Donations to Internet Personas - A Good Idea? [View all]

[MineralMan]

I make most of my charitable donations to local organizations with proven track records of helping people. However, from time to time, I do donate to individuals who present a legitimate request for needed funds. Before I do that, though, there are a few things I check:

1. Does the person have a real name and will the person supply it in a private message or on the website where donations are accepted.? If not, I won't donate, since I can't confirm any of the information.

2. Where, in general, is the person located? A state and general area is enough. Again, this is information I insist on knowing before sending a donation.

3. With that information in hand, I do a Google search to see if the information is accurate. I don't care about an actual address or anything like that. I just want to know if a person by that particular name exists at the location.

4. If the person is found on one of the websites that presents information about criminal activity or arrests, I do not donate. It may not even be the same person, but someone else with the same name. But I do not donate in that circumstance. My charitable funds are limited, so I'm careful where they go.

That's just my personal practice. Everyone has his or her own way of deciding whether to donate or not.