty who operate with a greater level of self interest.
Charities will often hire sales, marketing, and call-center companies to help solicit donations. These companies can take a large percentage of the money they raise in donations as their payment. Sadly, it has been reported that in some cases less than 1% of donated money goes to the cause. The rest is eaten up by bureaucracy, overhead, large salaries, and marketing.
Be Smart!
Sites like CharityWatch.org and CharityNavigator provide information to understand how much of your donation will make its way to the people who need it.
Don’t let scammers or high-overhead charities dilute your contribution or dissuade you from helping. Just be smart. When you decide to donate, make sure the maximum of what you are giving will go where you intend.
Image Source: https://www.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0817_hurricane-harvey/
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Retired from NHS Education for Scotland (Dental Administrator Tayside)
7 年Christian Aid has in the past and recently sucked in monies for disasters and moved it away from the people it's been donated to. Use smaller centres you know and trust, churches who move money and articles needed to another one who provides for those people around it in trouble. Don't go with the big agencies.
Donating to any Lions Club International local club or at a national level means all money raised is used ￡1 for ￡1 to that cause. When a tsunami happened in the Philippines several years ago my Lions club were able to send the money raised straight to the local Lions club un Wellawata and 5 fishing boats were given to local fishermen to restart their livelihoods
Experienced professional with 11 years in Procurement/Purchasing & Sustainability.
7 年This article is just plain common sense. Thank you, Matthew. I still remember when the tsunami hit Thailand and the devastation and suffering was so great that I felt compelled to dip into my savings and give to Oxfam and the Red Cross, only to learn that they placed all the contributions in their main chest, instead of going to the specific location. I no longer give to them. I did my research and found that some churches make the best use of this type of donation. My favorite is the Mormon Church. They not only have a fantastic community set-up infrastructure in place, they also use the money they collect for the purpose it was given. And, please, please DO NOT FORGET ABANDONED ANIMALS, who suffer but cannot communicate. A good organization is Save Them All. The Humane Society of the United States has a deep chest and is capable of providing assistance.
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7 年Thanks for the information, it is sad that there are people taking advantage of others misfortune
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7 年Yes, the Red Cross has a reputation for not being honest w/charitable donations - during 9/11 they collected millions of dollars but it was found that much of it was stuck in accounts that had nothing to do with 9/11 and nobody really knew what they were doing w/that money --- they are also implicated in the Clinton/Haiti scam... United Way is connected to the UN so not trustworthy either... Find local churches, etc that are working directly w/the people so you know the money will go to them -- Go Fund Me is an option but you can be sure there are scammers on there acting like victims but aren't... I'm still trying to figure out who to give my $100 to...