Pinellas Community Foundation Launches Fund For Ukraine

TAMPA BAY, FL —Images of bombed-out homes in Ukrainian suburbs, rescue workers solemly carrying bodies on stretchers, and families rushing to board crowded buses, pulling along rolling suitcases jam packed with all their worldly possessions are now dominating media outlets.

It's no wonder that kind-hearted Americans are desperate to find ways to help relieve the suffering.

But before you reach for your wallet, make sure you investigate where your dollars are going, said the FBI. Federal investigators are warning Americans that scammers are taking advantage of people's generosity to help the people of war-torn Ukraine. And these crooks are reaping millions of dollars in the process.

By creating slick donation websites, sending out official-looking emails or texts from charities with names that resemble legitimate ones and making incessant robocalls soliciting money for fake relief organizations, disaster charity scams have become big business.

Based on data from a random survey of nonprofits conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, an estimated $40 billion goes to fake charities each year. That totals 13 percent of all funds donated to legitimate charities.

The staggering amount of donations unknowingly given to bogus charities prompted the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance to issue a warning to Americans seeking to help people in Ukraine.

"We certainly encourage generosity to help the people in Ukraine but caution donors to avoid questionable appeals," said H. Art Taylor, president and CEO of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, which tracks charity scams.

Just as the coronavirus pandemic spawned elaborate scams to cheat frightened people out of their hard-owned money by selling them fake COVID-19 tests, ineffective remedies and faulty N95 face masks, Taylor said these unscrupulous people are now targeting altruistic Americans who want to help the people in Ukraine.

And their victims aren't limited to vulnerable or gullible people, Taylor said.

He said the BBB has investigated sophisticated scams that have fooled shrewd business people, savvy philanthropists and even other nonprofit groups wanting to do their part.

Myriam Irizarry, chairwoman of the Pinellas Community Foundation Board of Governors, said this is the reason the Clearwater-based nonprofit decided to launch the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund of Tampa Bay.

"People across the Tampa Bay area are looking for a reputable place to donate money toward relief efforts in Ukraine," she said.

Residents would be hard-pressed to find a more worthy recipient of their donations. The Pinellas Community Foundation has a perfect score on Charity Navigator, the world's largest independent nonprofit evaluator of charities. Charity Navigator provides data and ratings for more than 195,000 charities.

"Our goal is to provide a trusted way for Tampa Bay donors who are asking us how they can make monetary contributions to help the Ukrainian people who are suffering so greatly," said Irizarry.

Leaders of the organization said it was necessary to set up the fund due to an overwhelming number of inquiries from residents wanting to help.

"They are seeing images on TV and it's coming into our homes and onto our phones and they're trying to find trusted ways to help with working on the humanitarian issues and addressing the humanitarian issues arising from the war," said Duggan Cooley, CEO of the Pinellas Community Foundation.

It was the desire to help get funds and supplies to the people of Ukraine who needed them the most that inspired the Pinellas Community Foundation to launch Ukraine Humanitarian Relief of Tampa Bay.

All too often, said Cooley, empathetic, well-meaning residents are targeted by crooks intent on making money during a crisis.

He said, by donating to the PCF, residents can rest assured their funds are going to those who need it most for food, water, shelter, medical supplies and other basic necessities.

"Shelter, technology, those things that we count on for daily life and daily living, those are the types of things that will be supported through this fund and through trusted charitable organizations," Cooley said.

A Sarasota woman who prefers to just use her first name, Anna, for fear of Russian retribution, has opened up her family home in Poland to refugees. The home sits on a large piece of land that is now occupied by tents and makeshift shelters for refugees who have fled their homeland, fearing for their safety as Russian cruise missiles rain down in neighborhoods throughout Kyiv, Ukraine's capital.

"My dad passed away seven months ago and, since then, the house has been sitting empty," said Anna, who was born in Poland but moved to the United States with her family more than 30 years ago when she was 19 years old. However, she said they held onto the family homestead and kept in touch with friends and relatives who are now helping to house the refugees on her family's property.

Among the first to seek shelter on the property was a family of four including two children. They are now living in the spacious family home along with several other families who left their homes and most of their belongings behind in Ukraine.

"I called my friends and I made sure that the house was warm because it's winter. I made sure that there were some fresh sheets, that they had some food when they came in before they were able to go out and buy whatever they need," Anna said.

