DEAR ABBY: In view of all the recent tragic events that have happened, you would do a great service to remind everyone to be careful when donating. A lot of the money that was donated for 9/11 and other tragedies never got to the victims.
Unfortunately, when tragedies occur, scammers view them as an opportunity to line their pockets. I'm not sure how to make sure the money gets to the right people, so I haven't donated at all. Can you help with some information on this? -- DIANA IN TEXAS
DEAR DIANA: Some appeals are, indeed, scams. That's why it's important for kindhearted people to be able to tell the difference. A way to verify that a charity is legit would be to visit charitynavigator.org. It will tell you what percentage of the money you donate will go toward overhead, and how much actually reaches those who need it.
Charity Navigator also publishes "donor advisories" -- typically within a week of the event -- to ensure that those searching the site for an organization can see if it isn't a legitimate nonprofit entity.