Five Questions To Ask About Donating To Hurricane Relief

By The Better Business Bureau

Since Hurricane Idalia has made landfall in Florida, generous donors will seek to support relief efforts that are engaged in disaster-related activities. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance recommends contributors to ask five questions to help them make wise giving decisions.

1. Does the disaster appeal describe the charity’s activities? Look for appeals that are upfront and clear about what disaster relief services you are supporting.

2. How experienced is the charity in disaster relief? Donate to experienced organizations that stand ready to provide quick and effective assistance. Be cautious of organizations that form overnight in the wake of a disaster.

3. Should you donate goods? Contributing money is the quickest way to help and provides charities with the flexibility to channel resources to impacted areas. Instead of donating food, consider supporting food banks near an impacted area. Visit Feeding America (a BBB Accredited Charity) which works with food banks across the country.

4. Have you checked out the charity? Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity. We recommend giving to charities that meet all 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, found at BBB’s Give.org.

5. What about crowdfunding requests? If engaging in crowdfunding, it is safest to give to someone you personally know and trust. Also review the platform’s policies and procedures, keeping in mind that while some crowdfunding sites take measures to vet posts, others don’t.

The following BBB Accredited Charities (i.e., meet the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability) announce they are collecting funds to assist Hurricane Idalia relief efforts. This list will be updated here as additional efforts come to our attention:

• American Red Cross - Hurricane Idalia Activities

• Americares – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• Direct Relief – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• GlobalGiving – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• Heart to Heart International – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• Matthew 25: Ministries – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• Salvation Army – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• Save the Children – Hurricane Idalia Activities

• World Vision – Hurricane Idalia Activities

ABOUT BBB WISE GIVING ALLIANCE: BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB’s Give.org) is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness of nationally soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 holistic standards that address charity governance, results reporting, finances, fundraising, appeal accuracy and other issues. National charity reports are produced by BBB’s Give.org and local charity reports are produced by local Better Business Bureaus – all reports are available at Give.org.

For questions, call the Better Business Bureau Serving West Florida at 727-535-5522.