During the holidays many people enjoy giving locally, nationally and even internationally but should always verify charities.
Michelle Tabler with the Better Business Bureau said there are a few tips to make sure donated monies get to the cause they were meant for.
Tabler: “We don’t want people to be pressured, we want them to take time before making a donation, don’t make a donation if they want something right then and there, right on the spot. Take some time to make a decision and research a little bit and again know the charity, find out what their needs are, where they’re really located and again look them up on our website because we have information on how much of the money actually goes to the charity itself.”
She said people who like to give should be wary of impostors, as many scams may imitate well known charities with similar names, and to donate directly by contacting the charities yourself.
Tabler: “When somebody’s calling to solicit you on the telephone you’ve got to be really careful, we don’t get the door to door as much as they do down in the Lower 48 but we do get the phone calls. You might make it a practice to say that you never donate directly over the phone to a company or a charity that you never called and you want to do your research and it’s OK to do that.”
Some websites to verify charities are the Better Business Bureau’s and Charity Navigator.