BBB advises caution, patience with holiday charity donationations

TACOMA — With the holiday season upon us, there will be a lot of charities asking for donations.

The Better Business Bureau (bbb.org), which also evaluates and accredits charities as well as businesses, wants people to know it’s okay to resist the emotional appeal and make sure the charity they give to will use the money wisely and well.

“What we see quite often is these overly emotional appeals,” Hickle said of holiday charity fundraisers. “So you know, if an appeal is bringing tears to your eyes, just make sure it's also clear about what the charity intends to do to address those issues.

According to Logan Hickle, communications manager with the BBB in Tacoma, people can see how a charity rates at give.org, the BBB’s website for charities. Hickle said it’s one for a charity, in a fundraising appeal, to identify a problem and ask for money, but something quite different to actually address the problem.

“But what are they doing with that money to fix those problems that they just pulled on your heartstrings, to make sure that there's a clear plan laid out in front of them?” he said.

According to the give.org website, the BBB evaluates charities for governance, effectiveness, financial transparency and accountability. Especially important to the BBB is whether or not a charity spends about 65% on actual charitable work, as opposed to fundraising or administration.

“They actually have to meet 20 standards, whereas our regular for-profit organizations on BBB.org only have to meet eight,” Hickle said.

Hickle also advised consumers to check and make sure a charity is both registered at a proper 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the Internal Revenue Service and registered with the Washington Secretary of State’s Office.

According to the Internal Revenue Service, all nonprofits have to file form 990 (or 990-N if gross receipts are less than $50,000) reporting donations and expenditures with the IRS every year. Currently, Form 990 for all nonprofits is available online and can be viewed by the public at the IRS website apps.irs.gov/app/eos/. People can also look up corporations and charities at the Washington Secretary of State’s corporation and charities website, https://ccfs.sos.wa.gov/#/.

“Because if a nonprofit is registered appropriately, with a federal government with the state of Washington, then they should have all their ducks in a row,” Hickle said.

Any red flags, such as uncertainty about where a charity is actually located, or where the money is going, or even confusion about the organization’s name, should prompt caution in anyone seeking to make a donation, Hickle said.

For example, Hickle said in the immediate aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, lots of charities popped up soliciting money to help Ukrainians, and it was often unclear who those charities were or how they would get money to the intended recipients.

“The consumer needs to make sure that If the charity has that kind of plan of action in place because if there's a little bit of confusion in the name and the website, the advertisements don't spell this out, then that should be a big red flag,” he said.

Hickle advised patience on the part of people seeking to make donations. Any charity that will take your money today, no matter how urgent the appeal, will likely be around to receive your donation tomorrow.

“You don’t have to give that day,” he said.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.