Holiday Fraud Alert - Charitable Donations

As the holidays are fast approaching many people are inclined to dig deep into their pockets to donate their hard earned money to various charities of their choice. Unfortuanately, its also a time that criminals and unscrupulous organizations are the most active in this same area. Therefore, Sheriff Wendell Hall and his staff would like for you to consider several things before you decide where to send your donations. Keep in mind that there are no laws that require charities to use a specific percentage of your donations on charitable purposes. It is up to each of us to make sure our donations is used wisely for those in need, instead of lining the pockets of for-profit fund raisers and questionable organizations. Sheriff Hall recommends the following: (1) Make an annual charitable lists and stick to it! Keep your list to a manageable number of charities (2) Don't judge a charity by an impressive sounding name. Many organizations have names similar to other more well-known charities (3) Ask for a written description of programs, staff, finances, and tax deductability of the charity, such as an annual report (4) Most telephone appeals are made by salespeope employed by professional fund raisers. Most of your donatioin goes to the fund raiser, not the charity. For detailed reports that rate charities and tell you how your donations will be used, go to these national charity watchdog resources on the Internet: •  www.give.org or www.charitynavigator.org and for information on local charities, contact the Better Business Bureau: www.bbb.org or call your local BBB. For assistance call the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Crime Prevention Unit at 850-983-1267.