Haiti: The best way to donate money

What's the best and safest way to ensure a donation gets to the victims of the Haiti crisis - fast?

Brits have flocked to donate money online to help the Caribbean nation of Haiti after it was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.0 magnitude last week.

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) was quick to set up a website to accept donations to help the grief-stricken country where an estimated 200,000 people died in the disaster. It's now running a television and radio campaign to encourage people to donate.

How to donate

The Disasters Emergency Committee (dec.org.uk) is an umbrella organisation for 13 humanitarian aid agencies including the British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children. It steps in to raise money and co-ordinate aid efforts after natural disasters and humanitarian crises.

The DEC has set up the Haiti Earthquake Appeal to raise funds for the devastated Caribbean island. Here's how to donate:

1) Donate online here

2) Call 0370 60 60 900

3) Text "GIVE" to 70077 to make a donation of £5 through your mobile phone

4) Send a cheque payable to DEC HAITI EARTHQUAKE and send it to DEC HAITI EARTHQUAKE, PO BOX 999, LONDON, EC3A 3AA

5) Go to any high street bank or post office quoting Freepay 1449.

By Friday, even before the DEC launched its radio and television appeals, Brits had already donated more than £20million to the Haiti appeal. By donating via the DEC appeal you can be sure that your money goes towards effective and timely relief to people most in need.

The organisation says just a £25 donation buys a kit of household essentials, £50 is enough to feed a family for a fortnight and £100 funds temporary shelter for two families.

Gift Aid

When you enter your details on the donation form you'll be offered the option of making your donation eligible for Gift Aid. The gift aid scheme allows good causes to get tax relief on your contributions to add to their pot, if you're a UK taxpayer.

If you are, make sure you opt into Gift Aid by selecting the 'yes' option in the relevant box underneath your donation amount near the top of the page.

Let's say you decide to donate £50 to the Haiti appeal and you're a basic rate taxpayer. The gift aid scheme means the DEC will get the amount of basic rate tax (20%) you would have paid before you could donate £50 from your pay packet.

As you would have to earn £62.50 to be given £50 of take-home pay, the charity gets that additional £12.50.

Until April 2011, the Government will give charities an extra 3p for every pound you donate. That adds another £1.50 to a £50 donation.

Higher rate taxpayers paying 40% tax can reclaim the difference between the basic and higher rates on top of this - another £12.50 on a £50 donation - via their self assessment tax return or a P810 form from their tax office. The forms include the option of donating that extra cash to charity. So make a note of your donations!

What if your card gets blocked?

According to BBC's Moneybox some banks' automated fraud detection systems are blocking payments to DEC until they have checked with the customer that the transaction is genuine.

This is because some card thieves use charity donations to check if a stolen card will work before using it to illegally buy goods. They do this because there are no goods to be delivered in a charity donation, unlike a normal transaction.

To combat this, the banks' systems are flagging up first-time payments to charities and stopping them from going through. Although this might be annoying for consumers keen to donate money to charity, it's easily solved by a quick call to the bank confirming that the transaction is genuine.  In some cases the bank will automatically call the customer to check the payment is not fraudulent, so make sure your bank has up-to-date contact details for you and a daytime phone number.

Either way, you'll have to answer a few security questions before the block is lifted but it should be fairly straightforward.

Remember, if you don't want to donate online you can call 0370 6060900 or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque made payable to DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal to PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA.

Donate online to the Haiti Earthquake Appeal