Concerned

With the recent horrific events in the United States with the Gulf been torn apart from Katrina, I am noticing A LOT of people "hosting events for Katrina. help the Victims"

I am sure there are some honest people who are donating this money to one of the various reputable organizations and I sure there are those that are taking advantage and pocketing, lying to the SL community.

I am curious to know peoples thoughts.

I pose a question to those that are having fundraising events. How are you going to show proof that all the donations made by residents was actaully donated and not pocketed for yourself?

I just dont want to see innocent people scammed and people taking advantage of a horrible situtation.

~Tya

I am concerned as well, which is why I donated directly to the Red Cross.

I've thought about this, but didn't think it would be possible to be so rotten. I donated only once and it was to Eos Zander for helping out her friend...there's no way she could have made that up and she sounded very honest. But yes, we need proof from others.

I've thought about this as well. I have a donation booth at my Burning Life build, and I wonder how many people will really donate if they don't know me personally. (For those wondering, the money goes into my account, and then is immediately and automatically paid into Flipper's alt account for donations. I wouldn't even have the opportunity to steal it or keep it if I wanted to.)

I haven't donated to anything I don't recognize the name behind.

Thanks for popping in Jonquille, I was going to mention about the Burning Life donation boxes.

I do want to deeply apologize to everyone at BL because I didn't get a chance to get all the donation boxes etc. straightened out yet. RL suxxors. I will be spending time inworld tonight to get this done.

Another note - I was contacted by New Scientist magazine for an article on fundraising for Katrina in virtual worlds. I told her what I could and forwarded the message along to Hamlet Linden, and directed her to his blog, for a more accurate idea of just how many benefits are going on in SL.

Good question, Tya. For our Virtual Aid concerts this coming Sunday, we'll be using the script that Flipper describes in New World Notes /18/f8/59801/1.html

I'd think we can trust Flip and Pathfinder. I don't know tho, if people trust us using that script. As an alternative we'll put out signs with URL's that go directly to websites where people can donate.

Just an idea....maybe fund raisers can ask Pathfinder (or some other Linden on duty) to put down the donation boxes themselves at those events, so people can check them and see that the owner is a Linden and not some scammer.

Demian

There was someone asking in one of the group chats for linden dollars to donate to a particular person, a friend, supposedly in need due to the hurricane.

While it certainly could be a legitimate request, this really made my scam sensors fire.

Maybe there needs to be some way for an organizaton like the Red Cross to have a Linden dollar account that actually belongs to the charity organizaton so that inworld donations really are donations directly to the real world charity.

I am very cautious with all donations I give. I have pretty much made a a rule of mine not to donate inside SL, I gave a nice donation directly to the Red Cross.

Me too. It is so easy to directly donate, why we have to go through second hand, except maybe if Lindens have a controlled mechanism. Even at 9/11 there was so much scam, I would not be surprised if this is pervasive in this environment (not specifically in SL but in general all over the internet), since it is so easy to click to donate these days.

One thing I dont like about donating in SL, is I would think a lot of the money is paid to service fees for GOM and PayPal.

Is GOM waiving the fees on these transactions?

In RL, I know if I donate said amount, the Red Cross will recieve said amount.

As has been the case in too many RL fund raising efforts, people do use such tragedies to scam donations and I expect that SL is not exempt in this regard.

Pathfinder Linden, and a number of concerned players have constructed a memorial site and donation box at Waterhead (112,11). The donation box is owned by Pathfinder Linden, and I think one can safely assume that a Linden is not pocketing the donations. As of yesterday, the box reports that L$435k has been raised for the "American Red Cross Hurricane 2005 Relief Fund".

I would suggest that anyone contemplating setting up their own donation box install a landmark dispenser to the Memorial Area instead. It is about 50m from the telehub so it is pretty convenient.

There have been other donation boxes placed there by other players, which although likely perfectly honest, strike me as redundant. I have let Pathfinder know of these for him to make a determination.

Maybe some people don't have the real world funds to donate or have a credit card/paypal account, but have some L$ to spare? They can donate those inworld without going through the currency exchange process at GOM for just 1 or 2 US$ worth of L$. Every single dollar counts!

