DSWD taps online tool vs charity scams
- Online process of accreditation and obtaining permits for fund-raising activities are now accessible online via helps.dswd.gov.ph and kaagapay.dswd.gov.ph.
- Both were launched last week as the agency boosted its digitalization efforts, aiming to cut bureaucratic red tape in giving accreditation to more private companies, nongovernmental organizations and local governments, with their solicitations and fundraising.
- The new systems allow donors to check the portal to ensure that donors’ cash and nonmonetary donations would directly go to their target beneficiaries and organizations without the risk of being swindled as the registered NGOs and CSOs are “fully vetted, monitored and regulated.”
Nearly 300 nonprofit and civil society organizations are seeking government accreditation and permits to legitimize their fund-raising activities through a new online process set up by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to stem scamming on social media that target kindhearted donors.
In a news briefing on Thursday, Director Megan Manahan of the DSWD standards bureau said they had set up the Harmonized Electronic Licensing and Permit System (HELPS) as regulatory and monitoring mechanisms for charitable donations.
This is accessible online via helps.dswd.gov.ph, and the “Kaagapay” donations portal, which can be found via kaagapay.dswd.gov.ph.
Both were launched last week as the agency boosted its digitalization efforts, aiming to cut bureaucratic red tape in giving accreditation to more private companies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and local governments, with their solicitations and fundraising.
“We wanted to avoid scammers … [and] we want a one-stop shop for donations on a trusted portal,” Manahan told reporters.
She said there would be full accountability because the DSWD could monitor if the donations really went to the intended beneficiaries.
Donors can check
The HELPS microsite went live on Feb. 18. By Feb. 26, Manahan said 21 had applied for a certificate of registration and license to operate; 14 for public solicitation permits; and 218 for verification of their existing certification, licenses or permits on the new portal.
The new systems allow donors to check the portal to ensure that donors’ cash and nonmonetary donations would directly go to their target beneficiaries and organizations without the risk of being swindled as the registered NGOs and CSOs are “fully vetted, monitored and regulated,” Manahan said.
The law requires a permit from the DSWD for public solicitation and fundraising on online platforms like Facebook and this could be obtained through HELPS, she said.
Kaagapay is a platform for both soliciting and donating parties as it lists the specific kind of donations an NGO or a private company needs.
For cash donations, Manahan said, donors may choose the payment channel partners of DSWD for the online portals and the money would go directly to account of the beneficiary, she said.
Reports, monitoring
The solicitors are also required to register corporate, not individual, bank accounts to avoid unscrupulous persons from taking advantage of willing donors. They are also required to submit fund utilization reports to the DSWD and are subjected to “on-the-spot monitoring” by social welfare officers, Manahan noted.
The DSWD official clarified that only accredited organizations wanting to get cash donations were required to get the public solicitation permit since the DSWD was mandated only “to regulate the money component.”
Streamlined process
In-kind donations are still listed on the Kaagapay website to create a more efficient process for donors. Manahan noted that the nonmonetary “wish lists” can be found, if made available by the licensed solicitor, so that they could get the specific type of donations they needed.
In the past, Manahan’s department would receive many calls and messages asking whether a particular foundation was legitimate. Aside from verification purposes, the new online system now also streamlined the application process, significantly reducing the processing time and the documentary requirements.
According to Manahan, from 20 working days for a regular permit, the portal now cuts it to just seven working days. For “temporary” permits, or those granted during special calamities or disasters and are time-sensitive, processing would take three days, she noted.
Documents to be submitted to the DSWD also were dropped to just 11 from 20 previously. Clients in the past had to go through up to 27 steps for an application. This was reduced to just eight.
One-year validity
“This eliminates the human factor—needing to print documents, and needing physical copies that go from one set of hands to another,” said Manahan.
The permits also have a validity period of one year with “unlimited” beneficiaries for fundraising, citing complaints raised by organizations in the past where they needed to apply for a permit for each charity cause, DSWD Special Assistant to the Secretary Raymond Burgos said in the same news briefing.
For those delisted due to expired licenses and due for renewal, the DSWD urged them to reapply through the new portal.
Also due for online application are those with existing licenses that went through the manual process and therefore not listed on the Kaagapay microsite as legitimate solicitors. This will consolidate all registered NGOs and private companies on the portal.
“Those who applied manually can still receive donations, but they are encouraged to apply through HELPS so that they would be included on the Kaagapay portal,” Manahan said.
