I’ve been looking around for an agency accepting Paypal donations towards the various Tsunami appeals. I suspect there’s millions locked up in Paypal balances that could be made useful if some of the big agencies (Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK, for instance) would accept them. The SEA-EAT blog (already getting a lot of attention as a clearing house for tsunami resources) links to a couple of reputable-looking agencies accepting Paypal right now but they’re local operations that won’t attract much attention. What worries me is that, if the big fund raisers don’t add Paypal giving to their web sites now, it’s inevitable that various scumbags will fill the vacuum and start to rip off gullible donors. In the meantime, the best advice is obviously not to give any money to anyone unless you’re certain they’re genuine.
Update: of course, Paypal are ahead of me and have added this useful page to their site, including plenty of agencies now accepting Paypal. I do hope they’re waiving commission on these donations.
Call me a sicko, but your pun made me laugh, and god knows we need it right now:
I do hope they’re _waiving_ commission
Or not, umm …
Happy New Year
Brilliant idea, very motivational, and much more constructive than one elephant trying to eat another.
Perhaps it would take off if one or more of the national press gave the idea some room – even sponsored it. The red-tops are actually good at mobilising people around simple ideas, so maybe the Sun?