Should You Donate to Hurricane Relief Charities?

We are so well prepared for hurricanes in Mexico that it is shocking for us to see what happens in other Central American countries. Hurricane Felix has slammed into Nicaragua and is on its way to tearing up a significant portion of Central America. Someone has to help those people. Their local governments do not have the resources and it is a waste of time and energy to question why. Children and families are in desperate need of help. Their homes are gone. Many are injured. If help doesn't come within a matter of hours - not days, not next week... within hours... the victims of Hurricane Felix will begin to get sick. We saw children covered in fungus within three days of Hurricane Katrina, just from walking through flood waters. The Shriner's Hospital in Shreveport took care of all who could be brought to them, but there are no such resources in Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, or Belize. There, the only hope the children have is that someone will come.

When Americans hear stories such as this, they can't physically go there to help. All they can do is reach for their wallets and donate to a favorite charity. Unfortunately, all charities are not the same and your hard earned dollars often have little chance of making it to the children and families who so desperately need help. Before you donate to any charity, check with the Charity Navigator. You can quickly discover that some of the charities you hear the most about are some of the worst, in terms of aid actually reaching the people for whom it is intended.

At this point in time, there are a number of agencies that intend to respond to the damage Felix has done in Central America. However, it is going to take time for that to happen because they have to collect money, make purchases, obtain clearance to take them in, and then get them there. With that in mind, make certain that any charity to which you donate is already on the ground in the country you want to help. For example, World Emergency Relief is already in Honduras and Guatemala. When you check with Charity Navigator you find that 98% of what you give will make it to the people you intended your gift to help. However, you should also read the fine print, where you will learn that this charity will sell your donor information in a mailing list unless you tell them specifically not to sell your name and contact information. Is this a reason to not donate to help the victims of Hurricane Felix? Certainly not. It only takes a minute to tell the charity not to sell your name, while the loss of your charitable donation could mean the death of a victim of this hurricane.

Do your homework. Do a web search for every charity that asks for your money. Check them out with Charity Navigator and then get some help to those children and their families. When a disaster like Hurricane Felix happens, time is of the essence and their little lives cannot struggle long without your help.