Help With Tsunami Donation!
 

I know this is a travel board but I'm having a hard time finding the right entity to donate money.

Does anyone have any working knowledge of charities and where or how my dollars could be best used?

Normally I would just donate to the Red Cross but reading the FF R&R would Doctors Without Boarders be better? What about Americares?

Does anyone know?

Just saw on CNBC today a segment about charities. They referred to Forbes as there source for info. Google that and see what's what.

Actually, Google itself has added a link on its home page, that takes you to a list of worthy organizations.

Doctors without Borders (AKA Medecins sans frontieres) is a great organization, but not remotely capable of dealing with large-scale emergencies. My money is going to the Red Cross and UNICEF.

I should add that I worked in international health for decades and have worked directly with several of the candidate organizations (UNICEF, Save the Children, etc.). What you want in a situation like this is not only a great reputation, but also the administrative infrastructure to manage a massive effort.

Go to CNN.com, print a list of charities accepting money for Tsunami victims, rule out the ones you don't like, see how many left. Do it again. When 2 or 3 left, send smaller checks to each one. Seriously, it may work for you.

I've donated online to the Red Cross and Doctor's Without Borders.

I am donating to both the Catholic Relief Organization and the Red Cross...

I looked up organizations on two sites that rate charities - American Institute of Philanthropy (www.charitywatch.org) and Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (www.give.org). Below is a comparison

Name,% Spent on Programs,Charity Watch Rating

Americares, 98%,A
American Friends Service Committee,80%,A-
American Red Cross,82%,A+
CARE,92%,A-
Direct Relief Intl,99%,B
Intl Rescue Committee,90%,A
Oxfam,76%,A-
Project Hope,93%,B+
Save the Children,90%,A-
World Vision,85%,B+

Based on what I read, I think that AmeriCares Foundation is well suited to contribute to. Its stated purpose is " to provide emergency medical and other disaster relief aid to areas throughout the world."

Any of these organizations are wonderful, and you may decide that another one is more suited to your goals or considerations.

I just donated to the American Red Cross International Fund - PO Box 37243; Washington, DC 20013 via my Schwab Charitable Trust.
I want the world to know the US is involved.
The Doctors without Borders don't have "staying" power anywhere in the world as they are small and "French".
M

Mikemo, I'm not quite sure what you are saying... you do know they are associated throughout the United States, right? That sounded very bigoted. Now why you call it a small organization is beyone me, I know of a handful of physicians locally from the UNITED STATES that donate their time every few years, sometimes years at a time, to help volunteer for this organization. They help people in disadvantaged countries for free for very long periods of time. Might I suggest you read their website www.doctorswithoutborders.org to learn about the charity. I am sorry but that comment made me upset.

Here is Doctors without borders 2003 financial report: www.doctorswithoutborders.org/donate/info.shtml


Regarding reputable charities that one can be guaranteed the money is going to the right place:

Father Bede Wevita
Saint John Neumann Catholic Church
4519 Simmons Street
Las Vegas, NV 89032

This Priest is native Sri Lankan, a good, honest man, and loved by many. If interrested, be sure to write "Sri Lanka relief fund" on the envelope.

www.sjnc.org

When choosing which charity to donate to, I took advice of one TV talking head - the agencies that already have a presence in that region of the world and/or are accustomed to dealing with enormous relief efforts are perhaps better suited to this disaster than other reputable organizations. Red Cross/Crescent, Unicef, Care, Oxfam seemed to meet these criteria. Personally, the Red Cross lost me after the donation fiasco after 9/11 - but they do some wonderful work.

I have found it interesting that these private charities seem to better able to meet immediate needs of survivors than many of the local or distant governments - I assume that is because that is what they specialize in. The US and other countries are having task force meetings to discuss what to do with their contributions (a good idea, since spending the money effectively is important), but these charities are already able to hand out aid. (Our money went to Oxfam)

The local governments have trouble responding because they have absolutely no resources to spare, or to set aside or reallocate for these situations. And of course many of their staff have been personally affected by these disasters, losing homes and/or loved ones. Also, both the local organizations and the international ones benefit if you and I realize they need the support.

Here is the website for Catholic Relief Charities:

http://www.kintera.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=41794

Check on the Asian Board, they have a list of charities, especially the smaller, local ones.

