Format: Article

Wise Giving Wednesday: Six Questions About Fundraising for Kansas City Shooting Victims
On February 14^th, it was shocking to learn about the mass shooting that disrupted a parade celebrating the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory. Over 20 people were shot including one woman who was killed. As expected, many are seeking to help the victims and their families. BBB Wise Giving Alliance encourages interested contributors to consider the following six questions about donating in response to tragedy-related philanthropy.

1. Do fundraising appeals respect families of victims?

As charitable organizations and/or crowdfunding postings raise funds to help, they also should get permission from the families to use either the names of the victims and/or any photographs of them. Don’t assume there is an official connection if photos are displayed.

2. Are the appeals clear about how money will be used?

Be cautious about vague appeals that don’t identify the intended use of funds. For example, is money being collected for medical expenses or other family needs? Also, unless told otherwise, donors will assume that contributed funds quickly collected after a tragedy will be distributed or spent just as quickly. Be mindful of public announcements that describe family assistance to help avoid donating to duplicative efforts.

3. Will donations be tax deductible?

Contributions that are donor-restricted to help a specific individual/family are not deductible in the U.S. as charitable donations, even if the recipient organization is a charity. See IRS Publication 526, page 7, for more information on this subject.

4. What about crowdfunding requests?

It is not unusual for fundraising to start within hours after a tragedy has occurred. Please keep in mind that while some crowdfunding sites take precautions in carefully screening, vetting, and managing postings after a tragedy, others might not. If unsure, review the posting procedures described on the crowdfunding site and find out about transaction fees and other specifics.

5. Will Sales Benefit Charitable Purposes?

If items are sold, such as t-shirts, stating that their purchase will benefit the victims of the parade shooting, see if the promotion specifies which charity will benefit and how much of the purchase will go to the organization. Be cautious when vague terms are used such as “proceeds” or “profits” will go to the charity.

6. How do you verify charity trustworthiness?

Tragedies can generate donation requests from a variety of organizations seeking to help victims of violence or advocate on related issues. As always, we remind donors to check out charities by visiting Give.org to verify if the charity meets the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability (i.e., a BBB Accredited Charity). Be cautious about newly created groups that may be difficult to check out.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features Part 2 of an interview with Toshi Hoo. Toshi leads Institute for the Future’s Emerging Media Lab (EML), where he explores the implications of rapidly evolving technologies that are transforming the ways humans communicate, collaborate, and connect.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
February 21, 2024
When a “Charity” is Actually a 527 Political Organization
BBB Wise Giving Alliance produces evaluative reports on nationally soliciting charities that are tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Some Better Business Bureaus similarly report on regionally soliciting charities. As a matter of long-standing practice, however, BBBs do not seek to report on political parties or other entities raising funds for political candidates. In recent weeks, people have been asking about organizations that have charity-sounding names but are actually political organizations tax exempt under section 527 of the Internal Revenue that are raising funds for political candidates and/or political purposes.

The organizations may have names that include the words police, firefighter, veterans, breast cancer, or other popular causes. Some of them are using robocall messages to get people to make donations. But when one reviews the organization’s website, one finds statements announcing that they are not a charity, but a 527 political organization raising funds to support “public officials who advocate” for their issues and to educate members of Congress.

As in every category in the fundraising marketplace, there are well managed and sincere efforts as well as those that unfortunately take advantage of generosity for popular causes. As a result, we provide the following tips to help individuals make more informed giving decisions:

Watch Out for Possible Name Confusion

The use of the words “police,” “firefighter,” “veterans,” or “cancer” in the name of the organization does not necessarily mean that a charity engaged in these issues is asking for your help. The activities described in appeals can sometimes be vague. When in doubt, visit the organization’s website and review their description of activities.

Verify Tax Deductibility

Contributions to police, firefighter, veterans and cancer organizations that are tax exempt as charities under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code are deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes. But not all such groups are charities. Some are actually tax exempt as a 527 political organization. Unless the organization is a charity, a contribution will probably not be deductible.

