Donors visit Web sites voluntarily and give voluntarily. The Web is worldwide, and it's easy to set up offshore sites. Internet charities can pose problems for donors, too. It's sometimes hard to know where to turn, however. Public records, particularly for non-profit organizations that are too small to be required to report to the Internal Revenue Service, can be hard or impossible to find.
Some charities list no more than an e-mail address and a post office box to receive contributions.
It claims to have more than 200,000 sponsors for its efforts on behalf of Latin American orphans. However, Jamilette Lozano, the official coordinator for children's services in San Pedro Sula, said she had never heard of On the Wings of a Dove. But its address is a prim white stucco townhouse in a gated community south of the city. The church's founder moved away in February, according to the man who bought the townhouse from him. Repeated phone calls, e- mail messages and a letter from a reporter who had contributed to the church drew no response.