Donating to Save Lions & Wildlife: How To Donate

As the media frenzy continues to circulate around Cecil's death, there has been a global outcry for more to be done to protect lions in Africa. Cecil's death, though tragic, has highlighted several key issues regarding the plight of Africa's lions but has also succeeded in helping to expose the cruel underbelly of the world of lion exploitation. No longer is cub petting, lion walking, canned or trophy hunting just a mirage of "non-existent" activities which take place throughout Africa. They have now become a reality for many around the world, including South Africans who may have been unaware of what is really happening to lions in their own country.

But there has also been profiteering.

Cecil's death has helped to bring to light many issues which advocates, organizations, charities and the like have been working for years to uproot. But with the global outcry for lions to be saved has also come a demand by so-called "funds" or "charities" for donations and funding to help save lions in Africa. This can be a tricky situation, as many funds, charities, organizations and NGOs utilize social media and appeal to your emotions to help influence you to donate. But should you?

Within a month of Cecil's death, many funds, charities or groups have emerged on social media, asking for donations or money to fund what they claim to be lion-saving efforts. On Facebook alone, several "funds" have popped up seemingly overnight, saying they require donations in order to help protect lion territory, save National Parks and help locals live cohesively with lions. While these efforts are to be applauded, not all funds or orgs which pop up on Facebook are legitimate. Remember: anyone can set up a social media account. Anyone can purchase a domain name, create a website, come up with a name for a "charity," make up a "press release," and install a "Donate" button onto a website. Anyone can do this; it is legal and simple. But this doesn't mean these are real, legitimate charities.

Before you fall victim to profiteering, scams or illegitmate funds or charities, as yourself the following questions; consider where your money is going before you give it away. 1. Is the organization, charity or fund a registered charity in its country?

2. Does the org/charity/fund report their finances via independent and trusted auditors? Are these finances or fund-allocations made transparent?

3. How old is the org/charity/fund? Was it created just a few days ago?

Tips: 1. Ask questions: if you are ever unsure about a charity or org that you want to donate to, contact them and ask questions. If the organization or charity is evasive in their answers, refuses to provide you with answers, or gives you information which does not sutiably answer your questions, then perhaps this should raise some red flags. 2. Do your research: do not donate to an org, charity or fund asking for donations just because your friend did, or because someone on Facebook or Twitter recommended it. Do your research into the charity and see for yourself whether it is a legitimate, registered one. 3. Why isn't the charity registered: the laws and regulations for charities differ between countries. For example, the regulations governing a Canadian charity are most likely different from those which govern a charity in Italy. If a charity was created only a few days ago and is not registered, yet asking for donations, ask yourself why it isn't registered. Some unregistered funds or charities may not be legally considered a fund or charity. For example, according to the Uk National Audit Office: "Organisations, such as social enterprises, mutuals, and community interest companies, provide a wide range of services that benefit the general public, ranging from care services to leisure facilities. However, these organisations are often not constituted as charities, nor are they legally recognised as such." What does this mean? It means that such a "fund" or "charity" may not really be considered a fund or charity, and does not have to meet the legal standards set out by a Charity Commission.

In England and Wales, for instance, a charity or fund which would like to be registered as legitimate must provide certain information to prove their benefit to the overall public, which includes: 1. A summary of its charitable purposes

2. A summary of the main activities undertaken to further its charitable purposes for the public benefit

3. A trustees’ statement on whether the charity has complied with the duty to ‘have regard’ to the public benefit guidance published by the Commission

Who are the Trustees, Stakeholders or Board members of the charity/fund/org you want to donate to? This information should be made readily available to you. If it is not, ask yourself why such individuals or groups are not made transparent.

So, how does any of this apply to a wildlife or animal charity/fund/org?

Let's take a look at an example.

Animal shelters throughout North America are popular resources for information on no-kill shelters, where & how to adopt a new pet, or how to donate. Many shelters or orgs which rescue animals appear to be "good" or legitimate because they rescue animals. PETA, for example, is a popular org loved by many for their efforts of saving animals worldwide. But did you know that PETA has killed more than 30,000 animals since 1998? Shocking, right? That's because orgs like PETA market their goals and "missions" so well that so many of us believe they are worthy of funding. They play to emotion in such a way that influences you to donate. WWF does it, too. But maybe you didn't know that the WWF has a sordid history in trophy/sport hunting and has also killed animals. You have to wonder just where, exactly, your money is really going. These issues may raise red flags, discouraging you from donating. Here's a link with a some guidelines about shelters and animal orgs in the US, and how to properly donate. Notice that they ask many of the same questions we recommend you ask before donating to any charity/fund/org.

It's easy and legal to set up an unregistered charity or fund. You could do it today, if you wanted to. We could do it, too. But why would you? A legitimate charity is legitimate, but an unregistered one is less regulated. Sketchy? We think so. Just look at this Guardian article, which explains in "10 easy steps" how to set up your own charity.

It notes: "If your expected income is less than £5,000 a year you can set up as an unregistered charity, which gives you more flexibility and less administration and regulation.As a registered charity you have to provide detailed publicly-available information about your activities, finances, trustees, impact and more. You may also want to set up a company, which then can be registered as a charity. Read the part where it states that "you can set up as an unregistered charity, which gives you more flexibility and less administration and regulation." Raise any red flags? It should.

Less regulation? More flexibility? Less administration? Could that equal "profiteering?"

A few things to note... 1. One major difference between registered & unregistered charities is whether they are a "not for profit," NGO or private foundation. All of these types of orgs, etc. have federal numbers which can be looked up in the org's country of origin. 2. A registered organization, charity, etc. must provide financial statements, file tax returns, and make such information transparent for the public. The public should be: able to see where the money is allocated, made aware of the affiliations with partners, projects, etc. through transparency of such info, able to see who the recipients of donations are, and whether such recipients are registered orgs of their own and have their own transparent financial information for public records. 3. In the US (and in most cases, everywhere else) registered orgs/charities, etc. are 501c3 designated (or of some other disgnation depending on the location) - 501c3 is charitable & registered as both state & federal, & must provide any donor with an acknowledgement letter of contribution of funds containing their tax ID # ( FEIN or other ID#) whether for cash, goods or services; the letter must also state how much of the donor's contribution is tax-deductible.

We all want to see Africa's lions and wildlife saved, protected and conserved. There is no doubt that the hard work and efforts of legitimate charities, orgs, funds and the like are making a difference to the lives and survival of such species. But when you donate to an unregistered charity/fund/org, you run the risk of giving your money to an org which may never use your funds to fulfill an actual goal. You may never see proof that your donation went to a good, worthy or real cause. You also may never know whether the org you donated to is legitimate. The best thing you can do is donate to registered, legit, reputable & transparent orgs/charities/funds/NGOs, ones which do NOT support trophy or sustainable hunting as a conservation tool. Ones which do NOT kill animals. Below are a few examples of good orgs/funds you can donate to. 1. Born Free Foundation

2. Lion Guardians

3. The Tsavo Trust

4. WildiZe Foundation

5. Big Life Foundation

6. Lion Aid

7. Kevin Richardon's Sanctuary

8. Bhejane Trust

9. AfriCat Namibia