In the wake of last week’s earthquake in Haiti, the outpouring of support from people in America and abroad has been impressive. Perhaps one of the only things more surprising than the disaster itself has been the prevalent source of support: online donations and gifts via text message. Ultmiately, this trend shows the power of new technology in relation to charitable giving. Nonetheless, with record amounts of money being given electronically, donors should remain vigilant of the legitimacy of e-charities and watch out for their privacy and their wallets.
Viewers of last weekend’s football games were confronted by constant reminders to text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to make a donation to the Red Cross. In fact, within the 48-hour period following the earthquake, the Red Cross raised $5 million for Haiti through text messages. While that number was only one seventh of the total volume of donations, it represented a new record for donations via texting. Additionally, nearly two thirds of the Red Cross’ donations have come from the Internet, and online and text donation have helped smaller charities better collect aid from those wishing to help.
Of course, text messaging and the Internet have existed since other recent disasters, namely the 2004 Pacific tsunami and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, however the text message donations from the Haiti quake appear to have far eclipsed similar contributions from those previous disasters. Why e-donations have become so popular recently are unclear – perhaps the world has become more accustomed to sharing information through text messaging or conducting Internet transactions. In any case, the popularity of text and Internet donations shows the efficiency with which new technologies can be used to efficiently collect charitable donations from those looking to give.
Nonetheless, the picture isn’t completely perfect. Amid the legitimate charities, there have been a number of scams targeting those wishing to give e-donations. While it may be easy to verify charities such as the Red Cross, other more obscure charities merit additional scrutiny from those looking to donate. It is especially that such care and caution come from the public – responsibility is perhaps the best way to ensure that private charities will remain free to utilize new technologies to raise funding for charitable causes.
If fraud becomes a serious problem, there is a chance that the government will become involved and potentially stifle development of this new realm. Vigilance, not government intervention, may be the best weapon to fight fraud and to ensure continued innovation in the realm of charity.
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