The holiday season brings out the generosity in a lot of us and this Giving Tuesday many charities are hoping they will be the ones to get help.
A United Way survey found one in four residents struggle to meet their basic needs, which adds up to more than 600,000 of our neighbors in the community.
Part of the problem is that 40% of those in need spend more than a third of their income on housing.
For that reason, United Way focuses donations on helping people connect with college and careers, gaining financial stability, and advocating for housing justice so people can stay in the Bay Area.
"This is where their family is. This is where their community is," United Way Bay Area CEO Kevin Zwick said. "This is where they've grown up and raised both their kids and their grandkids, and they don't want to leave and they shouldn't have to leave."
There are many other organizations that also help in other ways:
- Second Harvest of Silicon Valley
- Family Giving Tree
- Autism Speaks
- There With Care
- 49ers foundation
- Bay Area United Way
- Catholic Charities
Anyone in position to donate should take measure to verify a charity they are interested in is legitimate. Here are a few tips to help verify a charity:
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
- The IRS will let you check their tax exempt status
- Charity Watch rates how efficiently a charity uses donations
- Give.org is Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance, which verifies the trustworthiness of organizations.
Anyone who falls victim to a scam organization can visit reportfraud.ftc.gov.