Excessive Pressure to Donate is a Red Flag

No matter which organization is calling, don’t be pressured into making an immediate donation decision. Honest efforts will welcome your donation at any time and will encourage uncertain call recipients to check them out.

Telemarketing Can Result in High Fundraising Costs

Like all forms of fundraising, telemarketing can be managed well but it can also result in high expense. This is especially true for “cold” calls that solicit people who have not previously contributed. Those types of efforts can result in less than 20% of what is collected going to the named organization. Visit the latest financial statements that can be found on the group’s website. If the site does not provide access to financial information, that lack of transparency is a red flag. Visit the IRS website to access the latest IRS Form 990, the financial form annually filed by most nonprofit organizations. In Canada, visit the Revenue Canada website. If the organization is a PAC tax exempt under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, financial information would be available from the Federal Election Commission.

We recommend giving to charities that meet all 20 of the BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Visit BBB’s Give.org to access free evaluative reports on charities.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features BBB WGA President & CEO, Art Taylor. Art provides highlights of the Microsoft Global Nonprofit Philanthropy Summit which focused on responsible AI development and strategies for nonprofits.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
February 14, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: Concerns About Cybersecurity
South Carolina-based Blackbaud, Inc. provides data, fundraising, and financial services to more than 45,000 companies, including nonprofit organizations and foundations. On February 1, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced as part of a consent agreement, that Blackbaud, without admitting to any violation of law, has agreed to “delete personal data that it doesn’t need to retain… over charges that the company’s lax security allowed a hacker [in 2020] to breach the company’s network and access the personal data of millions of consumers including Social Security and bank account numbers.”

In September 2023, in addressing this 2020 data breach, the company agreed to an assurance of voluntary compliance with 49 states and the District of Columbia that included a payment of $49.5 million.

Those interested in learning more about the data breach that occurred four years ago are encouraged to review the referenced agreements. There are important lessons in this story for both charities and donors. Charities should take active measures to increase their own data security on a continuing basis not only for their own operations but also through the vendors it may hire to carry out fundraising or other data needs. In turn, donors should recognize the important stewardship role that charities have in not only managing their finances but in protecting donor data.

Previous posts in Wise Giving Wednesday provided a variety of recommendations to help address cybersecurity, such as a five-step process to address this concern:

1. Identify cyber risks by assessing risk exposure

2. Protect data through technology and data governance planning

3. Detect a cybersecurity problem when it happens

4. Respond effectively to a cybersecurity incident

5. Recover from the impact of a cybersecurity or data impairment event

In addition, there are common sense actions organizations can take such as requiring employees to use strong passwords and update them at least every six months, and ensuring that staff only use laptops provided by the organization, not their home computers which might increase risk exposure when they are used for personal purposes.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features Toshi Hoo. Toshi leads Institute for the Future’s Emerging Media Lab (EML), where he explores the implications of rapidly evolving technologies that are transforming the ways humans communicate, collaborate and connect.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
February 7, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: Verifying Trust
If someone were to ask what leads you to trust an individual, you would probably point to multiple signals. Among other things, you might consider whether the person appeared open and honest in their communication, whether they followed through on their promises, and if they have healthy and responsible ties with both peers and supervisors. It might be helpful to learn about their personal achievements, but achievements alone would not guarantee a trusting relationship.

There are similarities between this example and the standards-based approach used by BBB Wise Giving Alliance in evaluating the trustworthiness of charities. We don’t focus on any single measure or issue. Instead, we advance a holistic picture of a charity’s accountability. We seek to verify that the charity will be open and honest in their solicitations, that they follow through on their promised goals (as demonstrated by their financial statements and other materials), and that the staff has healthy ties with both supporters and their governing board. It is helpful to know about the charity’s achievements and results, but those facts alone might not fulfill your trust in that charity.

