Facts About Charities and Fundraising

Undoubtedly charities and fundraising are great activities but provided they are done for noble causes and by authentic sources. Many charity and fundraising frauds have been caught through out the countries which are accomplished through telephones. There are strict regulations imposed by Federal Trade Commission to put a stop to this malpractice. It is also important for the customers to recognize these scammers. This article will help you spot them as well as prepare you to deal with them.

Charities and Fundraising Norms

According to the security policy set by FTC, the charitable organizations making calls for donations have to be in compliance with the standards set by them.

-First of all, all calls by the telemarketers for any such organization should be made between 8 in morning to 9 at night. Any caller claiming to represent an authorized charitable institution would not call before or after this stipulated time. So, if you receive one, you would know that they do not belong to an authentic organization.

-The fraudulent fund mongers would not be able to name the organization they belong to. But as per the policy of FTC, authentic callers must identify their organization at once, else they will be disqualified to seek donation over telephone. Also, they must state first that the purpose of call is to ask for fund for a cause. You can ask them to give the website link of the organization for more details about the particular institution.

-To get money through this undue mean, the fraud callers can talk about noblest cause and objectives of the organization. FTC regards this as punishable offense thus even a genuine caller cannot mislead the subscriber to retrieve money.

-Finally, if you say that you don’t want them to call you up again, they cannot call you ever again.

Exercise Caution When Paying for Charities and Fundraising Events

On your part, you too have to know how you can avoid these fraudulent charities and fundraising callers. The best way is to donate at established or renowned charities. But if you want to aid the upcoming charities as well, you need to be little careful. For example, never go for cash donations. Pay through bank check addressed to the name of the organization and not to the solicitor. Also, you must ask for the receipt for the amount paid. This will be helpful to check the authenticity as well as for tax purpose. The receipt should mention the contribution and tax deductible.

Often fraudulent callers try to pledge you by reminding you of some previous contributions made by you. If you cannot remember of any such donations, check your own records before making any further donation. If some caller puts pressure on you to donate, reject the call because a charitable organization would never apply force to raise fund. Never comply with any caller if he or she offers to send someone who will pick up the donation. There are offers associated with charities like sweepstakes, gifts or free passes for events, remember you are getting gifts from your money itself. Even it is as per the US law that you are eligible for sweepstakes without making any donation.