7 safe ways to donate to Japan
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The simplest way to help when disaster strikes is to open up you wallet — or even to send a text message. After the Haiti earthquake, for example, the American Red Cross received $32 million in text donations.
Here is a list of organizations that are collecting money — and even socks — for relief efforts in Japan. So far, GlobalGiving has raised more than $850,000 for its Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
But with large sums of money sloshing around, scams are certain to follow. “Whether it is hurricanes in the South, the gulf oil spill or the earthquake in Haiti, the scammers lied in wait,” reports Mitch Lipka, WalletPop‘s former consumer reporter who has started contributing to dealnews. He offers seven tips to avoid getting scammed.
Lipka’s advice:
- Be wary of people or groups making urgent appeals for money whether in person, by phone mail, email, websites or social networking
- If a telemarketer calls, ask the name of the charity if it’s not provided right away and then ask what percentage of your donation will go to the charity.
- Follow-up on that, if you’re still interested, by verifying the charity authorized that solicitation.
- Don’t feel pressured to give out your credit card or bank account numbers; wait until you’ve decided that the charity is legitimate and you’re comfortable.
- Be sure to get a receipt and record that your donation is tax deductible.
- Don’t give cash and don’t write a check in the name of the solicitor rather than the charity.
- For those who want to leverage their contributions to a legitimate organization, look to double your money with matching donations. Dealnews, for one, will match contributions to the American Red Cross up to a total of $25,000.
And before you dig into your pocket, read this provocative piece from Felix Salmon. He makes a good case for donating to organizations like Doctors Without Borders, “which don’t jump on natural disasters and use them as opportunistic marketing devices.” His advice? Donate to organizations that use the funds in an unrestricted way.
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Reuters Money
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Amazon.com is letting people use their Amazon accounts to donate money to the Red Cross’s Japan Earthquake/tsunami relief fund.
There’s a button on the upper right of the Amazon homepage.
Thank you!
Attn: Editors of this piece.
I would encourage you to go to http://jasonkelly.com/helpjapan/ and read the current comments by this gentleman below. After reading his comments I believe this effort would not be encouraged by the Japanese government or relief agencies. I won’t repeat the reasons why. Just please read his posts and reconsider having this effort on your “list”. The funds used to mail socks from the United States or anywhere else in the world could be better used by donating to Japanese-based relief agencies. I’m just a concerned individual who would like all funds and donations to be most effectively given and used.Thank you kindly for your consideration.
Eido Inoue
Posted March 17, 2011 at 4:32 am | Permalink
Please don’t do this.
The authorities have specifically asked for individuals to not clog up the system and travel to that area, no matter how well intentioned or how close they are. They’re not trying to be mean or take all the credit or be bureaucratic. Distribution channels (including, yes, the post office) and travel routes are broken and under stress and priority needs to be given to the professional emergency teams.
If the people of Ibaraki or anywhere else needs socks, I promise you the government will get them socks. And if they don’t have enough socks, they will then ask the public to donate socks.
For a disaster of this scale, it’s important that everything remain coordinated and people follow official communication in the beginning. If Japan needs the help of the common man volunteer, they will ask. That will be your time to shine.
In the meantime, you will, at best, accomplish little to nothing except for making yourself and your sock donors feel good. The worst case is you’ll will be a hindrance and an extra burden to the professional rescue workers and recognized volunteers, both domestic and foreign.
I don’t mean to belittle your desire to help. Everyone wants to help. But I really don’t think you’ve thought through the big picture calculus regarding how much you’re actually contributing vs how much you’ll be simply getting in the way.
For those that REALLY want to help, consider donating to a legit Japan related charity like the Japanese Red Cross, Unicef, or Save the Children.