Friday, January 15, 2010

Helping Haiti: Places to Donate, Creative Fundraising Ideas, and Being a Smart Donor

When I posted about How to Help Haitian Earthquake Survivors on Tuesday evening, there wasn't much information out yet about how to help, but now there are lots of posts and articles with lists of organizations you can donate to like:
Making an individual donation to an organization is a great way to help, but why not organize a group fundraiser, and increase your impact? Below are some fun ways people are raising money for Haiti:
Whether you decide to do something by yourself, or with others, Joanne Fritz of Joanne Fritz's Nonprofit Blog has a helpful post with Top Three Do's and Don'ts for Helping Haiti. Her advice is: 1. give money, not things; 2. donate safely; 3. don't randomly show up to volunteer.

Idealist.org's post, Helping Hati Things to Consider echoes Fritz's advice about not sending things saying:
"Note that organizations are asking for financial donations—not supplies—because they prefer to purchase exactly what they need from secure supply chains, using delivery means that can ensure the safety of the shipment. Where possible, purchasing materials available locally is also a boon to the local economy in the wake of a natural disaster."
They also recommend that people interested in volunteering should:
"Please be patient. Volunteer managers are likely overwhelmed by the outpouring of goodwill and may be unprepared to receive the numbers of people stepping forward to help out. It will take a long time for Haiti to dig out from this disaster, and the long-term volunteering needs will become more apparent as the month (and years) pass."
The Charity Navigator blog post, Tips, Tips and More Tips for Funding Haiti Earthquake Relief Efforts includes advice for how to avoid donation scams like: 1. avoid newly-formed charities and give to an established charity that has worked in Haiti, 2. do not give to the Haitian government, 3. be leery of people who contact you online claiming to be a victim, and 4. avoid telemarketers (give to the charity directly).

The most important thing to remember is that even if you can only give a little bit of time, or money, it will make a difference.

Cross-posted from BlogHer.com.

Image credit: Haiti Earthquake uploaded by United Nations Development Programme.


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14 comments:

  1. This is a great blog post, I always so enjoy reading your blog for inspiration and links. I've written my own post about helping Haiti. I really believe in the social web we have the ability to mobilize and create real change, especially in the wake of natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti. Thank you for being such a great part of the conversation.

    Best,
    Sloane
    @sloane
    http://www.thecausemopolitan.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I agree, this is a great post!

    I can't wait to see a lot of the great things that are going to come in the next few days/weeks in areas that don't move as fast (i.e. - entire retail clothing lines).

    Disclaimer: I work at Causecast

    HuffPo and Causecast put this store up for the HuffPo community 2 days after... http://store.causecast.org/huffingtonpost

    It's a very educational way for donors to give, and it's working out really well so far.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great post! Really good info on directing people on how to help and what they can do. I appreciate your heart you have for the people in Haiti.

    I have been focusing on feeding starving children throughout the world, Haiti included. This is another great way for people to get involved and have a huge impact on the world hunger crisis:
    www.scottfravel.com

    Keep up the great posts!
    http://starvingones.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great post! Really good info on directing people on how to help and what they can do.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you for the useful links. Unfortunately, people quite keen to help when a disaster strikes, but they forgot about it all after a short while.

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is not the first of your posts I've read, and you never cease to amaze me. Thank you, and I look forward to reading more.

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    greetings
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