Help out Haiti

By Gerri Willis, CNN personal finance editor


NEW YORK (CNN) -- Up to 3 million people may have been affected by the earthquake in Haiti. For those of you who want to help -- here's where you can donate.

For a complete list of where to go, check out check out cnn.com/impact.

home_rich_cover.03.jpg
For more information on managing your largest investment, check out Gerri Willis' 'Home Rich,' now in bookstores.
CDs & Money Market
MMA 0.69%
$10K MMA 0.42%
6 month CD 0.94%
1 yr CD 1.49%
5 yr CD 1.93%

Find personalized rates:
 

Rates provided by Bankrate.com.

Here are some examples of where you can donate:

  • CARE Can be reached at 1-800-521-CARE or care.org.
  • You can also give to the American Red Cross at 1-800-REDCROSS or redcross.org.
  • Mercy Corp already has emergency teams deployed. Their number 888-256-1900.
  • And UNICEF has a special page set up so you can donate to the children of Haiti at 1-800 for Kids or unicefUSA.org.
Give to a legitimate charity

Like we saw after Hurricane Katrina, there were a lot of scam artists out there trying to take advantage of people's generosity. BE on the lookout.

Some scam Web sites will have the look and feel of a legitimate organization -- so make sure you visit the charity's Web site to make sure they're detailing their assistance efforts. Unless the charity already has staff on the ground in Haiti, it may be difficult to get new aid workers to quickly provide assistance. See if the charity's Web site clearly describes what they can do to address immediate needs.

Scammers will often insert keywords, like Haiti or earthquake into their sites to trick you into thinking you're legit and to boost their results in search engine queries.

Be wary of claims that 100% of donations will assist victims. Despite what an organization might claim, charities have fund raising and administrative costs. Even a credit card donation will incur a processing fee.

As time goes on, there will be more opportunities to give to different causes. You can match your needs and personal causes with specific charity.

Twitter and Facebook solicitations are really hard to vet, so unless you know it's a legitimate organization, avoid it.

You can research the charity you're interested in at Guidestar.org or check out the charity ratings at CharityNavigator.org.

-- CNN's Jen Haley contributed to this article.

Talkback: Are you planning on donating? To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.