Demian

Understood, that's why I said EXCEPT if Lindens have such a mechanism. It looks like Pathfinder has one setup, which I would trust (see post above yours).

I do not know how Linden Lab is handling donations made directly through LL, but I do know that they are the only ones who could convert L$ to US$ with no fees at all. Also, as many have been concerned about the money supply, this may well be a "sink" and benefit a good cause.

Historically, GOM has waived their fees for charitable activities (e.g. VERTU) but I've not seen any statement from them on this matter.

I have seen a statement, somewhere in a thread, from Zeppi, saying that donations would be converted without fees. Hopefully everyone collecting will contact GOM before they convert.

i notice everyone keeps saying red cross. just want to mention the salvation army, my personal favorite charitable organization. its just as easy to donate to the salvation army, and their good works, providing shelters and street missions is an ongoing full time commitment.
the salvation army was there right beside the red cross offering aid to victims.

Yes, I saw it. While this is a good idea, I'd rather have a Linden set up a box at Dragon Moon for our event on Sunday. The reasons..

1. Knowing from experience that the sim will be packed again, people might not want to teleport away because they're afraid to not be able to teleport back in.

2. They can save the landmark and teleport there later, but will they? Or will they forget about it or give it a second thought, after seeing a nice pair of shoes they want at the telehub mall?

3. We're hoping for spontanious donations, even if it's just 50 or 100 L$ that people can spare. I'm pretty sure many of us donated already inworld and through websites, but many might just be willing to donate again, maybe their profits from sales or building/scripting jobs during the past days.

Demian

I personally would not donate to the Sal Army, unless it would be the only charity available for donations, simple because of their policies and opinions regarding gay people.

Demian

Well I can tell you that the donation kiosk at my Waterhead location was made BY Pathfinder Linden and has his name on it. Since LL at the present time cannot do money transfers, the money is transfered to an alt of FlipperPA's that he uses for charity collections only. GOM has granted him the ability to convert the L$'s with no fees.

This is a "should I get paper or plastic?" conundrum. While I also don't agree at all with the Salvation Army's policy's towards Gay people, they are much more streamlined (read: more of your donation goes to people in need that with the Red Cross) Currently, for Katrina relief, they are claiming that 100% of every dollar donated will go directly toward relief.

So one is left with having to decide to maximize one's help through a charity they may not philosophically agree with, or get a lesser amount of one's donation through a charity that has a more agreeable stance on a seperate issue.

Hmm, tough call .

If it helps assure people that donations are going to the right place, I'd be happy to do this. Please email (pathfinder@lindenlab.com) or IM me if you'd like me to pop inworld and place a donation kiosk at a particular location.

I'm glad you mentioned this about the Salvation Army versus Red Cross, Taco. I have the same conundrum with charities regarding Salvation Army's policy about employing gay people; in fact, I've stopped giving to the bell ringers at holiday time because of it... but then again, the Salvation Army has a really good track record of helping the people who really need it, and maximizing every donation given to be used for good. When I drop off my kids' clothes that they've outgrown to Goodwill, I know that they will sort them and sell them for a cheap price, often to bargain hunters who could afford to buy new. But donations to Salvation Army are often virtually *given* to poor people who really need them.

For the record, I donated to the sign in Waterhead owned by Pathfinder, since I can't imagine a couple of SL people more trustworthy than Pathfinder and FlipperPA.

i was unaware of any gay policy at all with the salvation army. i just have witnessed the amount of selfless giving that group of people do. i am quite sure that if a person approaches them who is in need, they will not ask what thier sexual preferences are, but will lend that person a hand.

Oh Marilyn, I'm sorry. I could never imagine the Salvation Army would withold anything from a person in need. The policies we're talking about are internal, in 2001 they extended medical insurance rights to homosexual partners, then rescinded it after some internal debate, citing their adherence to biblical opinion on the subject.

I don't see the need to donate through a 3rd party and there is no one in SL that I trust like that. I donate to charities directly so I can at least get a tax break, even if I am never really sure that my money reaches the needy.