The holiday season is fast approaching, which means consumers are getting ready to ramp up their charitable giving. In light of this, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is urging donors to research charities they wish to give to before donating.

Each year around the holidays consumers are bombarded with solicitations and appeals from all sorts of charities.

“Giving during the holidays is in our nature,” says BBB CEO Kim States. “It’s important for consumers to take some time to research each charity they are considering donating to. Everyone wins if they make a wise giving decision.”

Not only can researching charities save consumers from donating to charities with less than stellar track records, it can even prevent them from being scammed.

Locally, BBB Wise Giving of Southern Arizona has Charity Reviews available for over 450 Southern Arizona charities. All charities are reviewed against BBB’s 20 Standards of Charitable Accountability, which seeks to encourage fair and honest solicitation practices, to promote ethical conduct by charitable organizations, and to better inform donors about how their donations are being spent.

This past June, BBB Wise Giving of Southern Arizona began issuing letter grades to Southern Arizona charities based on how many of the 20 Standards of Charitable Accountability they satisfied. Charities that meet all 20 standards are given an A+ grade, and become BBB Accredited Charities- which is free to all Southern Arizona charities that qualify.

Additionally, researching a charity before giving can prevent donors from being scammed. Scam artists have long tried to impersonate well known charities in an effort to fool donors into giving up their hard earned cash. Often times donors never even realize that they’ve been scammed- instead they assume their donation actually went to their intended cause.

BBB offers the following tips to help donors make wise giving decisions, and to avoid scams:

• Do not give cash; always make contributions by check and make your check payable to the charity, not to the individual collecting the donation.
• Keep records of your donations (receipts, canceled checks, and bank statements) so you can document your charitable giving at tax time. Although the value of your time as a volunteer is not deductible, out-of-pocket expenses (including transportation costs) directly related to your volunteer service to a charity are deductible.
• Don’t be fooled by imposters. Many scammers will use names that closely resemble the name of a well-known organization.
• In Arizona, you can verify if the charity is soliciting legally by checking with the Secretary of State at www.azsos.gov.

Mail Appeals

• Mail appeals should clearly identify the charity and describe its programs in clear and specific language. Beware of appeals that bring tears to your eyes but tell you nothing of the charity or what it’s doing about the problem it describes so well.
• Appeals should not be disguised as bills or invoices. It is illegal to mail a bill, invoice, or statement of account due that is in fact an appeal for funds, unless it bears a clear and noticeable disclaimer stating that it is an appeal and that you are under no obligation to pay unless you accept the offer.
• Deceptive invoices are most often aimed at businesses rather than individuals. Contact your BBB for detailed guidelines on how to handle appeals disguised as bills or invoices.

Before giving to a Southern Arizona charity, donors should visit www.tucson.bbb.org/charity to look at the organization’s Charity Review. To see the Charity Reviews for larger, nationally soliciting charities, donors can visit www.bbb.org/charity.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy threatening the northeastern regions of the U.S., BBB Wise Giving of Southern Arizona offers the following tips to help donors decide where to direct donations to assist hurricane victims:

Be cautious when giving online.
Be cautious about online giving, especially in response to unsolicitedspam messages, and emails and social media posts that claim to link to a relief organization. If you want to give to a charity involved in relief efforts, go directly to the charity’s website. In response to hurricanes Katrina and, Rita, and the Asian tsunamis, the FBI and others raised concerns about websites and new organizations that were created overnight, allegedly to help victims.

Rely on expert opinion when it comes to evaluating a charity.
Be cautious when relying on third-party recommendations such as bloggers or other websites, as they may not have fully researched the relief organizations they list. The public can go to www.tucson.bbb.org/charity to research charities and relief organizations and verify that they are accredited by the BBB and meet the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Be wary of claims that 100 percent of donations will assist relief victims.
Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fund raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will involve, at a minimum, a processing fee. If a charity claims 100 percent of collected funds will be assisting hurricane victims, the truth is that the organization is still probably incurring fund raising and administrative expenses.  It may use some of its other funds to pay these costs, but the expenses will still be incurred.

Find out if the charity has an on-the-ground presence in the impacted areas.
Unless the charity already has staff in the affected areas, it may be difficult to bring in new aid workers to provide assistance quickly.  See if the charity’s website clearly describes what the charity can do to address immediate needs.

Find out if the charity is providing direct aid or raising money for other groups.
Some charities may be raising money to pass along to relief organizations.  If so, you may want to consider “avoiding the middleman” and giving directly to those that have a presence in the region. Or, at a minimum, check out the ultimate recipients of these donations to see whether they are equipped to provide aid effectively.

Gifts of clothing, food or other in-kind donations.
In-kind drives for food and clothing, while well intentioned, may not necessarily be the quickest way to help those in need – unless the organization has the staff and infrastructure to distribute such aid properly. Ask the charity about its transportation and distribution plans. Be wary of those who are not experienced in disaster relief assistance.

Hurricane Isaac made its second landfall early Wednesday morning, continuing to thrash Louisiana with harsh winds, rain and flooding. While Isaac continues its destructive path, charities may soon begin soliciting for donations to support the relief efforts. With many options available for donors to consider, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona offer tips for donors looking to assist in the relief efforts.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance Standards for Charity Accountability were developed to assist donors in making sound giving decisions and to foster public confidence in charitable organizations. The standards seek to encourage fair and honest solicitation practices, to promote ethical conduct by charitable organizations and to advance support of philanthropy.

Before giving your donation, BBB recommends the following:

 
Research the organization. Check BBB’s Wise Giving Alliance at www.give.org to get reports on how national charities measure up to BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Confirm the organization is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) and make sure you’re satisfied with the programs and how the money is distributed. According to BBB’s Standards for Charity Accountability:

1. At least 65 percent of total expenses should be spent on program activities
2. No more than 35 percent of related contributions can be spent on fundraising
3. For local charities, ask for an annual report or a 990 IRS form to see a breakdown of where the money is allocated.

Be wary of imitations. Don’t be fooled by names that look impressive or that closely resemble the name of a well-known organization.
Avoid giving personal information over the phone. Since nonprofits are not required to use the “Do Not Call” list, you could receive a phone call asking for a donation. Avoid giving your personal information over the phone.
Be cautious of online or text message solicitations. Online giving can be very convenient, but avoid donating in response to unexpected text messages or emails that claim to link to a relief organization. Scam organizations with official looking names can be created overnight. If you want to give to a charity involved in the relief efforts, go directly to that charity’s website.

Avoid giving to charities that:

Use high pressure solicitations. A legitimate charity will be glad to give you the time needed to fully research its program.
Offer prizes. Most honest charities do not try to entice you to give by telling you that you have won a prize.
Steer you away from mailing a donation. Dishonest individuals try and avoid doing anything through the U.S. mail to avoid federal prosecution under postal statutes.
To check the reliability of a company and find trustworthy businesses, visit www.tucson.bbb.org.