The funds raised by the Pinellas Community Foundation will provide shelters, hot meals and medical supplies for the families now seeking asylum on Anna's family farm.

The PFC is also helping to connect those interested in volunteering to help feed, provide medical treatment and build temporary shelters for Ukrainian refugees with reputable non-governmental humanitarian agencies working near Ukraine's border.

Project Dynamo, a Tampa Bay-based group of combat veterans, is among the humanitarian agencies operating in Ukraine.

The nonprofit is evacuating American citizens and NATO allies desperate to leave the country and the dangers from the Russian attacks.

According to co-founder Bryan Stern, the volunteers have been packing refugees into cars and buses and driving them to safety in Poland, Romania and Hungary, which border Ukraine.

Project Dynamo was just launched in August when the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, leaving behind thousands of American citizens trapped in the country when the Kabul International Airport was shut down.

Stern, an Army and Navy combat veteran in Iraq and Afghanistan and Purple Heart recipient, and friends Stan Bunner, a multi-tour combat veteran of the global war on terror, now an attorney in Naples, and Matt Herring, also a decorated combat veteran of the war on terror who is now the CEO of Ultra Defense Corp. and Liberty Aviation International, decided to use their experience navigating foreign territory, dodging terrorists and negotiating their way through military checkpoints operated by hostiles to evacuate Americans from Afghanistan.

Recruiting other combat veterans and using their own funds, the Florida residents managed to evacuate more than 2,000 Americans from Afghanistan between the U.S. withdrawal on Aug. 31 and Dec. 31.

After their bank accounts ran dry leasing buses, paying drivers and funding airfare to the United States, Bunner helped Project Dynamo obtain nonprofit status so they could accept donations and continue their work in Ukraine.

As of Friday, Project Dynamo has gotten more than 300 American citizens and NATO allies out of Ukraine but Stern said there are thousands more who are desperate to leave.

Taylor advised residents who want to help the people of Ukraine to look for relief organizations that have a documented history of helping refugees and already have a presence in Ukraine, such as the American Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services and the Salvation Army.

He said sending food, clothes and medical supplies isn't always the best way to help due to the logistical problems of shipping them into an occupied territory and dispersing them without attracting enemy attention.

He said it's better to donate money to relief organizations who know what to purchase to avoid duplication and can effectively distribute the supplies.

Taylor suggests as well that donors check to see if the charity meets BBB Standards for Charity Accountability. The report, compiled by the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, investigates all of the charities listed to ensure that the relief assistance they're soliciting is actually going to the people in Ukraine.

Donors should also check to see if the charity is approved by Charity Navigator, he suggested.

The FBI said residents can also check a charity's legitimacy and examine its track record using Federal Trade Commission's resources. The FTC said CharityWatch and Candid are two other credible organizations that research charities.

Additionally, a reputable charity will have tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service. Donors can check to see if the charity is legitimate by doing an IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, advised the FTC.

One telltale sign that a charity may be bogus is if it makes exaggerated financial claims, such as "100 percent will be spent on relief," Taylor said.

Despite their best efforts to be frugal, charities still have administrative expenses. Even a credit card donation has a processing fee. So donors should view promises such as this with suspicion.

Taylor said the charity should also be transparent. They should have websites listing the amount raised and how the money is spent

The BBB listed other reputable charities helping the people in Ukraine:

Action Against Hunger
American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee
Americares Foundation
CARE USA
CHC: Creating Healthier Communities
Direct Relief
Episcopal Relief & Development
Global Communities
GlobalGiving
Humane Society International
Heart to Heart International
International Medical Corps
International Rescue Committee
MAP International
Matthew 25: Ministries
Medical Teams International
Mennonite Central Committee
Mercy Corps
Operation USA
Plan International USA
Save the Children
SOS Children’s Villages – USA
United Methodist Committee on Relief
United States Association for UNHCR
World Hope International
World Vision

Donations to the Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund can be made online or by writing a check payable to the Pinellas Community Foundation with Ukraine Humanitarian Relief Fund of Tampa Bay in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to 17755 U.S. N., Suite 150, Clearwater, FL 33764.

See related story: Americans Evacuate Ukrainian War Zone With Tampa Nonprofit's Help