ALKHOBAR, 8 April 2003 — The war in Iraq is on and the charlatans are out big time. They will try anything to get rich by taking advantage of the philanthropic nature of many good people. This is nothing unusual. After the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, numerous criminals cheated do-gooders globally out of millions.

My mailbox is already stuffed with appeals from dozens of companies urging me to contribute to some sort of Iraqi relief effort. I hate the T-shirt salesmen the most. I would never wear an article of clothing emblazoned with profanity and many of these T-shirts are stamped with slogans that use the most obscene language.

HelpOurSoldiers.com claims that if I spend $23.95 on a nasty T-shirt, “I can give relief to the families of those that lost their loved ones fighting to support our freedom.” For every T-shirt HelpOurSoldiers.com sells, they claim that they will “give a donation to America First to help out the families of our heroes.” How much of a donation isn’t specified. What this donation will be used for is not clear. The only thing certain in this whole deal is that HelpOurSoldiers.com is going to make a tidy sum if people buy their shirts.

The fraud problem is already so bad that several consumer organizations have posted notices at their websites urging the public to be cautious in donating to war related charity appeals. Supporting a charity is an individual decision, but for goodness sakes, folks, make sure you know where your money is going.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance (give.org), a merger of the National Charities Information Bureau and the Council of Better Business Bureaus‚ Foundation and its Philanthropic Advisory Service in the USA, is offering the following advice:

• Be wary of appeals that are long on emotion and short on what the war related charity will be doing to assist the US troops, their families, or relief needs in Iraq.

• Ask for written information that describes the charity’s programs and finances. Even a new charity should have some basic information available.

• Although the US Department of Defense does not endorse any specific war related charity, you can visit the website army.mil/operations/oif/FAQ.html to find out various military relief societies that provide various types of assistance to US Service members and their families.

• Look at the appeal carefully to see if it explains what the organization will do with any excess funds that remain after the crisis has ended.

• Check out the charity organization with resources available through the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Internet ScamBusters (scambusters.org) adds that there will probably be two primary types of charity scams, either requests for aid for soldiers, or aid for Iraqi civilians and refugees. ScamBusters suggests that if donating to a bona fide charity, go directly to their Internet website to learn how to make your donation. “Links in scam charity e-mails ensure that you are paying the scammers, not the charities,” writes Scambusters. “The common denominator is that these are ‘unsolicited e-mails’ (SPAM). Never donate based on an unsolicited email.”

Scambusters suggests using resources available through: charitablegift.org/resource/05_ t3_eval_charities.shtml to investigate charity organizations.

If you would like to donate online for humanitarian relief efforts in Iraq there are two excellent, reputable sites to use. Both sites, givenow.org (UK) and networkforgood.org (USA), have major corporate sponsors, including the AOL Time Warner Foundation. The sites provide lists of charities that are mounting humanitarian aid efforts for Iraq, including some specifics on exactly how the donated funds will be used. Donation is through a credit or debit card charge. If you would like to give time to help in the humanitarian effort, details are available on a limited number of groups that are recruiting volunteers.

Now, before any reader starts shouting, it is acknowledged by all that the military forces in this war have legal obligations to ensure that food, water, shelter, medical care, etc. are available for Iraqi civilians. Eventually, there should also be huge rebuilding projects paid for by governments. But there will still be many needs that no government or military will meet. These needs include schoolbooks, essential home furnishings, prostheses, vaccines, mother and child clinics, farm equipment, etc. Such essential items will be brought to the poor of Iraq by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), funded through public donations.

When choosing to support the efforts of any organization, keep in mind that the environment in Iraq will be very difficult. This is not a place for amateurs. Some charities are already operating in the country. These include Care International, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society, UNICEF, and the World Food Program. It may be wise, at least initially, to donate to the programs of NGOs with a proven track record in Iraq.

One sensitive issue in the Middle East is the number of non-profit organizations that are active in the region, solicit donations, and purport to have one mission, but may in fact be working for other purposes. For example, published information about the Middle East Media Research Institute (memri.org) states, “MEMRI, based in Washington, DC, provides translations of Arabic, Persian and Hebrew news media accounts and offers up its own analysis of ideological, cultural and religious trends. Founded in February 1998 to inform the debate over US policy in the Middle East, MEMRI is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization.”

It all sounds fine until you check the website and discover that MEMRI has projects titled “Arab anti-Semitism Documentation Project,” and “Jihad and Terrorism Studies Project.” Many MEMRI translations only cover selected passages of published articles. The bottom line is that if something provides a negative view of the Arab Middle East it will find a home on the MEMRI website. That’s really not surprising because MEMRI has received major funding from right-wing foundations.

Another group, Health Outreach to the Middle East (HOME), sounds like a charity that would simply provide medical services to the poor in the Middle East. But investigate and it will be discovered that the full name of this organization is Health Outreach to the Middle East for Christ (home4him.net).

Their published mission is “to offer physical and spiritual healing to people in need in the Middle East by providing medical care and education.” Since this is the case, why did this organization choose an acronym, which clearly disguises its ties to Christianity? Charitable giving is of course at each person’s own discretion. However, before you take out your cash, ask a few pertinent questions of the organization involved:

• What is the mission of the organization?

• What has the group accomplished in the past?

• What will the organization do with my donation?

• How can I be sure the organization will not waste my donation?

• Where can I find registration of the not-for-profit status, and lists of major donors, board members and senior staff?

The most reputable not-for-profit organizations are more than willing to provide complete disclosure of their activities and total transparency in their finances. Once you are satisfied with the information you receive from a charity, donate with a glad heart, and don’t forget to take a receipt.

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