Tragedies seem to be the new normal in the world we live in today. We hear reports of people displaced from their homes by natural disasters, terrorists and other sad events they never saw coming; while some even solicit money on television networks and social media to treat several medical conditions.

As humans, we naturally feel sympathetic when we see or hear these things, and may be moved to help out financially. But how do you and your family go about doing this? How can you ensure that the money ends up in the right hands, and is used for the right purpose?

  1. You can give money to organisations that directly provide help to victims and their families such as the Red Cross and other notable, well-respected relief organisations.
  2. To support international efforts to help terrorism victims, turn to the United Nations Victims of Terrorism Support Portal. It was started by the UN’s Symposium on Supporting Victims of Terrorism, this website includes a directory of organisations that support victims of terrorism, and was established as a communication and information hub for victims of terrorism.
  3. Before giving any donation, consider who you are giving to. High-profile tragedies have become common targets for scam artists looking to take advantage of people’s generosity by impersonating charities or victims’ families on crowdfunding platforms. These solicitations can come in many forms, such as crowdfunding platforms and e-mail campaigns, where perpetrators may divert some or all of the funds for their own use.

if contacted for donation, it is advisable to look out for the following red flags:

  • Refusal to provide detailed information about their organisation or how the donation will be used;
  • Using a name closely resembling that of a reputable organisation;
  • Pressuring individuals to donate money immediately;
  • Asking for donations to be sent through online transfers, cash, or money transfer; and
  • Promising a monetary benefit in return for a donation.

You can check the validity of a charitable organisation on GuideStar, which compiles data on more than 1.8 million charities, and CharityNavigator, which ranks transparency and accountability checks of nonprofit organisations and also tracks fake charities.

Be careful of giving money on any crowdsourcing websites like GoFundMe, especially campaigns organised by or for the benefit of individuals. Many such efforts are legitimate, but there are few safeguards, and GoFundMe itself states on its website that:

it’s not possible for GoFundMe to investigate the claims stated by each Campaign Organiser and recommends you to only donate to people you personally know and trust.

This was culled from time.com