Trust is one of the most valuable components of the charitable sector. Without it, donors would hesitate in their funding, projects would get less community support, and organizations would likely have a harder time reaching objectives. Given its value and significance, a charity would be wise to consider what proactive steps it has taken to strengthen the public’s trust. BBB WGA believes that the accountability assessments it completes can help charities address this vital element of charity stewardship.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance does not charge charities for these assessments and the resulting reports are available for free public access at Give.org.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features Charlie Bresler, the Co-Founder of The Life You Can Save, a nonprofit dedicated to reducing extreme poverty and its devastating effects on over 700 million people worldwide.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
January 31, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: How to Reduce Volume of Fundraising Calls
Every two years, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) produces a report to Congress about the Do Not Call Registry. The latest report issued on January 8, 2024, announced that 249 million Americans placed their telephone number on this registry. The FTC received over two million complaints last year that alleged violations, mostly due to robocalls. While signing up for this Registry helps people reduce the volume of telemarketing calls from businesses, the Do Not Call Registry does not apply to charities. Charities are not required to stop calling people on this Do Not Call listing.

Although there are many charitable organizations that make fundraising calls responsibly, there are some that don’t. Potential donors might be annoyed by the frequency and timing of such calls. In other instances, they are upset to learn that mismanaged fundraising campaigns that call people can sometimes result in very little going to the charity and more than 80% going to the fundraising company.

There are some things that donors can do, however, to help reduce the volume of charity telemarketing:
- If a for-profit telemarketing company calls, you can request that they place you on their internal do not call list. The firm can no longer call you on behalf of that charity but could call on behalf of other charities.
- In making such a request, make sure to use the words “place me on your do not call list” and note the date, time, name of charity, and name of the telemarketing firm.
- If they call again on behalf of that charity, you can file a complaint with the FTC at www.ftc.gov.
If you are interested in supporting a charity that has called you, BBB Wise Giving Alliance urges you to find out more about the group before you donate. Visit Give.org to see if there is a report that verifies if they meet the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. Also, visit the website of the organization to learn more about their planned activities.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features Donald Summers, Founder & CEO, Altruist Partners which seeks to help charities deliver impact and address strategic, fundraising, and organizational challenges.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
January 24, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: Tips on Checking Out New Charities
The United States is known for having more charities than any other country. Specifically, the IRS Data Book for the year ended September 30, 2022, reports there were 1,480,565 organizations that were tax exempt as charities under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. This includes 115,506 new organizations that applied for and received charitable tax-exempt status in that fiscal year. While the majority of new charities are of small size, some contributors will still be interested in making an informed giving decision. This can be a challenge since a relatively new charity will not yet have an annual report, financial statement and/or IRS Form 990 to review. BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers the following tips about giving to charities that have been around for less than 18 months.

Find out about state government registration. About 40 of the 50 states in the U.S. require charities to register with a state government office before they solicit donations. Usually, this is a division of the office of the Secretary of State or the Attorney General in that state. For specific information, see the following link.

Review the charity’s website. Even a new charity will likely have a website that includes basic facts about its intended goals and activities. Be wary of vague descriptions that do not provide any specifics about how the charity will carry out its efforts.

Consider board oversight. Although the charity is new, it will have a board of directors that is ultimately in charge of the oversight of the operations and staff. See if the organization’s website has a board roster that identifies who serves on the board and provides their professional affiliations. This may help you determine if the charity’s governing body is being led by individuals who have the knowledge and/or experience to address the identified cause.

Be cautious about emergency appeals. If the charity is raising funds for some type of disaster or other emergency need, it should be able to substantiate that the timing and nature of its expenditures will be in accordance with what is stated, expressed or implied in its solicitations. Also keep in mind that even with the best of intentions, it can be challenging for new charities to address emergency situations unless they have adequate connections or skills to address the circumstances at hand.

