Many people have opted for the ease of donating via text messages to various charities on the ground in Haiti. Unfortunately, recent reports indicate that cell phone companies will probably be holding the funds allocated by texted donations until their customers have paid their bills. This could mean a delay of 90 days.
Verizon has said they will advance the donations and Sprint has said they will advance 80% of the donations made by their users.
The Consumerist reports:
"Wireless companies are touting the role they have played. On his Twitter feed, Verizon Wireless spokesman Jeffrey Nelson wrote Friday, "Mobile customers have already given $8 million by texting HAITI to 90999. It"s a new paradigm in charity giving!"
But they acknowledge that they can"t easily "front" the money, before customers pay their bills."
Of course, Haiti will still be in need of financial support in the months that follow since they will need to attempt to rebuild their nation. For those who do wish that their money reaches the disaster zone faster, donating through a charity website via credit card or Paypal is perhaps the fastest method. You may also consider the following charities:
American Red Cross: https://www.redcross.org/
Care: https://www.care.org
NetHope: https://www.nethope.org/
MercyCorps: https://www.mercycorps.org/
Save the Children: https://www.savethechildren.org/
Unicef: https://www.unicef.org
World Vision International: https://wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf