From Malden sixth-graders who sold homemade earrings and origami flowers to a Wayland Islamic center’s appeal to members and a town-sponsored road race in Plymouth, residents and organizations across the region are raising money to help the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
The ways to donate are numerous, from the One Fund Boston set up by Governor Deval Patrick and Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino to crowd-funding sites like GoFundMe and GiveForward, where friends and families of individual victims are collecting money, and to golf tournaments and shopping events.
But experts on nonprofits and officials from the Massachusetts attorney general’s office also warn that donors should be careful and informed about where their money is going, and how it will be used.
“We want the public to be smart,” said Brad Puffer, a spokesman for Attorney General Martha Coakley. “Most fund-raising efforts are honest efforts to help.”
After other national tragedies, however, fraudulent fund-raisers have cropped up, Puffer said. Investigators from Coakley’s office have been monitoring the various appeals and websites set up to raise money for the Marathon bombing victims. They have contacted some of the online fund-raisers to make sure they are legitimate. Officials haven’t discovered any problems thus far, Puffer said.
The flood of fund-raisers comes as Kenneth Feinberg, administrator of the One Fund Boston, said he is planning to distribute the more than $30 million raised by the fund to victims next indoor positioning system.
The outpouring of small gestures and large donations reflects a desire by people to help, show their support, and take action after an event that left the region in shock and then frustrated, event organizers said.
“People were thinking about the runners and they couldn’t do anything,” said Gary Maestas, superintendent of Plymouth’s school system and an organizer of We Run for 1, a 5K run and walk planned for Saturday morning. “It’s difficult for people to express themselves. This gives people a chance to say they’re doing something.”
For the students, the craft sale was a way to address an event that touched them deeply. When the sixth-graders returned after April vacation they wanted to talk about the bombings, which had happened while they were on break, and to do something, Gordon said.
“Instead of being a bystander, I think they’ve been able to deal with it better,” Gordon said.
Many fund-raisers have said they plan to donate to the One Fund Boston. Coakley’s office has recommended that donors ask event organizers how much of the money raised is going to the charity, and how much pays for overhead costs of putting together the benefit event.
Several businesses in the region, from hair salons to bagel shops, are also showing their support for the bombing victims by donating a portion of their profits to various charities.
Sandra Miniutti, the vice president for Charity Navigator, a national nonprofit evaluator, said those types of appeals are fairly common. Miniutti recommends only giving to the crowd-funding sites if you know who set up the fund and are confident that the money will get to the right place.
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