Give Wisely during today’s GivingTuesday Event
Milwaukee, Wis. – GivingTuesday, which has gained worldwide attention in promoting donations during the holiday season, has launched a campaign taking place on May 5th, to encourage donating to charity and/or otherwise helping communities in response to the needs caused by COVID-19. We know this is a critical time to show support and encourage donors to consider the following advice.
- Watch out for name similarities. When charities seek support for the same cause, their names can look similar. Before you give, be sure you have the exact name of the charity to avoid a case of mistaken identity.
- Be cautious about newly created coronavirus charities. While well-intended, they may be less effective than more experienced groups and are harder to check out without a track record.
- Consider your favorite causes. All types of charities need your support at this time, not just the ones that address coronavirus issues.
- Don’t rely on stories and passion alone in assessing trust. Most charities use stories to help describe their mission and motivate individuals to donate. Emotional pleas, however, are not a reliable indicator to verify trust. Look beyond the passion to see if the charity clearly indicates what specific activities your generosity will support.
- Don’t focus excessively on financial ratios. While financial ratios are an important part of a charity’s overall picture, excessive focus on low overhead spending can be misguided and potentially harmful to an organization’s capacity for service. Also, some charities have already experienced financial hardships due to the impact of the virus.
- Rely on standards-based evaluations. Help verify the trustworthiness of charities by reviewing the in-depth evaluations that specify if the subject charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Get free access to charity reports at Give.org.
Check out BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s list of more than 50 BBB accredited national charities that are addressing coronavirus. As both nationally-soliciting and regionally-soliciting charities welcome your help during this challenging time, consider your giving choices carefully to ensure your generosity is well used.
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 2018, people turned to BBB more than 173 million times for BBB Business Profiles on more than 5.4 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. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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