Donating to an NGO in Uruguay

May 16, 2012 3:50 PM

I'd like to make a donation to the SOS Rescate Fauna Marina, an NGO in Uruguay, but I'm not sure how best to do so.

On this site of theirs, they say (going off of Google Translate) that they "have an account for donations: Abitab No. 16907." Abitab looks like some sort of financial institution. Is it possible for me to make use of it? (I'm a U.S. citizen. I also cannot read Spanish.)

I also came across this site (which also appears to be theirs) and has a "Donate" button using Google Checkout. But for some reason, much of the text on the site is rendering in what looks like Japanese characters, which makes me wonder whether a donating here would even work. It certainly would be simpler to give here rather than going the Abitab route, but obviously I'm a little wary.

posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell to grab bag (3 answers total)

I posted a comment in their blog asking if they have a Paypal account. Let's see if they answer.
posted by clearlydemon at 4:07 PM on May 16, 2012

That's very kind of you! According to Lonely Planet, they also have an email address. And they also have a Facebook page, which looks like it's been updated a lot more recently than the blog.
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 4:12 PM on May 16, 2012

If you have the bank name, you would just need a branch location and a SWIFT code for the bank to be able to send a wire transfer, using the organization's name as the account holder and the number listed above.

The wire transfer, however, would probably cost you a fee, ~$25. Using Paypal or Google checkout would result in a fee probably around 4-5% of your donation. So you could judge based on the amount you're giving which would be more efficient.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 6:47 PM on May 16, 2012