How to make sure your donation reaches people in a crisis
Six simple checks before you give, so your money helps families on the ground and not scammers.
When a crisis is in the news, generosity pours in, and so do fake appeals. A few quick checks make sure your money does what you meant it to do.
1. Give through organisations already working there
In a war zone or a disaster, the groups that can help fastest are the ones that already have staff, warehouses and permission to operate on the ground. UN agencies such as UNICEF, the World Food Programme and UNHCR, and established charities such as Doctors Without Borders, have this. A new fundraiser set up last week usually does not.
2. Go to the charity’s website yourself
Type the charity’s address into your browser, or use the links on Nidaa, rather than tapping a link in a message, a comment or a direct message. Scammers copy real charities’ names and logos closely.
3. Be careful with personal appeals you cannot verify
Appeals from individuals on social media can be genuine, and some families have no other way to ask for help. But they are very hard to verify from far away. If you want to support someone directly, look for appeals that trusted journalists, mosques, churches or community groups have checked. Otherwise, a registered charity is the safer choice.
4. Check it is a registered charity
Registered charities publish their registration number and annual reports. You can look them up with official regulators, such as the Charity Commission in England and Wales or the IRS in the United States.
5. Unrestricted gifts usually help most
Donations that are not tied to one specific project let a charity send money wherever the need is greatest. In fast-changing emergencies, that flexibility matters.
6. Never pay in gift cards or crypto to a stranger
Real charities offer secure card, bank and online payments on their own sites. Anyone asking for gift cards, or for cryptocurrency sent to a personal wallet, is very likely a scam.
The short version
Pick a crisis, pick a trusted organisation from our donate page, and give on the charity’s own website. Then share the briefing with someone else. That is it.
