Re: [tlug] Thoughts and prayers from America

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 5:41 PM, Raymond Wan <rwan.kyoto@example.com> wrote:

> I was out yesterday and there were 4-5 people with cardboard boxes outside
> the station with references to the earthquake in Japanese characters.  No
> mention of their organization.  Even though they're in Japan, I would be
> suspicious of that...

Unfortunately, I would suspect it's safer to give money to anybody
in Stockholm than to people collecting money outside of stations in
Japan.  One count in 1995 for the Kobe quake estimated that over
50% of them were fronts for cults and the like that returned none of
the money to disaster victims.  I suppose that happens in the West,
too, but the serious NGOs there are well-established, and many
have name recognition that most listed companies would envy.

Oh, and then there were the trucking companies which volunteered
to take blankets to Kobe, and returned full of refrigerators and
washing machines.  (May be an urban legend, though.)

If you're in the U.S. or similar jurisdication, ask for their tax-exempt
status and their IRS ID number.  That should flush out most of the
poseurs. :-)