When a disaster or crisis happens, naturally we all feel moved to provide support to the individuals and communities who need help.
With a variety of crises that occur simultaneously – whether in your local community, a global crisis like the pandemic, or the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine – you may be wondering, where do I even start?
While the intent to give comes from a pure place, this impulse needs to be combined with a giving strategy in order to be most effective. The downside to giving in a crisis is that it is often reactionary and impulsive.
For example, you might click donate on the first charity link you find. Or you might respond to a crowdfunding request on social media shared by a friend that says it’s raising money for individual victims. While faith in humanity is not a fault, it can sadly put us at risk of trusting too much.
Before you give to an organization responding to a call for help, review these tips to learn more about how to give strategically and effectively in a crisis to help your donation do the most good.
Give to a Single Charity
In general, it’s best to direct your donations to a single charity rather than sending smaller donations to a long list of them. This is mostly due to overhead costs – even the most efficient charities have overhead costs for processing donations.
Making a larger gift to a single charity, rather than sending $10 to a variety of charities, will ensure that more of your money goes to helping those in need rather than covering costs.
For this reason, it may also be helpful to consider a charity who has not yet hit their fundraising or campaign goal. The details of a charity’s campaign goal can often be found on the charity’s website or in a social media campaign. Seeing how much is left to raise towards a specific relief can help you plan your donation spending.
You can also take a closer look at the campaign outcomes and what the money will be used for. If you want to help immediately, make sure the charity’s specific focus at the moment is immediate relief.
Send Cash, Not Stuff
Sometimes, you may be tempted to donate things to a charity rather than cash. It’s common to think that this may be a more direct form of giving.
Unfortunately, donating stuff often creates more costs, in addition to logistical and distribution headaches. It costs money to arrange for transportation, sort through items, and distribute the right items to the right people.
Additionally, large organizations and companies often already donate truckloads of necessary items, such as bottled water, since they have the means to distribute this more efficiently than individual donors.
Of course, if you see that a single charity is asking for or requesting specific items, feel free to fulfill the request. If not, an online donation is your best option. A monetary donation allows a charity to directly purchase the supplies they need to address the ever-changing situation in a crisis.
Get Involved in Workplace Giving
If you work for a large company, organization, or for the federal government, chances are they have some kind of workplace giving program. Workplace giving is an easy and efficient way to make tax-deductible donations to the charities you care about.
Research shows that workplace giving is actually more cost-effective for charities than other forms of giving. This is because the cost of a workplace giving program is far below the cost for a charity to launch a new campaign to try to raise the same amount of money.
So, your workplace donation enables charities to spend more time and resources on services rather than fundraising strategy.
Here are a few more benefits of workplace giving:
- It’s typically passive, with donations taken directly out of your paycheck, while still being tax-deductible.
- By having a smaller amount of money deducted from each paycheck, you’ll end up donating a larger amount of money overall.
- Some employers will offer to match your contributions up to a specified amount. This leverages your employer’s support and maximizes your gift.
- It provides charities with a sustainable, year-round source of funds. In terms of crisis giving, this helps provide charities with ongoing funds to support victims of crises immediately.
Support Existing Charities
Before giving in to the impulse to give, do your research to find a charity with a proven track record. While mostly all charities aim to do good, a few bad actors pop up in times of crises. Do your research and find a charity with a proven track record.
It’s best to research and find charities that know what they are doing in times of crisis and have an existing infrastructure in place to effectively distribute emergency aid to victims. Check first to see if the organization you’re giving to is a registered public 501(c)(3) – or the equivalent in the country in need.
It’s good to then visit the charity’s website to learn more about the types of aid it is providing. Hopefully, they’ll have information on how exactly your money will be used to directly support victims.
You can also seek out third-party sources such as charitywatch.org that can provide more insight into a charity’s operations. A site called Charity Navigator also publishes a list of highly-rated charities that have confirmed they’re providing disaster and crisis relief. You can also search their website to confirm that a charity is registered with the IRS.
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Vet New Charities
Of course, there’s always the option to give to a new charity. After all, ignoring small charities makes it harder for their impact to be successful in the first place.
However, before giving to a new charity, make sure you go through the vetting process first. Start by finding out how long they have been around and who supports them. If you can, analyze the history of the organization and their funding sources. See how transparent their reporting is and how available giving reports are to the public.
Then, check out their reputation. This can include visiting their website and reading all their content pages, reading published articles about the charity, and observing what others are saying about the work they’re doing and the impact achieved.
If the charity is on social media, check out their presence and engagement. Usually charities doing well have donors and volunteers singing their praises. However, not all organizations have a strong social media presence so don’t rely on this alone.
All nonprofits should also have someone’s contact information available so you can easily chat with someone or learn more. If contact information is missing from the website, this is a potential red flag. Although it’s possible it was just overlooked. Use your best judgement.
By doing this research first, you can be confident in your decision to give to a newer charity.
Give Strategically in Times of Crisis
When crises occur, they can serve as uncomfortable reminders of life’s unpredictability. But they are also opportunities for all of us to show compassion, gain perspective, and be mindful of the pain of others.
When emotions are high, the urge to give may arise quickly. Turn this urge into efficient support by being strategic about where your money is going. It is never too late to examine your giving habits and to make giving thoughtfully an essential part of how you respond to a crisis.
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