From Hurricane Milton to world hunger: How to make your donations count

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Left: A woman in Chad has spent 13 days at a malnutrition clinic seeking treatment for her 15-month-old child. Right: Flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Florida.

Residents are reeling from devastating rain and flooding from Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton. Wars and conflict continue to bring suffering to Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and many other places. People around the world are eager to help. How do you ensure that your donations will do the most good?

These are the guidelines suggested by experts in humanitarian aid.

Start with due diligence

Giving right away is important for immediate needs, says Ruth Messinger, a global ambassador for the American Jewish World Service and its former president. But, she emphasizes, "Never give to a brand new charity that does not have a track record." To find out more about an organization's track record, there are several resources, including BBBWise, Charity Navigator, the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and CharityWatch.

Also take a look at an organization's annual report. It should be found on their website (and if not, ask why not). The report should tell you how the group responded to past crises.

Make sure the charity is situated to help in this emergency.

Give priority to local nonprofits that have an established presence in the area, says Victoria Vrana, CEO of Global Giving, an organization that connects donors to nonprofits working toward various humanitarian causes around the globe.

“They understand their community needs better than anyone else. They truly are the first responders, before anyone else swoops in,” says Vrana. In funding local, “you're investing in the infrastructure of the place for the future. As you help build them up and keep supporting them, they will be [an ongoing] part of that community.” 

Would-be donors can search for local organizations helping a particular cause and see more about the work they’re doing on Charity Navigator. And many larger organizations, including Global Giving, vet local organizations and then partner with them to maximize their impact. Partnerships between local and international groups should be spelled out on the group's website or annual report.

Any red flags to watch out for before donating?

Perhaps most obvious, you should get a receipt for your donation for tax purposes. If you don't receive one, something's amiss. The organization should also be able to provide its employee identification number (nonprofits and charities are required to have this government number before filing for tax exemption). You can look them up on ProPublica’s nonprofit database if you’re interested to see details such as executive compensation, revenue, expenses and more.

Also beware of:

• potential scams: asking you to send money to a personal bank account
• social media campaigns that seem sketchy – from photos that seem exploitive of people who are suffering to bullying tactics to press for donations to fuzzy “matching donation” schemes
• websites that seem incomplete, lacking budget rundowns or essential information about how the organization works and what it does.

Should you send money or stuff?

Our experts agree: Give cash!

Whether it’s a natural disaster or a humanitarian crisis, needs on the ground can change rapidly, even within hours. Giving cash allows organizations the flexibility to support what’s most needed at all stages of the crisis.

If you are keen on providing aid of a particular kind — children’s health or medical aid or food, for instance — look for humanitarian organizations that specialize in those areas.

Any specific considerations in wartorn areas?

All this advice holds true for supporting people living in war zones or ongoing conflict.

And, it’s particularly important to make sure the organization is based in or working in the conflict zone, says Dr. Paul Spiegel, director of the Center for Humanitarian Health and a professor at Johns Hopkins, who responded to questions via email while working in Mali.

“More and more, people may wish to consider [in-country] organizations who are there on the ground, know the culture and speak the language. Many conflicts last for years, and people should consider sustainability; providing funds to local organizations who will be there in the long run.” 

In conflict, there are so many needs — medicine, food, water, shelter, mental health support — it's important to ensure that organizations are focusing on these humanitarian goals, says Vrana.

“We do screen all the activities and all the missions, to make sure they are fully focused on those things, and not anything that’s directly involved in supporting the military or something like that.”

How can I help over the long haul?

Conflict often lasts for years, leaving people displaced for long periods or permanently, says Siegel, so supporting local organizations and offering ongoing support is vital. “Once the media have gone, the funding reduces and these people often suffer accordingly.”

Whether it’s a natural disaster or a humanitarian crisis, 70-80% funding goes to short-term relief, and most of it is given in the first few months, says Vrana.

Consider making a recurring donation, says Vrana, “it can be like $5 a month, just set it and know that you’re in it for the long term.”

There are also humanitarian crises and wars that never make the headlines, says Vrana, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Venezuela and more.

Global Giving recently started a fund to support crises that don’t attract high levels of global attention, Vrana says, “to have a more equitable approach to supporting organizations around the world.”