A survey released last week by Zogby Interactive said that two thirds of US adults have either made a contribution or plan to do so in the future. American citizens have given more than $305 million to relief efforts, according to a Chronicle of Charity total, and the money is still rolling in.

But when you give to any cause, you would like to be certain that your money finishes up in the right hands - and gets there as swiftly as attainable. Not only will this take money away from the cause, it leaves folks exposed to ID theft and taints their spirit of good will. So if you are looking to give, whether you have $5, $10 or $100 to spare, ensure you do it sensibly. They might have good aspirations - to send the money they collect to the Red Cross - but they may be attempting to profit off this crisis. But at a time like this, when big quantities of money are required urgently, you wish to ensure that the groups you are giving to have the infrastructure to put your bucks to the optimum use. Charity Navigator has assembled an extensive list of some highly regarded groups who are picking up donations for Haiti, including AmeriCares, Doctors Without Borders, Hope for Haiti, Samaritan's Purse, World Vision, US Fund for UNICEF, and, naturally, the North American Red Cross. The issue with giving in-kind gifts is that while it may be handy for you, those items need to be sorted and transported, claims Bennett Weiner, chief operating officer of the Better Business Bureau's Sensible Giving coalition. If you do not have the money to give, consider having a yard sale or selling a couple of your un-needed items on eBay and giving the profits to a charity, commends Miniutti.

generally, what occurs is the carriers hold the money and then forward the contribution on to the charity after you pay your bill. If you would like your money working for the cause immediately, either call your wireless carrier and ask them when the donation will be made, or make the donation to the charity either online or by telephone. There has a tendency to be a burst of activity instantly following a tragedy like this, and when it ultimately seeps out of the Evening News, the donations slow to a drip. But Haiti is likely to need your finance help for a considerable time - at the moment, efforts are targeting help, but shortly they will have to shift to reconstructing the country.