Is the Red Cross the best place to donate for Japan?

[katilac]

What are some reputable charities? I have no problems with Red Cross, but I thought I might donate to more than one if it makes sense to do so.

[LidiyaDawn]

I think that's probably one of the best - it's huge, well known, been around for a long time, etc. :)

 

I actually can't think of any other "disaster relief" type organizations off the top of my head - others may.

[specialmama]

 

Samaratan's Purse is there.

[KarenNC]

You may want to hold off a little until things become more clear and you know where you may want to target your funds. Here's an article from today's newspaper:

 

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/03/17/2146631/japan-resists-accepting-charity.html

 

"Few charitable organizations are actually at work in Japan yet. Reports filed by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs show that the Japanese government so far has accepted help from only 15 of the 102 countries that have volunteered aid, and from small teams with special expertise from a handful of nonprofit groups."

 

Any need will certainly not disappear overnight, so there is plenty of time to make considered decisions about giving.

Edited March 17, 2011 by KarenNC

[redsquirrel]

a friend who lived through Katrina in NoLA told me that in a crisis of such proportion, give to the biggest organization with boots on the ground. In this case, she suggested Red Cross. They have a huge network in place and can get aid to where it needs to be very quickly.

[Imprimis]

Charity Navigator rates various charities and suggests some to donate to for the Japan crises.

 

I ended up going with Save the Children. I also like and have donated to AmeriCares---a high percentage of donated money goes for relief.

[asta]

:: slam alert ::

 

I can't stand the Red Cross. And I've had to liaise with them on many occasions.

 

Yeah, they're big, they're connected, they're organized.

 

They're also an incredibly smooth corporation who pays their upper management 6 and 7 figure incomes while all of the grunt work is being done by their "wonderful volunteers" (couldn't do it without 'em!)

 

Do you want to know where your money goes when you donate to the RC during a major disaster? It goes to the Red Cross. To their bank account. It may pay their electric bill, it may pay to build a new office for someone, it may pay an aerobics instructor in Idaho, it may help feed someone in Zimbabwe. Are any of these things necessarily bad? No. But if you want to help a specific population? Find a group whose sole mission is to help that population.

 

 

asta

[Mejane]

I donated through Childfund International because we already support them and have an account. Dh's donation through his company goes to the Red Cross afaik.

[missmoe]

All money donated to LDS Humanitarian Fund goes towards helping others. None of it is kept by the LDS church. As far as I can tell, the LDS church is still awaiting specifics from the Japanese government about specific help that is needed.

 

http://newsroom.lds.org/topic/humanitarian-services

[Chelle in MO]

I would not give anything to the Red Cross. I'd give to the Salvation Army.

[KRG]

Samaratan's Purse is there.

 

This is always my first choice for donations.

[justasque]

Several friends have suggested Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) as an organization that is pretty responsible with disaster money.

[chiguirre]

The Japanese Red Cross suggests you donate to your national Red Cross:

 

http://www.jrc.or.jp/english/relief/l4/Vcms4_00002070.html

[TravelingChris]

I gave it to Salvation Army- I checked, they have over 100 staff who live in Japan and already had organization to help. Another good one is Samaritan's Purse- they are filling a 747 full of needed supplies and are flying it there tomorrow. THey have a good record of directly helping in these kind of crises. I don't give to the Red Cross for basic reasons like Asta said.

[Ibbygirl]

:: slam alert ::

 

I can't stand the Red Cross. And I've had to liaise with them on many occasions.

 

Yeah, they're big, they're connected, they're organized.

 

They're also an incredibly smooth corporation who pays their upper management 6 and 7 figure incomes while all of the grunt work is being done by their "wonderful volunteers" (couldn't do it without 'em!)

 

Do you want to know where your money goes when you donate to the RC during a major disaster? It goes to the Red Cross. To their bank account. It may pay their electric bill, it may pay to build a new office for someone, it may pay an aerobics instructor in Idaho, it may help feed someone in Zimbabwe. Are any of these things necessarily bad? No. But if you want to help a specific population? Find a group whose sole mission is to help that population.

