August 2021 Haiti Earthquake Victims Need Your Help

CharityWatch announces our list of highly efficient and accountable charities involved in efforts to provide emergency relief and humanitarian assistance to the victims of the August 2021 earthquake in Haiti. 

ATTENTION: The charities listed in this alert were Top-Rated by CharityWatch at the time of its publication. CharityWatch updates our ratings throughout the year. To see if a particular charity is currently Top-Rated, please click on its name, below.

The magnitude 7.2 earthquake that severely damaged several cities in Haiti on August 14th was more powerful than the 2010 quake that killed over 220,000 people. Nearly 1,300 are confirmed dead as of August 16, 2021, as the search for survivors continues in collapsed buildings and rubble. Making matters worse is fear of a potential deluge from an approaching storm, Tropical Depression Grace, predicted to reach Haiti Monday night. 

The United Nations and relief agencies operating in Haiti promised urgent help, and the U.S. named USAID administrator, Samantha Power, as the senior official coordinating the U.S. relief efforts. The quake prompted the U.S. Tsunami Warning Center to issue a tsunami threat warning which was later rescinded. 

Many charities are collecting donations to help aid victims, but donors should be cautious to avoid the frauds and scams of opportunists that inevitably pop up during times of crisis. Consider donating to a CharityWatch Top-Rated charity:

The Related Charities listed below perform favorably in relation to CharityWatch benchmarks:
1)  A charity should spend at least 75% of its budget on program services.
2)  A charity should spend no more than $25 to raise $100.

Contact your favorite charities to find out if they provide the specific types of aid that you would like to fund, e.g., emergency shelters, food and water, health care, psychological trauma counseling, rebuilding efforts, etc.

DONORS BEWARE
As with any charitable contribution, Americans wanting to help with disaster relief efforts should only give to legitimate charities with an established track record of helping people in need.

• Be on guard for a surge of solicitations related to any highly publicized crisis. There will be fraudulent charity solicitations, some involving websites and email links attempting to steal your credit card information for identity theft or insert malware on your computer.

• Do not respond to, or click on any attachments, links or pictures included in, emails or text messages received from unknown senders.

• Social media will include many fake victims. Do not donate to unknown individuals purporting to need aid that post on Facebook, GoFundMe, etc. These may be fraudsters, and even if they are legitimate victims, they may receive an unfairly large amount of aid.

• Scammers may try to use copy-cat names similar to those of well-known charities. Avoid name confusion by independently verifying that the charity is legitimate before you donate. Reputable charities will not pressure you to give immediately.

See CharityWatch's 10 Tips for Giving in a Crisis for additional advice about donating to help victims while avoiding frauds and scams.

CharityWatch has identified the following Top-Rated charities providing relief for the victims of the August 14, 2021 earthquake in Haiti that receive an “A” or “B+” grade based on the portion of their budgets going to program services and their fundraising efficiency. Top-Rated charities also meet CharityWatch's Governance and Transparency benchmarks. Contact the organizations below for information on specific relief operations now underway.