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When a disaster happens, you want to help in any way that you can. Be it a hurricane like in New Orleans, an earthquake like in Haiti, a tsunami like in Japan, the terror attacks like in France, or any other natural or manmade disaster, humanity leaps into action to rally behind whatever nation or nations have been affected. While it can feel great to donate your money to help people in need, the opportunity to lend aid also comes with people looking to take advantage of benevolence. Make sure that your kindness isn’t exploited and read these tips for giving during a disaster.

  • Don’t donate supplies. When you hear on the news that people have gone for over a day without food or water, the tugging at your heartstrings can make it difficult not to start a canned food or clothing drive to lend a hand. As nice of a sentiment as this is, it’s not a practical way to help the people who need it most. It would be difficult to send packages into the disaster area especially if no one is there to receive them and distribute them accordingly. If you have supplies to get rid of that you’d like to donate to a cause, look for a place like Goodwill that takes clothing donations or sell your used garments to a thrift shop and then donate the money you make to aid the disaster victims.
  • Don’t donate over the phone. While it might be much more convenient for you to give over the phone than have to mail in a check or visit a donation center, it’s one of the easiest ways for people looking to exploit the disaster to operate. For this and many other reasons, you should never give out your credit card information to someone who’s called you soliciting money over the phone. If the cause is one that strikes your interest, ask them to send you more information and do more research before donating.
  • Do your research before donating online. Before donating on one of the websites that pop up in your Facebook feed, make sure you know where your money is actually going. Many ‘charities’ — if you can call them that — operate under the guise of lending aid but some keep as much as 97 cents on the dollar, donating just 3 cents to the causes they claim your donation is going to help. Do your homework and find causes who are actually committed to helping the same cause that you are; if possible, go to the charity’s authorized website directly to find how you can help. The same way you should be skeptical of causes reaching out for you to donate over the phone, be wary of email solicitations as well, and make sure you know where you’re giving before you do.