Wise Giving Alliance offers Tips to Give Safely on Giving Tuesday

Today is Giving Tuesday. Opportunities to give back are numerous in our area, but many also like to send in a donation to larger charities online.

The Wise Giving Alliance at Give.org urges potential donors to research charities before giving to ensure their contributions are going to trustworthy organizations.

The Wise Giving Alliance has some tips to help donors give wisely this holiday season:

Watch out for name similarities. When charities seek support for the same cause, their names are often similar. Before you give, be sure you have the charity’s exact name to avoid a case of mistaken identity.

Review the website carefully. A responsible charity will include the following facts on its website: its mission and programs, measurable goals, and concrete criteria that describe its achievements. You should also be able to find information on their finances. Keep in mind that the type of work a charity does will affect its costs.

Avoid on-the-spot donation decisions from unfamiliar organizations. The holidays bring a higher frequency of donation requests outside public locations. Don’t succumb to pressure to make an immediate giving decision. Responsible organizations will welcome your gift tomorrow as much as they do today.

Be wary of emotional appeals. Marketers have been known to exploit the holidays to make emotional pleas to donors. Instead of making an impulse decision based on emotion, do some research first to verify that your selected charity operates ethically.

Check with state charity officials. In many states, charities are required to register with the office of the attorney general before soliciting. Checking your state’s appropriate office is an easy way to detect if an organization is legitimate or not. You can find this information on the National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) website.

And to find out if a charity is trustworthy, you can go to the Wise Giving Alliance website at Give.org. There, you can type in the name of the charity and find out if it’s a legitimate organization.