Consumer: I frequently receive solicitations from charities. I’d like to support their causes, but how do I know if my money will be put to good use?

Attorney General Rob McKenna: Charities need our support. But before you reach for your pocketbook, you need to do your homework.

Some seemingly good causes are really scams operated by cons hoping to pocket your donation or trick you into divulging personal information they can use to drain your bank account or steal your identity.

Even legitimate organizations are worth further scrutiny. You’ll want to know how much of your money will go to the program you want to support versus other expenses such as administrative or fundraising costs.

Here are a few tips to avoid scams and ensure your charitable donations are put to use as you intended:

Give to familiar organizations and those you trust.

• Confirm the name, address, and phone number of the organization seeking the donation.
• Be wary of solicitations from unfamiliar organizations, particularly those made by telephone, e-mail or on the street.
• Carefully consider the charity’s name. Some use names that sound impressive or closely resemble those of well-known, respected organizations.
• Ask for identification if a fundraiser comes to the door.
• Solicitors who are reluctant to provide details about the organization they represent, pressure you for an immediate decision or decline to provide written information are probably not legitimate.

Find out exactly how your money will be used.

• Inquire how your donation will be distributed. How much will go to the program you want to support and how much will cover the charity’s administrative and fundraising costs?
• Ask if the solicitor is a charity volunteer or a paid commercial fundraiser. Charities sometimes hire fundraisers to handle telephone drives or large scale mailings. Professional fundraisers are in business to make a profit and are entitled to keep a portion of the money they collect.
• Ask for a written financial report.
• The Secretary of State’s Office publishes an annual report on commercial fundraisers that reveals the percentage of donations they return to their charity clients. It is available online at www.secstate.wa.gov/charities. A good benchmark is to select organizations that give at least 70 percent of the money to charity.

Verify information.

• Confirm that a charity is registered with the Secretary of State’s Office. Call the office’s Charities Information Hotline at (800) 332-4483 or search online at www.secstate.wa.gov/charities
• If a charity tells you that your dollars will support a local organization, such as a fire department, police department or hospital, call the organization to verify the claim.

Pay by check and protect your personal information.

• Never give cash. Make out a check payable to the charity, not the individual collecting the donation.
• Do not give your credit card number, bank account number or other personal information to unknown solicitors.
• Likewise, use caution when making online donations. Use a secure browser that scrambles information you send. Look for the “lock” icon on the status bar and a Web address that begins with “https” instead of the standard “http”.
• Go directly to an organization’s Web site to make a donation. Don’t click on links in e-mails, be wary of bogus sites that bear similar addresses to legitimate organizations, and never enter your personal information in a pop-up screen.

Know the difference between “tax exempt” and “tax deductible.”

• Tax exempt means the organization doesn’t have to pay taxes.
• Tax deductible means you can deduct your contribution on your federal income tax return. Even if an organization is tax exempt, your contribution may not be tax deductible.
• If a tax deduction is important to you, ask for a receipt that shows amount of your contribution and states that it is tax deductible.

Maintain records of your contributions.

• Keep records of your donations (receipts, canceled checks, and bank statements) so you can document your charitable giving at tax time.

More information about specific charities and charitable giving is available from these resources:

• Secretary of State’s Office: (800) 332-4483, www.secstate.wa.gov/charities.
• Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance: (703) 276-0100, www.give.org
• American Institute of Philanthropy: (773) 529-2300, www.charitywatch.org
• GuideStar: (757) 229-4631, www.guidestar.org
• Washington Attorney General’s Office: http://www.atg.wa.gov/consumer/charity.shtml

Consumers who believe they are victims of charitable fraud should file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at www.atg.wa.gov or call 1-800-551-4636.

Attorney General Rob McKenna offers this public service to help consumers avoid fraud and to promote a fair and informed marketplace.

If you have a consumer complaint or inquiry, contact the Consumer Protection Division at www.atg.wa.gov or 800-551-4636. To suggest a future topic for this column, send an e-mail to asktheag@atg.wa.gov or write to “Ask the AG”, Attorney General’s Office, 900 4th Ave. Suite 2000, Seattle, WA 98164-1012. Previous columns are online at www.atg.wa.gov/AskAG.