In a rush I made several online donations just before the end of the year. I've been pleasantly surprised to learn that charitable organizations find it faster and cheaper to handle online donations than ones made by mail with a check. Here are some supporting articles.
Many websites, like Apple Computer's, completely replaced their home page's content after the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster with links to various relief organizations. I made my donations to Doctors Without Borders, whom I've supported in the past. I've always felt a bit guilty when I've donated online for being too lazy to write a check and mail it; I've worried about the credit card costs to the donor organizations.
A Wall Street Journal article (WSJ.com - Shift to Credit-Card Donations Is a Boon for Aid Organizations, subscription required) puts those fears to rest. Costs for staff to process paper donations are actually substantially higher than the merchant fees that the donor organization pays. Online donations have revolutionized philanthropy, as this BBC online article describes.
I'm particularly happy with the direct response of so many people to make donations directly to relief organizations. My own prejudice is in favor of smaller organizations rather than funds being channeled through governmental channels.
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