Send Money to Effective Oil Spill Charities and Avoid Scams [Giving]

Send Money to Effective Oil Spill Charities and Avoid Scams [Giving]: From LifeHacker: "As oil continues to flow in the Gulf of Mexico, organizations helping to heal, assist, and rescue need regular help. Here are trusted, checked-out charities you can donate to, and tips on avoiding less helpful groups and outright scams.

Photo by NASA Goddard Photo and Video.

As was the case when earthquakes ravaged Haiti, a lot of fast-acting organizations, both new and existing, mobilized to help, but some were inefficient, some non-specific about where funds were headed, and some outright scams.

The U.S. Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers a list of 13 agencies working in the Gulf that meet the corporate responsibility agency's Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability. We've listed, and properly linked, those 13 firms below. If you'd like the BBB's findings on expenditures, governance, and reputation of each charity, hit the link at this post's bottom for individual reports.

• American Bird Conservancy


• Defenders of Wildlife


• Ducks Unlimited


• EarthShare


• Environmental Defense Fund


• Friends of the Earth


• Greenpeace Fund


• International Fund for Animal Welfare


• National Audubon Society


• National Wildlife Federation


• Natural Resources Defense Council


• Nature Conservancy


• Oceana

The BBB is not a perfect arbiter of justice and fair-minded spending, mind you, but its research on national-scale charities seems fairly sound.

If you're looking to donate or offer help to an organization not on the list, or not widely known in general, consider the advice we compiled in avoiding scams during the early stages of Haiti's crisis. We're reprinting it here, in abbreviated form:

• Send money, not stuff. Charity organizations can use your financial help to restock their supplies, but sending clothes, food, or other items is, at best, misguided.


• Charity Navigator is an independent evaluator of non-profits and aid organizations has a list of gulf-related groups that have attained three- or four-star ratings from their studies, and are generally considered trustworthy and efficient.


• If you first see an offer to donate or pledge money online or through a specialized text message online, through Facebook, or in a mass email, be sure to do a good bit of research into the group and the specific offer.


• Check out any group you're not entirely familiar with (and some you are) at The Foundation Center web site, where you can look up that group's most recent tax filing and non-profit status.

If you've found a great group that's helping heal the Gulf coast and wildlife after the Gulf spill, be sure to tell us about it in the comments. Where else have you been able to have an impact?

Gulf Oil Spill Recovery: Tips for Donors and Volunteers [BBB News Center via The Consumerist]

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