Everything you need to know about online charity donations
The Internet has fundamentally changed how we shop. With scores of websites offering online shopping options and services shopping from the comfort of home is now possible. It has also recreated the way we give. While direct charitable giving has grown at the rate of 1% from 2016, online charity donations have risen by almost 9 percent today. Reason and types of charity donations vary from one person to another. Whatever the reason and cause for your donations, online charity donation is the easiest, most convenient, and quickest method of donating.

Below is some information to help you understand online charity donations better.

What do you need to know about the charity organization?
Whether online or offline, most often donations for any cause go through an organization. Before you choose to make a donation for a cause, there are certain factors that you should consider:

• It is never advisable to make donations without knowing about the organization. Look for the organization’s mission, a description of the line-ups, accomplishments, and the profile of the board of directors.
• Do not assume that any donate charity online web address that ends with “.com” or “.org” is a reputed organization. Anybody can purchase any local domain extensions.
• Check the Internal Revenue Service website if the organization has been granted a tax-exempt status.
• You can also check with the CharityWatch website for associate links to many other government regulators, resources for charitable giving, and databases on donating charity online information.

How to donate safely?

• Be aware of cybertheft before sharing your credit card information online. Ensure that the site’s end-to-end encryption technology provides data security. Make sure that the URL begins with “https”. The “s” represents security, which means the sensitive data transferred is encrypted and transmitted securely.
• Check if the charity donations put the personal information about them on their website and find out if they utilize network security systems like firewalls to protect it from hackers.
• Also get to know if the network security technology used to protect data is updated often. Because hackers know how to drain information from an outdated security software.
• Ensure you obtain contact details of the online charity organization like email addresses, phone numbers, and mailing address.
• It might be helpful to contact a volunteer of the charity donation organization before donating.
• Insist on getting a physical address to avoid dishonesty, as anyone can set up a fake website to loot money from you and disappear into the cyberspace.
• Foreign charity donation organization that solicit in the country are subject to laws and regulations. Find out information regarding any such organization before making a donation.
• Have a print copy of the receipt or final confirmation statement or the confirmation email that has been sent for your donation.
• If you do not receive a confirmation mail, you need to intimate the organization immediately to see if it received your offerings.
• It is advisable to have a hard copy of all the paper records and receipts.

Why make a direct donation?

• Try not to make use of third-party contribution to process the transaction rather use the charity’s own website.
• If they do not support online giving you can offer through Network for Good or JustGive websites.
• Third-party contributors may charge you each time you make a transaction and some additional fees.
• Be aware of the certain websites that earn interest on your charity donation by holding back your transmission from the charity.

What are the different types of donations?
While money is still the most common and convenient form of charity donation, there are some other ways you can make a difference, like:

• Healthy individuals between the age of 17 to 65 can donate blood. Men can donate every four months while women can donate every three. Though this form of donation is a little time consuming as compared to online donations, it is still worth it.
• You can register to be an organ donor. Although a little difficult choice to make, donating organs after death can give a new life to someone. One needs to carry the organ donation card in their wallet and inform loved ones about the choice.
• Clothes, toys, and books are some common materials that tend to build up in our garage. Next time donate them and put them to better use.
• You can also donate your car to charity, wherein the car’s cost is used for a cause of your choice.