 

 

asta

 

Thank you for posting this. I never give to the Red Cross either and I didn't even know the information that you mentioned above. After 9/11 they were out in full force asking people to donate blood. It was all over the news etc, People were lined up for hours in lines in order to give blood to help 9/11 victims and it turned out later that the Red Cross was just throwing it away because they were looking for specific types. I was livid about that. They were using news organizations to ask for blood they could have just as easily said, "If you have such and such blood type the Red Cross could really use your help." but no, they chose to waste people's time and life blood instead. Let alone the whole Haiti thing that the money didn't even get there til how long after?? Nope, no Red Cross for me ever again. :mad:

[Ibbygirl]

Samaratan's Purse is there.

 

Love them! They are always my first choice as well. I don't know if Cross International is on the ground in Japan or not, but they are a good organization as well. They were already on the ground in Haiti when the earthquake struck so we donated funds through them. They have a really low overhead budget and almost all the money goes to the victims which is probably why nobody knows about them. :)

[NanceXToo]

Several friends have suggested Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) as an organization that is pretty responsible with disaster money.

 

Although their site says:

 

"At this point, we are drawing on unrestricted donations given to MSF to fund our efforts, and we are not accepting donations specifically earmarked for recovery efforts in Japan."

[justasque]

Although their site says:

 

"At this point, we are drawing on unrestricted donations given to MSF to fund our efforts, and we are not accepting donations specifically earmarked for recovery efforts in Japan."

 

Yes, this is actually why the people who suggested it to me thought it was a good organization. They are not seeing the situation as a fund-raising opportunity, and they seem to be pretty transparent about what they are doing in Japan, what the needs are (and what they are not), what they are capable of and what their particular role should be. Updates here, here, here, and here are worth reading even if you plan to donate to another organization, as they seem to be an honest assessment of the needs and how they are being met.

 

They say, "The ability of MSF teams to provide rapid and targeted medical care to those most in need in more than 60 countries around the world – whether in the media spotlight or not – depends on the generous general contributions of our donors worldwide. For this reason, MSF only issues appeals for support for specific emergencies in exceptional circumstances. MSF would not have been able to act so swiftly in response to the emergency in Haiti, as an example, if not for the ongoing general support from our donors. So we always ask our supporters to consider making an unrestricted contribution." This seems like a brutally honest statement to me, and I like that. (All that said, I am passing on what I have read; I do not claim to have extensively researched it!)

[luvtheOzarks]

:: slam alert ::

 

I can't stand the Red Cross. And I've had to liaise with them on many occasions.

 

Yeah, they're big, they're connected, they're organized.

 

They're also an incredibly smooth corporation who pays their upper management 6 and 7 figure incomes while all of the grunt work is being done by their "wonderful volunteers" (couldn't do it without 'em!)

 

Do you want to know where your money goes when you donate to the RC during a major disaster? It goes to the Red Cross. To their bank account. It may pay their electric bill, it may pay to build a new office for someone, it may pay an aerobics instructor in Idaho, it may help feed someone in Zimbabwe. Are any of these things necessarily bad? No. But if you want to help a specific population? Find a group whose sole mission is to help that population.

 

 

asta

 

Exactly.

 

My family doesn't have anything good to say about the Red Cross--this memory of how the soldiers in our family were treated goes back to WWII and the Korean War. The RC made the soldiers pay for the cigarettes that were donated to them by the tobacco companies here in the US. The RC sold donated donuts and coffee to soldiers, too.

 

During Desert Storm--my brother is a DS Vet-- Sony donated Walkman Radios for the soldiers and the RC charged the soldiers for them! They're a bunch of profit making crooks, IMHO. :angry:

 

I've heard you have to agree to a contribution once you get back on your fee if they help you out during a natural disaster---you are on their mailing list for life.:glare:

 

I've also heard that if you stick your head inside the building of a local VFW or American Legion and holler "Red Cross", they may chase you down.:lol:

 

I won't give 'em one red cent.

Edited March 18, 2011 by luvtheOzarks

[LibraryLover]

Yes! This is important information.

 

I can only imagine how many 'help' agencies are going to milking people, saying it's all going to Japan, when in fact it won't be.

 

 

Yes, this is actually why the people who suggested it to me thought it was a good organization. They are not seeing the situation as a fund-raising opportunity, and they seem to be pretty transparent about what they are doing in Japan, what the needs are (and what they are not), what they are capable of and what their particular role should be. Updates here, here, here, and here are worth reading even if you plan to donate to another organization, as they seem to be an honest assessment of the needs and how they are being met.

