Milwaukee, Wis. – It may be hard to believe but GivingTuesday, the charity event which takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving started ten years ago, in 2012. It evolved into a movement that has helped raise over $1 billion for online charitable giving around the globe and is now promoted by an organization devoted to this cause. To help donors in this spirit of generosity, which takes place on November 29th this year, BBB Wise Giving Alliance offers the following advice.
Check BBB’s Give.org before contributing. There will be many options and opportunities to donate on GivingTuesday, but our best suggestion is to find out more about a charity before you contribute. Charities can demonstrate they are trustworthy by agreeing to in-depth evaluations in relation to BBB Standards for Charitable Accountability. Get free access to charity reports by visiting Give.org to find out if an organization is BBB Accredited (i.e., meets all 20 BBB Charity Standards.)
Be cautious about name confusion. When charities seek support for the same cause, the names can sometimes appear similar. Before you give, be sure you have the exact name of the charity to avoid a case of mistaken identity.
Understand registration requirements. In the U.S., about 40 states require charities to register with a government agency, usually a division of either the Attorney General’s Office or Secretary of State’s office. (In Canada, check with the Canada Revenue Agency.) Keep in mind that registration with a government agency does not mean the government approves, recommends, or endorses the charity.
Consider tax-exempt status. There are over 1 million organizations that have applied for and received charitable tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In part, this means these groups are eligible to receive gifts that are deductible as charitable donations and will file an annual financial form with the IRS. It does not mean the Internal Revenue Service approves, recommends or endorses the charity. The following link provides access to IRS information on charities.
Watch out for overly emotional appeals. If an appeal brings tears to your eyes, make sure it is also clear about what the charity intends to do to address the issues. Visit the charities website for details about their program services.
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For more information or further inquiries, contact the Wisconsin BBB at www.bbb.org/wisconsin, 414-847-6000 or 1-800-273-1002. Consumers also can find more information about how to protect themselves from scams by following the Wisconsin BBB on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About BBB Wise Giving Alliance: BBB Wise Giving Alliance (BBB’s Give.org) is a standards-based charity evaluator that seeks to verify the trustworthiness of nationally soliciting charities by completing rigorous evaluations based on 20 holistic standards that address charity governance, results reporting, finances, fundraising, appeal accuracy and other issues. National charity reports are produced by BBB’s Give.org and local charity reports are produced by local Better Business Bureaus – all reports are available at Give.org.
ABOUT BBB: For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands and charities they can trust. In 2021, people turned to BBB more than 200 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.3 million businesses and Charity Reports on 25,000 charities, all available for free at BBB.org. There are local, independent BBBs across the United States, Canada and Mexico, including BBB Serving Wisconsin which was founded in 1939 and serves the state of Wisconsin.
