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December 29, 2004 12:09 PM

How To Handle Charity Solicitations


Excerpt: Solicitations from charities come in many forms - e-mail, letters, phone calls or a person at your door. Here are some tips to sort out the requests and ensure your donation goes to a legitimate charity - not a scam artist.

   

Solicitations from charities come in many forms - e-mail, letters, phone calls or a person at your door. Here are some tips to sort out the requests and ensure your donation goes to a legitimate charity - not a scam artist.

Telephone solicitations

Don't pledge a donation over the phone, advises the Federal Trade Commission. Instead, ask that the charity mail information to you about its programs and practices.
If the telephone solicitor claims that the charity will support local organizations, call those organizations to verify.
Never provide your bank or credit card information over the phone. Make your donation via a mailed check instead - once you've checked out the charity thoroughly.
Mail or e-mail solicitations

By law, you aren't required to pay for any gift sent as an enticement to donate, reports the Council of Better Business Bureaus. Donation requests sent in the form of invoices or bills should be reported to your local BBB.
Mailed information about a charity should give you specific details about the charity's programs and how its operations are run. Avoid donating to programs that are heavy on heartfelt appeal, but lack basic details about the charity and its programs.

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