Here is a link that has good information to sort out reputable organizations helping victims of the tsunmi diaster in Asia.

http://www.networkforgood.org/topics...&cmpgn=CRS

I made my donation to The American Red Cross on Amazon.com I went to the site to do some shopping and on the opening page of Amazon is a notice. You can make an easy donation with any credit card. Amazon is coordinating the funds and 100% of the money goes to the Red Cross.

I gave money to both Doctors Without Borders and Merci Corps.

Andrew

A good resource for charitable organizations is www.usaid.gov. I was reading this morning about the Europeans that skipped their New Year's celebrations to donate the money normally spent on these celebrations. I couldn't help thinking of the massive destruction on the other side of the world as I watched the parties and celebrations in Disney, NY, etc.

Ran across this link about Americans giving to the relief effort...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...MPLATE=DEFAULT

Thanks for responding Mikemo, but I just don't agree. My spouse is a cardiologist, and 2 members of his group have spent time in Asia as well as others locally volunteering for this organization. We know it as a very well respected organization, and we know people that have donated their time, which are also very well respected, and are good hearted people.

I don't know anything about the charity being "overwhelmed". I think all relief effors may be overwhelmed at this time. It's not my particular charity either, for me it was just strange to see someone complain about what we know to be "good" charity from personal experience.

Cheers, no hard feelings

We gave to Doctors Without Borders.
They were the first on the scene @ Aceh provence.

CNN reported the Doctors without Borders sitting on their hands without transportation tonight while the USN is up front and delivering.
Clearly a major league logistical mess.
M

I gave to UNICEF. But I think all of the confussion and conflicting stories shows why there was and continues to be pressure on the major governments of the world to organize the response along with the U.N., as they are they only organizations that can possibly do so. No charity can possibly be equipped to timely respond to a tragedy of this scale.

GoTravel: I totally get where you're at. I also wanted to make sure that my money went to the right place. It's really hard to figure out which organization is the best.
Anyway, I ended up donating to the Intl. Disaster Relief Fund of the American Red Cross only because my company said they'd match my donation. My company also said they'd match any donation made to UNICEF. I'm sure they do good work, but I've always viewed the U.N. as this massive bureaucratic organization that just wastes money. So I chose the Red Cross. I think all big organizations have their problems but they're probably more effective than smaller ones.
Good luck in your decision.

just heard that Disney is donating 1 million to redcross international fund. Let's all chip in and make this world a better place. They have millions, we have dollars. We are all responsible for this planet.

oh, and personally, I donated a lot to Unicef, as their website assured me, then kinda alot to Red Cross, cause they are so involved, and finally Oxfam. I do not want to spend my hard earned dollars being spent sending me junk mail. All these groups seem to make real progress with our hard earned dollars.

Larger organizations like say, the Red Cross? Does anyone here remember the 911 scandal where the funds did not go to the victims?

The truth is that all charities are overwhelmed and are doing the best they can in the situation.

Ok, now I get it. Infighting about charity........... Anyone who could actually attack any charity trying to help and not rip off it's donors......well my goodness. It seems there are some very small people, who would prefer to debate inanely rather than hope for help. Travelin......continue to believe in the goodness of mankind.
Michelle

they're all good organizations, main thing is you all opened your wallets and recognised the need. stay active!

Check out Charitynavigator.org (well, I think it's .org, it might be .com). On the main page it has some tsunami relief organizaitons, but you can search for any 501c3 organizations. You can also find info on what % goes to program funding, amount of funds and how much the director of the organization makes.

I was outraged to find out the head of the American Red Cross makes over $600,000 a year. More than double than the head of US Unicef. More than 5 times than most directors of other relief organizations.

I work hard for my money and I want to make sure it is handled well. The organization I ended up supporting won't sell my name to others, won't send quarterly fund raising letters, won't send return address labels or holiday cards. That was important to me as I want my funds to go to relief efforts and not administration.

Great thread!
Please continue to contribute to the relief efforts.
M

ncgrrl, well said IMHO. I have the same feelings and thoughts! ((*))

Another issue you may want to consider is where you want your funds to go - funds can be used or emergency services and for resettlement and reestablishment of the people affected - rebuilding homes etc.

