Intelligent, Intentional Giving in Times of Disaster

I've had several discussions lately with people about how to know if you can trust a charity or how to know your money is doing what you want it to do for Haiti. Having worked for an NGO charity for several years, I hope I can offer you some perspective that will help you as you make decisions about what you do with your donations, not only of your money, but your time.

"How can I trust that the group I give money to will use it for the project I intend it to?"

There are organizations out there who research and hold charities accountable, and give ratings based on strict standards of criteria. I would start with Charity Navigator, where you can look up most charities and see not only the rating CN gives, but also specific information about what the organization does. Right now Charity Navigator has a page specific to Haiti that talks about issues unique to this situation and also lists organizations working in Haiti who are already rated by CN. Additionally, a good charity will put their financial statements online if they are being really transparent so you can see what percentage of the money coming in is going directly to the program you donate to.


"Why can I only give cash? Didn't the Haitians lose everything? Don't they need [supplies, clothes, stuffed animals, etc....]

Some people feel skeptical about giving cash, and with reports of scammers and fraud and corruption that is completely understandable and valid. But there are ways to make sure you invest wisely in a worthwhile group, and there are good reasons that they ask you to give cash.

There are two big reasons cash is better than individual donations. One is most charities have partnerships with corporations, and can purchase things in mass quantities for MUCH cheaper than what an individual can pay for them in individual quantities. Sometimes companies, say "SO and SO Bottling Company," will donate a truckload of bottled water, but it costs the organization about $5000 to pick it up, truck it, and then more to ship it overseas.

The second reason they ask for cash is that individual donations take so much time to sort through. In order to get them ready to be shipped every individual donation has to be sorted (say you sent food, soap, water, clothes) into their respective categories, then palletized and wrapped and loaded. That takes A LOT more time (usually time donated by volunteers) and right now time is a precious commodity. Empowering an organization to purchase what is needed is more effective in part because it is faster.

You may think it practical to collect a box of supplies and send it directly to Haiti. Logistics are a HUGE issue in disasters, and more so in Haiti than in any disaster I've seen before this. While the need there is desperate, much of the need is not because of a lack of supply to meet the need, but lack of adequate venues to transport and distribute. The airport is in ruins, as is the port, and roads are clogged with debris. Fuel is in critical shortage. Supplies are bottle-necking for lack of ways to distribute. The airports in Haiti are completely backed up with emergency supplies and personnel. Sending a box of supplies is sure to not get to those who need it, because there is no one on the receiving end to coordinate and distribute them. If no one on the ground can take responsibility for delivering them, they just become part of the problem rather than a part of the solution.

Now if you REALLY feel the need to collect something, the best way to go about it is to call the charity you wish to donate to and find out what the greatest needs are... Could be diapers, formula, tents, blankets or something else. Then hold a drive for that product and find out how the charity wants to receive it. They will probably prefer that the donations be palletized by kind (all one size diaper together on on pallet, all one kind of food together) and shrink wrapped. If you REALLY want to bless a charity, if you can additionally raise the money that it will cost them to come pick it up, that is a GREAT thing to do. But many groups will pick up large donations even without that.

About Used Clothes

Used clothes are VERY hard for NGOs to process in times of disaster. This is because everything that comes in has to be sorted by size and gender, folded and boxed. And despite most people's good intentions, much of what gets donated are stained, torn or otherwise unusable. I could tell you some horror stories of donations I have seen. A humorous example was this see-through, neon-yellow, leopard-printed leotard with a black feather collar that someone donated for victims of Katrina, pictured to the right. In the photo my friend Ethan is trying it on. Can you see a disaster victim being handed that in their time of need?

If you want to be truly effective, take your used clothes, hold a rummage sale and donate the proceeds to a charity of choice. That organization can use it to get in-kind donations of new clothing, or other needed supplies in large quantities. It will go much farther than your pair of used jeans or sweatshirt could by itself.

A quick word about restricted vs. unrestricted giving
One last thing I would ask you to consider is unrestricted giving. That is, if you say "Please use this for Haiti" the organization has to use it for Haiti, and if they have integrity, they will and do, it's called restricted giving. But many of these organizations have to pay the bills, and are incurring greater costs as they work longer hours, and use more electricity, fuel, man hours and supplies. When you give unrestricted funds it helps them cover not just the projects they do, but the costs they have in doing them. Yes, they will help Haiti, but they also have to pay the bills. You will be a great blessing to them if you help them do that. And if you have done proper research about the group you give to, you should feel comfortable to know they will use the money you give them wisely and with great care.

I hope this information has been helpful to some of you. If you have questions or comments, please share! :-)


By Judi Murphy, all rights reserved