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.

The Super Bowl is all set to go down in Miami in less than two-weeks.  Unfortunately, as is the case most years, scammers will be looking for every opportunity try and to part would-be Super Bowl-goers with their hard earned money.

There have been reports in NFL cities of people selling official-looking, yet completely bogus tickets on the streets, only to have the purchasers turned away at the gate. Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona advises against purchasing tickets that cannot be verified through the issuing organization.

The same advice applies online.  Sites such as eBay, Craigslist and numerous others offer people the ability to sell their tickets, however, they also offer the opportunity to scammers that may take advantage of fan’s excitement and team loyalty. Some online scams offer to take half of the payment for the tickets upfront as good-faith money, taking the other half afterwards. While this may sound like a good idea at first, it is frequently part of a scam to get any amount of money out of an unsuspecting fan. The scammer will likely disappear after the first transaction.

Beware of sellers asking for cash payments or money transfers, as there is no recourse should the deal go bad. Some online marketplaces will offer you protection for a bogus purchase if you pay through PayPal or with your credit card, but that won’t help you on game day when it’s already too late.

If you decide to purchase tickets through a ticket broker, verify the company’s report at www.tucson.bbb.org, and find out what means the company has to verify that the tickets are legit. Most legitimate ticket brokers take possession of a ticket, independently verify their authenticity, and only then resell the ticket. Some will offer a guarantee of authenticity which includes buying a ticket at the gate if you are turned away on game day. At this time, Ticketmaster’s NFL Ticket Exchange is promoted as the only NFL approved ticket exchange.  In any situation, you will want to ensure that if you chose to purchase tickets, they have a way to validate that the tickets are legitimate. Be aware that tickets may sell for significantly over their face value in many situations. More information regarding ticket brokers is available here.

Also watch out for travel package deals that may “include” Super Bowl tickets, as the package price may be severely inflated to accommodate the purchase of tickets, or the accommodations and other aspects of the package may be below expectations. Be sure to verify all aspects of a travel package if you are of a mind to purchase tickets in that way. BBB Reliability Reports on hotels and other travel services can be checked at www.tucson.bbb.org. The U.S. Department of Transportation has warned that not all tour packages that are marketed as “Super Bowl packages” include a ticket to the game.  If a game ticket is not specifically mentioned in the advertising or solicitations, it is probably not included.  DOT’s rules state that if a tour was described as including a game ticket and you do not receive one, you are entitled to a full refund of the entire package upon your return.  People may file complaints through BBB, but also, through the Aviation Consumer Protection Division of the Department of Transportation at: http://airconsumer.dot.gov.  However, as mentioned before, this will not help you get into the stadium on game day.

BBB encourages fans to be safe, and make wise buying decisions as the Saints and Colts square off for glory in Miami for Super Bowl XLIV.