For instance Doctors without Borders now has received plenty of donations(per CNN) so perhaps consider an organization like Habitat for Humanity which will help rebuild homes or other organizations that run orphanages, or help people reestablish their livelihood.

And I think it is the long term support that will help people rebuild their lives.

The FIRST thing you want to clear up is EXACTLY what and WHERE and how your dollars are going to GO TO WORK. Big international causes cover the world and most are at the mercy of certain airline "delivery services." Best to call the organization you are thinking of donating to and ask these questions directly. Saddam Hussein had a palace that was storing UNICEF donation packages that he "handled". (Seen in the news) If you want your dollars to go from your hands directly to the tsunami victims (covering many countries) do your research and make sure it goes into the hands of the deserving AND NOT THOSE OF A PARTICULAR RELIGION (or special cause). That sort of discrimination is also at work. Disasters are always a big business opportunity THAT CAN FALL INTO OPPORTUNISTIC HANDS. Do your homework and then
HELP!!!

ncgirl, the reason the CEO's get paid so much is that they must have very talented people heading up these organizations. In order to attract talented people, they must pay large salaries equal to their peers at other multinationals. Even at what they make, they are stilll quite a bit below their peers.

It would be like asking you to do your job at a significant amount less than your peers. I hope that clears things up.

Deloris, giving your funds to a religious based organization such as American Jewish World Service or the Catholic Aid for Overseas Development has nothing to do with discrimination.

Discrimination is mostly about spurning a person or people because of age, ethnicity, race, sex, religion, etc.

travelinwifey - The issue w/911 and the Red Cross was that so much money came in for 911 they put some of it aside for situations that weren't so high profile (and don't generate the overwhelming donations, but just as worthy). There wasn't any scandal or problem with the money being misused, it just didn't all go specifically to 911 victim families. It would certainly be nice if they had some of that money left to help the victims of the Tsunami who are far more numerous and many far poorer (and with less resources). Just wanted to clear that up.

Just to second what GoTravel mentioned - my sister works for an NGO in India. She and her coworkers are highly qualified from some of the best universities in the country. They love the job and are highly dedicated, but every so often I know she agonizes over the fact she is not paid very much.

Some of her co-workers have left for UN organizations, higher paying orgs or sometimes even the corporate sector. They are not necesarily looking for parity with the corporate sector but enough to recognize their hard work(12 hours days are the norm) and talent. They have families and needs like the rest of us and are making a sacrifice that many of us are not.

$600000 is a lot of money, but CEO's in this country are paid in the millions, not to mention stock options out the wazoo!!

My concern in donating to an organization w/religious ties would be that some of my money might go towards promoting that religion rather than on basic aid. I'm not saying all religious charities do this, I'm just more comfortable donating to organizations without religious ties.

snowrooster, most major religions already have worldwide charities and missions in place and are experts in this field.

Even the Red Cross must use some of its donations for marketing in order to get more donations.

I don't think the Tsunami donations for any non-profit are going to marketing.

Snowrooster, thet's correct:) the Fodors moderators snipped a little on this thread, which was good, so the post seems a little off kilter now...

It's wonderful to see how many are donating:)

GT - Never said a thing about marketing, so I'm not sure to what you are referring. Obviously charitable organizations are involved with marketing just as they have accounting and human resources departments like any company. I just worry that some religious charities might incorporate religious materials in their aid which isn't what I would want. But that's me.

Egads, did I start a war or something.

Look, I'm all for pay raises, wish I was getting one. However, comparing the job as the head of a non-profit to the head of a Fortune 10 company is like comparing apples to carrots (I find apples to have too much in common with oranges in this situation).

I think it's great someone is willing to work tirelessly and endlessly for meager wages, but $600,000+ ain't meager. The people on the front line(s) deserve more salary and recognition than they will ever receive.

The head of USA Unicef does the same type of work and earns half as much. Some other disaster relief organization heads earn in the $150,000 range. Somehow the salaries, benefits, etc. of the employeses have to be paid, because no matter how generous someone is, at the end of the month the mortgage is due along with the electric bill.

I was noting in the charitynavigator.org website that you can find the information. Look up the factors that are important to you and contribute accordingly.

Make an economic statement with your donation, but make a smart one and learn about the group before you donate.