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Following a fatal flood over the holiday weekend, the North Texans are seeing a donation appeal.
Read on how to help your support reach those who need it.
A relief fund has been established
During a press conference, Kerr County officials said the Texas Hill Country Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity that serves Texas Hill Country, has established the relief fund. The nonprofit is located in Carville. The fund’s website says the grant will go to nonprofits, first response agencies and local governments involved in flood response and recovery. He said that donations will not be given to individuals or families.
According to the Salvation Army, the Emergency Disaster Services team provides food, hydration and emotional and mental care in flood-affected communities. On Monday, the Salvation Army said it would begin accepting donations in kind. It was a huge logistics condition, and the Salvation Army said it would manage acceptance, organizing and distribution of supply to those affected in the coming days. Donors said they could win financial donations in particular for flood relief in Texas.
The American Red Cross is said to support emergency shelters, food, supplies and family travel assistance. For more information about this answer, see here. Financial donations will be sent to the organization’s general disaster relief fund to support the Red Cross efforts in disaster zones. Currently, the Red Cross said it does not accept financial or in-kind donations specialized for flooding in Texas.
The Red Cross provides unified family help. If an individual or family member is looking for someone affected by this disaster, they must call 1-800-RED Cross (800-733-2767) or online via this form.
Online fundraising activities
The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe has launched this hub, allowing donors to search for flood fundraisers in Texas that have been verified by their team. GoFundme said its trust and safety team will continue to update its hub as additional fundraisers are being reviewed. Gofundme said funds are retained for the campaign’s nominated winners. If questions arise, GoFundMe said the payment processor will hold the funds until the beneficiary is confirmed.
North Texans, which plans to donate to an online fundraising campaign, will need to look for platform policies. Do you request a donation on the platform screen? Understand how much of your contribution will be used to pay for the processing fee. Find out more about when and how the money will be transferred to the beneficiary.
Before you donate, look for details about the person who set up a crowdfunding campaign. Where will the money go? What is it used for? Is there a clear connection to the victim? Even if the photo is included in the fundraiser, don’t assume that the campaign is related to the victim.
Search efforts continue in central Texas, with at least 81 people dead. Larry Collins of NBC 5 explains in detail.
We will review charities
After the disaster, the Better Business Bureau recommends donating to established nonprofits already working in the area.
If you’re making a donation to an unfamiliar charity, there are free tools to help you learn more about nonprofits. You can search for charity names in Charity Navigator, Gay Destar in Kanding, and BBB Wise Giving Alliance. The site provides basic details such as when the charity is established, where it operates, and the composition of the board of directors.
IRS.Gov has a search for tax-free organizations here. If you need a charity to submit your information to the IRS, look for the latest tax forms. Generally, churches do not need to submit annual information revenues to the IRS, but some do so.
Regarding donations of items in-kind, such as diapers, cleaning supplies and water, the BBB said it would ask the charity about its transport and distribution plans. Obtaining supplies and storing items in a disaster zone can be complicated, Monica Houghton described Monica Houghton, serving northern Texas.
“People, they want to give, they want to be generous, and they want to help whenever they’re in such a catastrophic situation,” Houghton said. “Some of the kind donations people want to carry water and diaper to disaster sites may not be the most effective way. There are more charity relief organizations than are equipped to deal with these situations.”
Beware of charities. That’s when the name of a legitimate charity is slightly changed by a bad actor.
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