How to Donate to Hurricane Relief Efforts (and avoid scams)?

As the flood water recedes, the toll of Hurricane Harvey is beginning to emerge. The devastating rain has left thousands of people in desperate need of help. The unrelenting hurricane made landfall along the coastline and the water continues to rise. Scams during tragedies and natural calamities are not covert. Texas has been disturbed, owing to Hurricane Harvey. The donation givers have been sending out their help from all over the country.

Every calamity brings with it a great deal of destruction which has to be corrected. Now the damage has been done, the time is now to recreate, reconstruct and remodel everything which is tedious, long as well as exorbitant. Since the donations have been coming to Texans from all across the country, scammers have hyped their game. You would not even know in whose hands your money has gone. Online Scams are most common as The Better Business Bureau CEO Steve Bernas says, “They copy, paste, they steal. They make it look authentic. You have to do your homework and check them out yourself.”

How and Where to Donate?

The BBB has cautioned the contributors to double check the various website they could be used to donate. A single typing error, one misplaced letter can slump your donation in the hands of a knave and would never reach the victims. Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy brought to light a loss of millions of dollars which were clearly cozened by the scammers. Apparently, doing a good deed isn’t safe anymore.

Knowing where to give your donation money and which organization to trust is more confusing than you may be thinking. Donating is good, but it’s crucial to donate to a real charity. Moreover, tragedies like these bring out the best and worst nature of humans, where some try to help people by doing their bit while others exploit these disasters by running fake charity campaigns.

If you are willing to donate, you can directly contact the global organizations like Unicef and Oxfam America that pay special attention to help people during disasters like these. Donors can also pay a visit to affected communities for Disaster assistance and or to donate money to the smaller campaigns within the Texas.

Donors can also consider GiveCentral that hosts various crowd-funding campaigns for the affected people. The organization also works to verify that all collected funds go in the right hands and intended recipients, so your money will not be misused. And if you find yourself near damaged colonies, and want to volunteer in person, you can contact the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, which encourages people to volunteer for disaster assistance by signing up with them.

What to watch out for

Make sure that you are giving money to an effective and legitimate charity organization. Do your research by finding out the organization’s address, and contact number, and be wary of the organizations that are new. Don’t wire money without conducting a proper research and checking whether the charity has been accredited by registered organizations like GiveCentral. Such organizations are often underfunded and overlooked, but they really do know how to reach the masses and help the victims and are there for the long run.