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Secure Web Sites Important Fundraising Tool
Written by
Lesly C. Simmons
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Friday, September 09, 2005 — Online fundraising is one of the most essential parts of fundraising for the American Red Cross and many other major charities across the country. To date a little over half of the donations the Red Cross has received after Hurricane Katrina have been through online donations.
Unfortunately there are many people out there willing to take advantage of the kindness of others by creating fraudulent websites using reputable names like that of the Red Cross and other groups to gather credit card information and other personal details.
“Online fundraising is so essential to our operation,” said Sue Woodward, Director of Direct Response Fundraising for the American Red Cross.
Because of the high volume of visitors to RedCross.org, the Red Cross has partnered with several other large, reputable organizations to support the vast number individuals chosing to make donations online.
“We want to make sure that people are not receiving an error message when they come to our site,” said Woodward. “We want to be there when people want to turn their compassion into action, and we don’t want people to be discouraged when they support us via the web.”
The American Red Cross considers the security of the donation website RedCross.org and its donors to be of paramount importance. As such, the organization uses several layers of protective measures including but not limited to blocking and filtering technologies, surveillance, system updates and anti-fraud measures. In addition, the Red Cross performs system vulnerability assessments using internal resources and external, third-party assessments.
There are several ways donors can ensure that their donation goes directly to the American Red Cross. They can:
Official Red Cross Cash Donation Sites include:
You also can view screenshots of Official Red Cross Online Donation Sites to confirm the site is valid. Legitimate web advertisements and banners on Web sites, obtained from the organization, that encourage donations to the Red Cross should link to one of the above official Web sites to facilitate donations.
E-Mail Solicitations
While e-mail solicitation is another tool used by the Red Cross in its fundraising efforts, the Red Cross DOES NOT send unsolicited e-mail (or "spam"). The Red Cross will only send e-mail to individuals who have signed up to receive e-mail updates from the organization through such channels as the monthly electronic newsletter produced by the organization titled “One Minute Update,” or to donors that previously made a contribution online. Do not respond to any unsolicited e-mails asking for money, they are most likely fraudulent.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free, made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people. You can help the victims of thousands of disasters across the country each year, disasters like the Midwest ice storms, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to victims of disaster. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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