Click to Donate? Not So Fast

Success Spurs Imitators

The success of the Hunger Site has not gone unnoticed, and not surprisingly, the site has spawned many imitators. Care2.com started a similar campaign to save the rain forest. At its site you can register, click once a day, and track your impact on the rain forest. Sites now offer similar campaigns for homelessness, cancer, and other ailments. But while the sites may sound alike, the ways in which they donate can differ greatly.

The Hunger Site and Greater Good do not make any money off the click-to-donate feature, says Katherine James Schuitemaker, executive vice president of marketing and sales for Greater Good. Greater Good invoices the advertisers, who cut checks directly to the United Nations World Food Program, she says.

But other sites may take a percentage of the donations. FreeDonation.com, for example, which allows you to click to fight cancer, AIDS, and homelessness, as well as to support the arts and education, keeps 20 percent of the revenue that advertisers pay and sends the rest to charity. The amount is to cover administrative costs, says Dr. Jennie Hwang, the cofounder and acting chief executive officer of FreeDonation.com.

In addition, FreeDonation.com does not immediately tell you which organizations are receiving the donations; you have to click a link to view the list of organizations in each category. Doing so tells you that when you click to "support the arts," you are specifically supporting the Cleveland or the San Jose Ballet.

Direct Donation

To know exactly where your money is going, donating directly to a charity through its Web site could be your best bet. You know the organization to which you are donating, and the money goes directly into its hands.

That doesn't mean, however, that there aren't risks.

Just like shopping, making donations online requires using your credit card. If you are wary of this, many sites have a number you can call or an address to which you can send a check. If you are using your credit card over the Web, you'll want to check the site's security and privacy policies.

"Know exactly who you're dealing with," says Dan Lanagan, the director of public information at the National Charities Information Bureau. "Click on the FAQs, About Us, Privacy. Make sure all of your questions are answered."

Another danger is sacrificing your privacy. "You have to consider how your information is used. Do the sites you go to sell lists of donors?" asks Michael Nilsen, the public affairs manager at the National Society of Fund Raising Executives. Check with the organization for their policy on how this information is used, he recommends.

Third-Party Help?

When a charitable organization doesn't have a Web site or the ability to accept donations via the Web, a third-party organization may be able to help you get the money to the charity of your choice. Givenation.com, Givetocharity.com, and Helping.org are examples of these third-party sites. Shine.com, a new Web site, offers a similar service, with links to charities to which you can donate. This site also offers news on charities and the issues that donors can face.

While these sites can help you connect with your charity, you also need to know what you are getting into. You'll want to find out whether these (often for-profit) sites are taking big commissions off the money that you donate, and where exactly the money you donate is going. Are you donating the money directly to the charity, using this site only as the connection, or are you donating the money to this for-profit organization, which then in turn donates it to the charity for you? While the charity still gets the money (minus a possible commission), you don't get the tax break--instead the site that sent the money for you can take the tax deduction.

"You need to talk with the Web site provider. You always want to ask for written information," says Nilsen.