Since the landfall of Hurricane Harvey, thousands of individuals and organizations are rushing to contribute to flood relief  efforts in the Houston area. Similar devastation is likely to occur with the arrival of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean, Florida, parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. With the rise of natural disasters comes the increase in fraudulent or mismanaged charities promising to help victims with money from unsuspecting donors. Here are a few tips on how to help Houston and the Southeast recover without donating money that will end up wasted.

Conduct Research

Charity Navigator is a nonprofit that independently rates over 8,000 charities on their program expenses and transparency. Donors can view the scores of charities and make the best educated decision on where to spend their money.

Donate to Area Charities

Seek out food and diaper banks, homeless shelters, disability-focused disaster charities and animal shelters located where the damage has been done and give money to these local establishments that are less likely to mismanage money. See a detailed list of organizations on NPR.

Give Blood

In addition to the American Red Cross, blood donation centers with access to the Houston area include Carter BloodCare and the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center. To give to the victims of Hurricane Irma, research the Red Cross’ Southern Blood Services Region.

For more tips on aiding the victims of Hurricane Harvey and Irma, visit Forbes, NPR and Business Insider. See what other home builders are doing to aid the relief effort at Builder Magazine Online.