The Charity Commission, the independent charity regulator for
England and Wales, has released advice for those wishing to
donate to help people affected by the humanitarian crisis in East
Africa. This follows the launch of the East Africa Crisis
Appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee
(DEC)on Wednesday.
Public support to charities delivering humanitarian aid is
essential when crisis hits, and with famine reaching alarming
levels in East Africa, it is essential that donations reach
genuine charities. The Commission says that most fundraising is
genuine, but that fraudsters and criminals do take advantage of
public generosity when fundraising is at its heights, using
various methods such as fake appeal websites, email appeals that
falsely use the name of genuine charities, or appeals from fake
charities. The regulator says it wants to give the public
confidence to give safely to genuine relief efforts by following
a few simple steps before giving, including checking a charity’s
name and registration number against the online charity search
tool and being careful when responding to emails or clicking
links within them. It is advising people not to ‘click-through’
from suspicious-looking emails and to beware of unfamiliar or
excessively long website addresses.
Paula Sussex, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said:
The British public is extremely generous, especially at times
of desperate humanitarian need like we are seeing in East
Africa right now. It is vital that people can continue to give
with confidence to charities working to relieve that need, such
as through the DEC appeal to its member charities. We want to
help ensure they do so safely. We are aware that unfortunately
times of crisis can trigger scammers to take advantage of
people’s generosity and abuse the name and work of charities by
fraudulently collecting money. But by following a few simple
steps, you can make sure your donation goes where it is most
needed.
The DEC brings together 13 leading UK aid charities who are
experts in humanitarian aid and deliver efficient disaster
responses to those affected by the appealed crises. They are all
registered charities.
Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee,
stresses the urgency of the East Africa Appeal:
The Disasters Emergency Committee will only launch an appeal
when disasters reach a scale that requires swift international
humanitarian assistance.
There are currently 16 million people, with an alarming number
of children, on the brink of starvation in East Africa. They
are in urgent need of food, water and medical treatment.
We want to encourage people to give to genuine registered
charities, such as our member charities who are already on the
ground delivering life-saving assistance in all affected
countries. Donating now will enable them to reduce the scale
and severity of the crisis.
Other registered charities are also involved in the relief
efforts and are collecting funds to support charity and NGO aid
work in East Africa.
The Commission is advising people to take a few simple steps to
avoid fraudulent fundraising:
- before giving, check the charity’s name and registration
number on our online register of charities - it can help you make
an informed decision before donating by providing information
about each charity, including its charitable purposes and
activities, registered contact details, and its compliance and
financial history and accounts
- take care when responding to emails or clicking links to a
charity’s website to ensure that they are genuine - instead,
search online for your preferred charity to check you have the
right web address
- if you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a request
for donations that appears to come from a charity, don’t hesitate
to contact that charity directly to request further information
- when approached by collectors on the street, check whether
they are wearing a proper ID badge and that any collection tin is
sealed
