Avoid telemarketers and don’t give to the Haitian government.

That’s the plain-spoken advice one watchdog group is giving to Americans now bombarded with requests from charities to help the Caribbean nation’s earthquake victims.

Charity Navigator, a New Jersey-based organization that assesses the reliability of nonprofit groups, recommends would-be donors choose aid organizations with experience working on large-scale disasters and already present in Haiti.

Among its top-rated organizations: the American Red Cross; Americares, CARE, Convoy of Hope, Direct Relief International, Doctors Without Borders, Food for the Poor, Partners in Health, Save the Children and Water Missions International.

Which to avoid? Newly formed outfits, for starters. “Establishing a new charity is hard enough, but in a crisis, the odds of succeeding are slim to none,” according to the guidelines Charity Navigator offers on its website,

Also, don’t donate to the Haitian government, Charity Navigator advises.

“Haiti is known to be a corrupt country. And news reports post-earthquake indicate that the government is pretty much not functioning,” the watchdog group notes.

“The best bet is really to go with organizations that just have reputable names,” Alicia Laszewski, chapter executive of the Red Cross in Broward County, said in an interview at a Fort Lauderdale airport, where volunteers on Monday provided pizza and comfort to a group of missionaries returning from the quake zone.

What should you give? The Red Cross and others say cash is king because priorities in the disaster area can vary from hour to hour. At one point, the greatest need may be water. At another, it’s medical supplies.

Donated goods must be stored, inventoried and shipped. Whereas with cash, aid groups can buy what they need, often in communities or countries near the disaster site.

While the Coconut Creek-based Food for the Poor prefers cash, it, too, is receiving an abundance of donated goods. Over the weekend, Spirit Airlines flew a load of water into Haiti for Food for the Poor. In addition, “FedEx flew some medical supplies for us,” said Kathy Skipper, the charity’s public relations manager.

Often, though, aid groups have to pay to transport goods. Food for the Poor hopes to send 400 40-foot containers, each holding 42,000 pounds of food, lumber and medical supplies, to the country. “It costs about $5,000 a container to ship those goods,” Skipper said.

Haiti’s extraordinary need, coupled with the outpouring of generosity, will naturally breed fraud, and, as a result, distrust. Already, one prominent aid group has found itself having to defend its practices.

At a news conference in New York on Monday, Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean addressed criticism that his Yele Haiti Foundation, founded in 2005, is closely linked to his for-profit businesses. The foundation reportedly has raised $2 million since the quake.

“As a young NGO (nongovernmental organization) … have we made mistakes before? Yes,” said Jean. “Did I ever use Yele money for personal benefits? Absolutely not.”

Charity Navigator has not yet rated Yele because the group did not file tax returns until August 2009. In response to widespread interest, however, Charity Navigator made a few observations on its blog, saying a 2008 audit showed Yele spent 69 percent of its budget on programs, which is slightly below the accepted standard, 75 percent.

The watchdog group recommended that “donors stick with charities that have experience in providing aid after major disasters,” which Yele does not.

Megan O’Matz can be reached at or 954-356-4518.