The heart-wrenching pictures and stories coming out of Australia in the wake of the bushfires that have ravaged that country for months now have led many people to want to do something to help. 

What is an easy thing to do is to give to organizations that are doing their best to help Australians through the disaster.  Before you open your wallet, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Southern Alberta and East Kootenay is telling us to make certain that the organization you are giving to is reputable and will put your donation to use in the way you intended.

Shawna-Kay Thomas, External Communications Specialist with the BBB said often scammers take advantage of moments of vulnerability to deceive donors.  Other campaigns are set up by well-meaning individuals who may or may not be directly connected to the tragedy.

Thomas said the first step to take is to think and do your research.  "We suggest that you check the registration of the charity you're giving to.  That's one of the first things you want to do.  In Canada, you want to make sure they're registered with the Canada Revenue Agency and if it's an Australian charity that it's registered with the Australian Charities and Not-for-Profit Commission.  That's very important."

Thomas also said to know how an organization will be using any donations you give.  Credible organizations will outline how the donations will be used and how it will get to the victims.  There will likely also be information on what sort of help they have offered in the past.  Thomas said to also be cautious about giving to organizations that seem to pop-up overnight.  According to Thomas, the longer a charity has been in existence, the more likely it is that it knows what it's doing.

Crowdfunding sites are another thing that Thomas warns about.  She said that some crowd funders do very little vetting of the individuals who decide to post for assistance after a tragedy or natural disaster and it's often difficult for donors to verify the trustworthiness of crowdfunding requests for support.

Finally, Thomas said it's important to make sure that whoever you are giving to is able to give you a tax receipt.

"Not all charities do and for that, you can always check with the Charities Directorate and they have a listing of charities that are able to give you receipts or descriptions of which charities can give you that receipt.  That's something that's very important to do because after giving, you don't want to find out that you're not able to get a tax receipt."