See the charity’s privacy policy. See if the charity’s website includes a clear and accessible privacy policy that tells visitors (i) what information, if any, is being collected about them by the charity and how this information will be used, (ii) how to contact the charity to review personal information collected and request corrections, (iii) how to inform the charity (e.g., a check-off box) that the visitor does not wish his/her personal information to be shared outside the organization, and (iv) what security measures the charity has in place to protect personal information.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features BBB WGA President & CEO, Art Taylor, providing highlights of all the podcasts produced in 2023. This is Part 2 of a two-part series.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
January 17, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: What is a Charity Scam?
With over a century of experience in reporting on charities, BBB Wise Giving Alliance recognizes that people often look for communication short-cuts in identifying concerns about charitable giving. While the term “charity scam” is frequently used as a generic criticism of suspicious charity behavior, it actually has a narrower definition. When a person or an entity is accused of conducting a charity scam it generally means someone has been tricked into donating money under false pretenses. In other words, the scammer has committed a fraud, an illegal act, with an intent to deceive the donor to provide a contribution that will be used for personal gain, not a charitable purpose. With sufficient evidence, a government law enforcement division can take action against such alleged behavior.

What are some examples of such charity scams? A website that collects funds for a disaster relief charity that does not exist. An email message claiming to be raising money for a well-known charity is actually a phishing activity seeking to obtain personal and financial information from potential victims. Or a telephone solicitor that claims to be raising money for a veterans charity but uses the donor’s credit card number for other purposes. While activities like these have occurred over the years, charity scams are really just a small part of the solicitation marketplace.

The vast majority of charities are well managed but sometimes deficiencies can occur in an organization’s governance, finances, transparency and/or accountability. These are the type of issues that are addressed in the 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. While some of the most egregious circumstances that are covered by these standards might help reveal potential illegal activities (for example, strongly misleading appeals), such conclusions are very rare. Most potential donors are seeking to give with confidence by identifying a charity that meets recognized standards and is fully accountable to contributors. Charities that meet all of our standards are called BBB Accredited Charities and can be found on Give.org.

So, the next time you wonder whether a charity appeal is a scam, you might want to consider whether you are really asking about fraud or just have potential concerns about how well the charity is run.

Video of the Week
As part of BBB WGA’s Building Trust Video Series, BBB Wise Giving Alliance interviews Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society (a BBB Accredited Charity) that seeks to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support, to ensure everyone has an opportunity to prevent, treat and survive cancer.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features BBB WGA President & CEO, Art Taylor, providing highlights of all the podcasts held in the past year. This is Part 1 of a two-part series.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
January 10, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: Community Media Covering Ukraine in Wartime
BBB Wise Giving Alliance is pleased to release this seventh entry in a series of posts by Kateryna (Katya) Zhuk. Katya heads a Ukraine charity monitoring organization, Charity Tuner. This organization, along with BBB Wise Giving Alliance, is a member of an association of standards-based charity monitors from around the world.

Community Media Covering Ukraine During Wartime

By Kateryna Zhuk

Community or regional media play an extremely important role during wartime. Sadly, regional journalists based in the Russian occupied Ukraine territories during 2014-2015 were among the first media representatives killed in that conflict. Due to the destruction of the area (for example, Bakhmut) media survivors relocated and remain in the de-occupied territories, helping large international media to tell the real stories and fight fakes.

Readership Trust in Regional Media
No matter where Ukrainians are in the world now, no matter where they have traveled inside Ukraine fleeing from the war zone – we all (and me, of course, among others!) read our local news. By virtue of my profession, I am subscribed to local small media and groups all over Ukraine. I have believed for many years that community media influences the world because their representatives are those who live close to the action and have earned trust. But they all need help now more than ever.

