BBB Tip: Donating to Buffalo shooting victims

Milwaukee, Wis. – To hear about any mass shooting is emotionally devastating but generates additional grief when the victims have been targeted out of racism. What happened in a Buffalo, New York supermarket this past weekend is heart-wrenching and brings many of us to tears. At the same time, we also are motivated to help the families of the victims of those who were killed or injured. To help people make informed giving decisions, Better Business Bureau (BBB) and the Wise Giving Alliance encourage potential donors to be aware of the different circumstances that often emerge in tragedy-related philanthropy.

Does the appeal respect victims and their families?

Charitable organizations or crowdfunding postings raising funds should get permission from the families to use either the names of the victims and/or any photographs of them. Don’t assume there is an official connection if photos are displayed.

How will donations be used?

Be cautious about vague appeals that don’t identify the intended use of funds. For example, is money being collected for funeral expenses or other family needs? Also, unless told otherwise, donors will assume that collected funds quickly collected after a tragedy will be distributed or spent just as quickly.

Advocacy Organizations

Tragedies that involve violent acts with firearms can also generate requests from a variety of advocacy organizations that address gun use. Donors can support these efforts as well but note that some of these advocacy groups are not tax exempt as charities. Also, watch out for newly-created advocacy groups that will be difficult to check out.

Tax Deductibility

Contributions that are donor-restricted to help a specific individual/family are not deductible in the U.S. as charitable donations, even if the recipient organization is a charity. See IRS Publication 526, page 7, for more information on this subject.

Check out recent announcements to avoid duplication of effort.

Be mindful of public announcements that identify assistance being provided to victim families to help avoid donating to duplicative efforts.

Crowdfunding advice

Crowdfunding has become so popular that it is not unusual for fundraising to start within hours after a tragedy has occurred. Please keep in mind that while some crowdfunding sites take precautions in carefully screening, vetting and managing postings after a tragedy, others might not. If unsure, review the posting procedures described on the crowdfunding site and also find out about transaction fees and other specifics.

As always, BBB and Wise Giving Alliance remind donors to check out charities by visiting Give.org to verify if the charity meets the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability.

For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.