 

They say, "The ability of MSF teams to provide rapid and targeted medical care to those most in need in more than 60 countries around the world – whether in the media spotlight or not – depends on the generous general contributions of our donors worldwide. For this reason, MSF only issues appeals for support for specific emergencies in exceptional circumstances. MSF would not have been able to act so swiftly in response to the emergency in Haiti, as an example, if not for the ongoing general support from our donors. So we always ask our supporters to consider making an unrestricted contribution." This seems like a brutally honest statement to me, and I like that. (All that said, I am passing on what I have read; I do not claim to have extensively researched it!)

[LittleIzumi]

All money donated to LDS Humanitarian Fund goes towards helping others. None of it is kept by the LDS church. As far as I can tell, the LDS church is still awaiting specifics from the Japanese government about specific help that is needed.

 

http://newsroom.lds.org/topic/humanitarian-services

:iagree:

[LittleIzumi]

Very interesting about the Red Cross though :glare::glare:. Are there references for those? I always like to see it in writing :lol:.

[justasque]

Here's another interesting article about donating to Japan, which also mentions MSF's perspective.

[Mom-ninja.]

After hurricane Katerina my mother has decided to never donate again to the Red Cross.

 

They were rude and not helpful to my sister who lived in Biloxi at the time the hurricane hit. She lost everything. Her apartment, her car, and all her possessions. She had no clothes except what she was wearing. She stood in line for hours at the Red Cross. When she got to the front they told her to "go to your parents and tell them to provide for you." They did nothing to help her.

[asta]

Very interesting about the Red Cross though :glare::glare:. Are there references for those? I always like to see it in writing :lol:.

 

Well, here is their tax return.

 

Gail McGovern, President & CEO, $995,718 reported income; $36,304 other compensation (and, it's all the way down on page 41, but they also pay for her housing)

 

Mary Elcano, General Counsel & Secretary, $376,041; $53,045

 

It follows from there - quite astonishing. They pay out a total of $1,717,222,763 in salaries and benefits, but then give out only $251,004,753 in grants.

 

Mmm.... other stuff:

 

Pages 43-47, where they justify paying those salaries.

 

$691,088 towards lobbying legislators, etc.

 

 

From an older story in the NYT:

 

The Red Cross has struggled with its fund-raising since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Then, it was criticized for plans to set aside some $200 million of the donations it was receiving as a reserve fund for future terrorist attacks and to improve its own readiness for such attacks. In response, its leadership adopted a policy of allowing donors to direct that money be used only for a designated event, a change that has led to the depletion of the group's once formidable general disaster-relief fund.

 

Moreover, the lack of a major disaster since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the organization raised more than $2 billion, has crimped fund-raising. A case in point came in 2007: The organization responded to myriad small and midsized disasters, like the wildfires in California, that did little to attract the attention of donors.

 

The organization has had five leaders since 2002, which has shaken the confidence of big corporate donors. It took the Red Cross 18 months to find Mark W. Everson, who was dismissed in November 2007 because of his affair with the married head of a Red Cross chapter in Mississippi.

 

On April 8, 2008, the organization announced the appointment of Gail J. McGovern, a former senior executive at AT& T and Fidelity Investments, as its new president and chief executive. A professor at Harvard Business School at the time of her appointment, Ms. McGovern had extensive experience in fundraising as a trustee of Johns Hopkins University, where shewas involved in a campaign to raise $2 billion that brought in $3.2 billion instead. -- April 8, 2008

 

What I find interesting about that story (and others I read about the 9/11 fundraising debacle), is that, although they mention that the Red Cross rotated through numerous CEOs before settling on one who has formidable fundraising skills, nowhere in there do they mention that the RC has changed the practices that caused people to stop giving them money in the first place.

 

 

a

[blakereese]

I would never donate to the Red Cross. The way they treat their employees is enough of a reason for me. I don't have any links or references, but I do have first hand knowledge. They would not be the best place to give money in this situation IMHO.

[katilac]

Thanks for all of the input so far. Doctors without Borders sounds like a great organization.

[Classical Country Mama]

There is a Christian organization called Crash Japan, established in Japan by Japanese to deal with disaster relief. I understand they are the ones responsible for distributing supplies from Samaritan's Purse, Feed the Hungry, and other organizations. If you wish, you can donate to them directly: http://crashjapan.com/.