The head of one of these regional Ukraine publications tells me, “…Foreign correspondents come to us [with] armored vests, helmets, a jeep, all taped up with “press” signs. And I say to them: ‘Do you want to film or do you want to sit down for a coffee? …Then quickly change your clothes, shorts, t-shirt, get in that dirty red local car, which all the drones already know, and pretend that you are local. Because your jeep will be bombed first, don’t you dare even bother.’ “

Who thinks about these nuances? Who knows where to go and where not to go? Regional small media. One small print publication noted that even Ukrainian soldiers on the front line read their paper.

Grant Funding Struggles
One of the main problems is that grant funding for regional media is often restricted for special projects. In other words, you have to think of an additional project beyond your regular publications to pply for funding. And then the journalist has a double burden – to do his regular work and, of course, cover the project as well. In fact, there is very little funding for institutional activity as such. Galyna Petrenko, director of a large portal for media professionals (Detector Media) also notes that you must know English to apply for funding which can sometimes involve a rather complicated grant reporting process.

Regional journalists help collect evidence of war crimes. It is not always the case that local residents who have suffered at the hands of the Russian military will tell big media about their experiences. Also, big media may face challenges in finding, contacting, and negotiating with local contacts. Local journalists, in contrast, can more easily identify humanitarian aid needs, know where it should be sent, and help check the facts while scraping together funding for salaries and office rent.

Unfortunately, Patreon and similar funding services don’t work in our situation. These funding  systems usually require that you provide something extra to the patrons. Collections are very small and most of our readers have no money for obvious reasons. Many of the displaced Ukraine people can barely make ends meet (see my previous article – https://give.org/news/ukraine-housing-crisis.) They are more likely to donate to help the Ukrainian armed forces.

Staffing and Outreach Challenges
In addition, many of these regional publications are short-staffed. Some journalists have gone to the front lines. Others have gone abroad to save their children. It is impossible to cover local events from abroad, so people quit their jobs, look for work in new places and try to survive there.

It is difficult to reach a Western audience, get material properly translated to English, and later, to find a place to publish the article. Our way is to cooperate with large media outlets that come to us. After all, regional media is not only about news, it’s also about offering potential solutions. Our job can help change the world for the better by helping with investigations and fighting misrepresentations.

A newspaper editor from Bilopillya told me, “We have mobile apps with alarms, just to know – oh, the post office and the shop are closed. We are so used to it, we are bombarded all the time…”

A few months ago, Detector Media launched a platform that collects information about regional media that it verified for accuracy. I invite interested readers to go to the portal https://map.detector.media/# and select section 4 “regional”, there are 128 media so far. Find someone you like and please help them financially with their regular but incredibly important work.

Also, community media is a resource that helps me to monitor charitable foundations by region (reputation, partners, recipients, etc.).

The following are links to information from regional newsrooms that may provide more insight into what is happening in Ukraine, beyond the publicly available news from the big and, often, paywalled publications.

Kharkiv (constantly under rocket attacks): gwaramedia.com/en/
Bilopillia (Sumy region, under constant shelling) https://bilopillia.city/articles/327445/bilopilska-gromada-pid-obstrilami-situaciya-za-minulij-tizhden
Izyum (Kharkiv region, 6 months under occupation, largest unmarked burials of murdered civilians)  https://city-izyum.pp.ua/help-and-support-of-media-raisin-information-donate/
Bakhmut (City in Donetsk region, completely destroyed, cannot be rebuilt, portal about the life of Bakhmut migrants)  https://bahmut.in.ua/

Katryna Zhuk
Warsaw, Poland
January 02, 2024

Notes from BBB Wise Giving Alliance: The links to news publications listed above were compiled by the author, Kateryna Zhuk. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of Kateryna Zhuk and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and its employees.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week Heart of Giving Podcast features Jennifer Rodriguez, Executive Director, Youth Law Center. YLC is a charitable organization that works “to transform foster care and juvenile justice systems so every child and youth across the nation can thrive.”

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
January 3, 2024
Wise Giving Wednesday: Support BBB Wise Giving Alliance
As 2017 draws to a close, we thank you for your shared interest in charity accountability and hope that your generosity will extend to us as well. Please consider making a donation to support our work.

