The recent devastation wrought on our state with relentless storms and subsequent flooding was troubling to say the least.
For those of us who emerged relatively unscathed we need to do two things.
One is to praise your respective Higher Power who, in my case, is our Lord Jesus Christ.
Two is to do anything you possibly can to support and assist those who were so negatively affected.
I will leave the former in your personal and capable hands, as faith and prayer is a potent combination.
However, the latter needs a bit more attention.
This is not a doctoral thesis analyzing the thoughts, motives, and actions of others. I am not citing leather bound studies that profess to accomplishing the aforementioned based on exhaustive studies, focus groups and educated guessing. I'll just cut to the chase.
In this land of aloha where we espouse love, affection, thoughtfulness and caring for our fellow kama‘āina there are a number of people who suck.
And you know exactly who you are.
Scammers, thieves, swindlers of all sizes, shapes, colors and dialects.
And this is the perfect time for these immoral and shameless predators to stalk their victims and pounce.
There is special seating for you on the Highway to Hell (cue - AC/DC).
Examples of what I mean: The Aloha State Daily newsroom has recently received alerts from the Building Industry Association of Hawai‘i to beware of fraudulent contractors taking advantage of homeowners in distress; from Hawaiian Electric about a scammer claiming to be from the utility threatening businesses that their power would be shut off if they didn't call a certain phone number to make a payment — be aware that 808-800-9551 is not a real Hawaiian Electric phone number, if you get this scam. There was even an alert from a small local church that someone was going around impersonating their pastor with a bogus fundraising email.
In times of crisis, there is an omnipresent call to help. And we do. But sometimes to a fault.
There were concerns expressed by many wondering if their donations reached the intended beneficiaries after the recent Maui wildfires. If you are petitioned to send money to any organization, it is right and just to vet such groups as much as possible. There are two primary sources I turn to, and those are CharityWatch.org and CharityNavigator.org. I understand the focus is primarily on national non-profit and service organizations but it will give you pertinent information to use in your vetting process.
Here are some tips offered from CharityWatch.org when contemplating cash and in-kind donations:
Step 1: Cut Out The Middleman & Give Directly
When prompted to give in response to a social media post, direct mail letter, telemarketing call, or other fundraiser, you are asked to focus on the cause or end recipient of your contribution as opposed to the person or company asking you for the donation. Just because the charity is legitimate doesn’t mean the person asking for the donation is. Instead of clicking on a donation link posted by a third-party, open a new browser and navigate directly to the donation page on the charity’s official website. Eliminating the unnecessary middleman will likely mean:
* Fewer fees will eat into your donation before it gets to the charity
* Your donation will be received by the charity immediately rather than held by a third-party for transfer to the charity at a later date
* Scammers are unable to pocket your donation for themselves
* You are exposing your personal information to fewer people, putting yourself at less risk for identity fraud or for having your data circulated to companies that may use it to bombard you with ads and additional donation requests
Step 2: Crowdfunding - Careful around crowds.
Donating through a crowdfunding website is not much different than handing cash over to a stranger on the street. Unlike registered charities which are subject to formation filings and reporting requirements like articles of incorporation, bylaws, tax exemption applications, annual IRS tax reporting, and state solicitation filings, crowdfunding campaigns are most often conducted by individuals for whom no public financial reporting is required. There are countless examples of scammers taking advantage of crowdfunding platforms to siphon donations away from people and causes with legitimate needs and redirect this cash to themselves.
* When you encounter a crowdfunding campaign that promises to pass funds on to a charity, skip the middleman and donate directly to the nonprofit on its official website.
* If a campaign claims to benefit victims of a tragedy or disaster, find financially efficient registered charities with a track record of performing good work in similar crises and donate to these instead. Doing so will better ensure that funds get to legitimate victims in a timely manner and are distributed equitably.
* If you are moved by the plight of an individual or familyasking for funds to help with medical bills or other personal expenses, donateat your own risk. You could be helping a family in dire need or lining thepockets of a fraudster. There is rarely a way to know for certain. If you do decide to take a leap of faith and make a donation to an individual, make sure you are on the official campaign page of that individual or family and not a copycat page created by a scammer in the wake of a tragedy to confuse donors and siphon funds away for themselves.
Step 3: Keep Your Emotions In Check
Nonprofits may use evocative imagery and heartbreaking stories to create a sense of urgency about an issue, engendering empathy and inspiring you to donate immediately, generously, and repeatedly. While it’s OK for you to allow your emotions to catalyze your giving, when it comes time to make a donation it’s important to think with your head and not with your heart. A charity’s ability to post sad photos, tell sad stories, or provide a handful of anecdotal examples of people it has helped does nothing to inform you about how efficiently it is operating on the whole or if it is even a legitimate charity at all.
One of the best ways to keep emotions in check when making giving decisions is by being proactive rather than reactive. Instead of making a contribution on the spot in reaction to an emotional appeal for donations, think ahead. Consider how much you can afford to donate to charity each year, reflect on which causes are important to you, then seek out efficient and responsible charities working in those causes that conduct the specific types of programs you want to support and have a track record of impactful work.
Step 4: Scrutinize The Claims Charities Make About Themselves
A bad charity is rarely going to tell on itself. In fact, the people running it will go to great lengths to obscure its financial reporting, using accounting tricks or outright lies to make it appear to be operating more efficiently than it actually is. For-profit professional fundraisers soliciting on a charity’s behalf may have a contract with the charity that allows it to skim as much as 90-95% of your donation off the top before passing what little remains on to the charity. Such fundraisers are notorious for crafting highly misleading donation appeals designed to play on your emotions and convince you that most of your donation will be used for a charitable purpose when this is far from the case.
Also understand that sham charities and financially inefficient nonprofits sometimes use ratings published by third-party websites to lend credibility to their organizations and gain your trust. A charity having a high rating or impact profile posted in an online ratings database does not necessarily mean a qualified financial analyst (or any human) has scrutinized that reporting in any meaningful way.
Step 5: Donate to Top-Rated Charities or Conduct Your Own Research
Nonprofits on the good list generally spend 75% or more of their budgets on programs, spend $25 or less to raise $100 in public support, do not hold excessive assets in reserve, have met CharityWatch’s governance benchmarks, and receive “open-book” status for disclosure of basic financial information and documents to CharityWatch.
I mentioned that CharityWatch.org has a primary focus on national organizations however there are localized chapters where you can find online or request annual financial reports on the work and presence they have here in Hawai‘i.
I'd like to use the Hawai‘i Community Foundation as an example.
During the Maui recovery there were a myriad of groups stating they were this or they were that. I am sure there were well intended and authentic individuals or organizations accurately making those claims.
But some were not.
I found HCF with their financial accounting and disclosure to be timely and transparent. There were regular updates to a growing balance sheet documenting the source and amount of donations and to whom the disbursements were made. This is a standard that all genuine non-profit organizations should embrace to heighten credibility and confidence among those who support and donate.
Finally, I understand there are more good people than bad. More generous than opportunistic.
But those heathens are out there and they must know that our generosity should not be confused with ignorance.
I've shared in the past the most powerful words are, "Why" and "How."
Asking questions and getting satisfactory answers will ensure you are truly helping those is need rather than lining the pockets of villains lurking amongst us.
