Text Donations For Domestic Disasters

[x635 4,066]

How come when there are foregin disasters, you can text donations to the Red Cross?

But when there is a disaster domestically, seemingly right now we can't?

[SRS131EMTFF 471]

You can text the Red Cross.

http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_nolnav_text2help

[efdcapt115 1,511]

You can text the Red Cross.

http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_nolnav_text2help

I'd like to know what percentage of every dollar given to the Red Cross actually goes to helping victims, and how much goes to paying high end salaries.

[ny10570 745]

ARC is extremely well regarded on their efficiency as a charity. http://www.charitywatch.org/ is an oft cited resource on the national evening news programs discussing avoiding fraudulent charities and they gave ARC an A-. According to their filings with the Federal government ARC spends about 90% of their money on their programs and somewhere around 5% on administration. Yes their CEO is pulling in 7 figures, but she's running a nearly $4 Billion corporation. After 9/11 when they were tagged for trying to use 9/11 funds for their general fund and her compensation came to light it was less than her peers at a similar sized corporations.

[RescueKujo 130]

ARC is extremely well regarded on their efficiency as a charity. http://www.charitywatch.org/ is an oft cited resource on the national evening news programs discussing avoiding fraudulent charities and they gave ARC an A-. According to their filings with the Federal government ARC spends about 90% of their money on their programs and somewhere around 5% on administration. Yes their CEO is pulling in 7 figures, but she's running a nearly $4 Billion corporation. After 9/11 when they were tagged for trying to use 9/11 funds for their general fund and her compensation came to light it was less than her peers at a similar sized corporations.

I hope it has gotten better since 2003...During the Southern California Firestorms in 2003, the San Diego Chapter and others in Southern California were begging for donations. About a year later, a television news investigative team found that all monetary donations made during the firestorm, unless specifically marked for "firestorm victims' or something else with "firestorm" in it went to the Chapter's general fund, and did not go to help victims of the disaster. If I remember right, another chapter the next year was found to be doing the same thing with hurricane or tornado disaster donations....

[ny10570 745]

Unless donations are specifically donated for a certain event they go into the general fund. Then at the end of their involvement ARC takes any remaining money and rolls that into the general fund. There are not a lot of people texting funds for the thousands of displaced families the ARC helps every year at smaller less noteworthy events. The media acts like they're uncovering some big scam, but this info is in ARC's tax fillings every year. Last year they had over $300 million from Haiti placed into the general fund. This does not mean that they've stopped helping in Haiti and are using that money for new canteen trucks. They are continuing to help in Haiti and will continue to do so long after the donations have stopped coming in.

[JackEMT 77]

The Vermont Foodbank set one up right after Hurricane Irene devastated VT. Text FOODNOW to 52000 to donate $10 to Vermont Foodbank. ( www.vtfoodbank.org for more info on the organization )

I think the events in Haiti, Indonesia and Japan were much larger (look at the number of people displaced) and countries like Haiti and Indonesia don't have the resources to help their own (don't get me started on Haiti). Hurricane Irene left a path of destruction, but to areas that have better access to resources (material and financial).

I am not saying people affected by Hurricane Irene shouldn't be helped, they should, and I for one have already donated. But I think domestically there are more choices to get donations to the people affected. Very few relief organizations have a global reach like ARC, Oxfam, etc.

[helicopper 1,050]

Just be careful and make sure you're donating to who you think you are. There are scams and scammers everywhere.

Last week there were already people in Schoharie County claiming to be from FEMA and trying to obtain identity information from displaced residents. They were not and law enforcement is investigating.