Contributions help us accomplish the following, among other things:
- Educating Donors: During the past year, we sought to expand our educational activities for donors. Our outreach to various media resulted in a total cumulative tally of over three billion media impressions which was three times the volume from the previous year. Getting out the word to provide wise giving advice on such things as disaster relief appeals or charity sweepstakes scams, is a key component of our service.
- Strengthening Charity Practices: Our evaluative reports on charities serve a dual function. Not only do they help donors verify charity trustworthiness by indicating which charities meet our 20 BBB Standards for Charity Accountability, but our staff counsels charities on what actions they can take to strengthen accountability and amend concerns we bring to their attention. Many initial report findings are changed after the charity implemented the recommended changes.
- Advancing Collaboration: In partnership with Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), we produced an article series that calls on the nonprofit sector, and others engaged in philanthropy, to embody a new spirit of collaboration. Grounding in trust, these partnerships reach boarder audiences, share the risk involved in experimentation and accomplish more than any single organization can do alone.
BBB Wise Giving Alliance is tax exempt as a charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Like other nationally soliciting charities, we register to solicit with the appropriate state government agencies across the country. Here is a link to our state government disclosures as well as our latest annual report and financials.

We look forward to accomplishing even more in 2018 and would be grateful for any support you provide. Please consider donating to the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Video of the Week

As part of our Building Trust Video Series, we are pleased to provide a video that features Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director, Grassroots International (a BBB Accredited Charity) which supports rural and indigenous people around the world in their struggle for land, water and food. The organization reports that they support community-led initiatives and movements worldwide, with a special focus in Brazil, Haiti, Mexico, Central America, and the Middle East.

Finally, remember to let us know by going to https://www.give.org/ask-us-about-a-charity1/ if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on our list and we will do our best to produce one.

H. Art Taylor, President & CEO
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
December 27, 2023
Wise Giving Wednesday: Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine
BBB Wise Giving Alliance is pleased to release the sixth entry in a series of posts by Kateryna (Katya) Zhuk. Katya heads a Ukraine charity monitoring organization, Charity Tuner. This organization, along with BBB Wise Giving Alliance, is a member of an association of standards-based charity monitors from around the world.

Humanitarian Aid in Ukraine

By Kateryna Zhuk

As the end of the year approaches, Ukrainians face another hard winter. Of course, we have been working to restore infrastructure and reconnect electricity. We try to install generators in yards (and avoid their theft) or connect generators at home (although few people can afford them). We have stocked up on some gas burners and firewood, we are exchanging warm clothes and making a stock of candles. Humanitarian aid, however, is still an essential need.

In recent months, there have been discussions that some previous aid for Ukrainians disappeared due to lack of reporting, accounting and/or theft. That is why a specialized Ukrainian government ministry decided to reach out to large Ukrainian foundations to help solve the problem. During the last six months, there have been many meetings about managing aid. There also was outreach to international institutions with experience in providing relief assistance in a thorough manner.

Although the initial plan was to launch aid-management changes by December 1, 2023, the system required additional attention and a new target date of April 1, 2024, has been set. In the meantime, humanitarian aid is still an urgent issue for those:
– whose homes were destroyed,
– who are dependent on medications,
– who have nothing to eat, not to mention things for the kids,
– and many others who are rarely thought of because the problems are no longer receiving the global attention that they once did.

Perfect world (a Ukrainian’s dream)

Ideally, the process should be simple. There are people who need help. People apply to the foundation. The foundation makes a list and applies to a foreign charity to provide the specified items/services. The organization, which has the resources, responds, and distributes everything with photos and accompanying receipts.

While most donors imagine the process in this way, the reality can be quite different. An acquaintance complained to me, “Look, I gave up on humanitarian aid a year ago. I tried it once and they almost declared me a fraud because I didn’t send pictures of happily dressed children a week later.”

