To no one’s surprise, hateful scammers who could not care less have jumped on the bandwagon of charities seeking help for Ukraine. Here are some tips I’ve gleaned to avoid wasting your money:
• Always research the charity making an appeal.
• Verify that a charity is registered with the state Department of Consumer Protection. Check at elicense.ct.gov.
• The BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance has listed some reputable legitimate charities for Ukraine donations as well as charity assessment reports on its website:
Catholic Relief Services, Direct Relief, GlobalGiving, International Medical Corps, International Rescue Committee, Operation USA, Save The Children, and United States Association for UNHCR.
• Investigate a charity’s legitimacy on websites Charity Navigator (charitynavigator.org), GuideStar (guidestar.org), and Charity Watch (charitywatch.org), watchdogs that compile information about charities and how well they perform.
• Charities with website addresses ending in “.org” are likely legitimate organizations.
• Avoid independent fundraising appeals like GoFundMe.com and on social media. You won’t know where your donation will end up.
• Any charity claiming that “100% will be spent on relief” is almost surely a scam, because all charities have fundraising and administrative expenses.
• Social media appeals (on…