Another friend of mine was offered a whole truckload of children’s clothes and stationery a year ago. Having happily agreed, knowing the needs of different families, including displaced children and orphanages, he waited for the humanitarian aid and planned heavy and complicated logistics. A post office, where the humanitarian aid was to be shipped, was targeted by a missile. As a result, he could not quickly deliver everything as planned. And he received a complaint that took my breath away: “You didn’t report in a week!”

These are not isolated incidents. Humanitarian aid faces many challenges: broken roads, shelling, the front line, vehicle inspections, and the movement of people inside a warring country. There is also the pile of documents for preparing the import of cargo and subsequent reporting to the tax authorities. Some donors may need to decide what is more important, photos with smiling children or providing aid for the sake of effective help.

Searching

There is no single resource that provides a list of all humanitarian organizations helping Ukrainians (I understand all the risks, but I am seriously considering creating one). Therefore, in most cases, the search for help is not always effective. Or, the Ukrainian foundation is ready to take whatever is offered in the hope others will be helped. All of this requires additional resource to find aid recipients, to process unfamiliar products, and to set up new logistics.

Costs

Some small Ukrainian foundations declined to accept humanitarian aid because they did not have enough resources to pay an accountant/driver/another manager. Humanitarian aid, like any other kind of aid, requires administrative resources. One may also need the knowledge of working with customs, drivers, escorts, financiers, accountants, and/or lawyers. Also, a manager will need to collect requests, print lists, post on Facebook, and make reports. Of course, this administrative activity is much cheaper than the contents of the shipment but must be addressed to be accountable to donors.

New system

In the past 30 years, Ukrainians have gone through everything imaginable: post-Soviet semi-starvation, two revolutions, a pandemic, occupation, war with incessant bombing, and drones. We are used to solving our problems ourselves and not relying on the state. This time, it is impossible to pull it all out alone.

We are far from legislative reforms in the sphere of charity and social activity, there is a lot of bureaucracy (although we are trying to reduce it). The very practitioners who have been helping people for years are trying to make all the changes for the better. Because there are fraudsters in all countries of the world and practically in any sphere of activity, charity is no exception, and everyone tries to fight them.

If you don’t know which organizations to pass help through or you are not sure that the request for help came from an effective working organization – write to me, let’s check it out together. Because the most important goal is to help people. And Ukrainians are ready to do everything to make sure that this help comes to the right place.

But please remember, this winter we still need generators, medicine, and hygiene products.

Katryna Zhuk Warsaw, Poland December 19, 2023

Links to donate humanitarian aid and communications:
https://www.helpeplus.org/
https://skarbnitsya.org/
https://pomogaem.com.ua/index.php
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Monsters.Inc.Odessa/
https://krona.niko.ua/
https://krab.org.ua/
https://krylanadiyi.org.ua/
https://svoyi.org.ua/

Notes from BBB Wise Giving Alliance: The links to charitable organizations listed above were compiled by the author, Kateryna Zhuk. Since these organizations are not located in the United States, contributions from Americans may not be deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes. BBB Wise Giving Alliance has not evaluated these charities and has not determined whether they meet the BBB Charity Standards. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of Kateryna Zhuk and do not necessarily reflect the views of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance and its employees.

Heart of Giving Podcast

This week’s Heart of Giving Podcast features Kitty Block, President & CEO, The Humane Society of the United States, (a BBB Accredited Charity). Kitty Block discusses how the charity addresses its mission of ending the cruelest practices toward animals, rescuing and caring for animals in crisis, and expanding the influence and impact of the animal protection movement worldwide.

Recent Reports

We are always working with charities to publish or update reports for donors. Visit Give.org or local BBBs to check out any charity before giving. Our recently evaluated charities include:
Finally, remember to let us know by going to www.give.org/charity-inquiry if you are interested in seeing a report on a charity not on the list and we will do our best to produce one.
December 20, 2023