Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Disaster Relief
As Howard Dean says, "We're all in this together."
Give what you can to help the relief efforts in the areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.
Red Cross
Episcopal Relief and Development
Salvation Army
Catholic Charities
It's not just people who are left homeless by the hurricane. Noah's Wish and the Emergency Animal Rescue Service rescue pets stranded in disaster areas. They'll need your financial help, too.
<update> This post in Daily Kos has a more extensive list of relief organizations, with links for making donations online.
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Eeyore here.
::sigh::
Again.
Feed the Children received an F rating in the latest charity-watchdog report by the American Institute of Philanthropy (aip), which said: "in our opinion [Feed the Children] spends only about 14 percent of its cash budget on programs that are not conducted in conjunction with fund-raising."
This is from a Christianity Today article by Jody Veenker, which unfortunately I can't link and for which I don't have a precise date. But AIP's CharityWatch has some choice comments up:
The fiscal 1999 and 1998 financial statements of Feed the Children (FTC), formerly Larry Jones International Ministries, Inc., distributed to AIP and state regulators contain the forged signature of Arthur Andersen L.L.P., a major public accounting firm.
and
Wesley Billings, a former FTC finance officer, says he quit his job in 1998 at the charity because he was asked to create false paperwork to cover up a $20,000 bribe that was allegedly made by the charity to a Russian official...
Plus I think they may engage in abusive evangelization.
PW, would you mention these facts to the Kos crowd?
The American Red Cross. "Well" (said Eeyore) "there is a... history."
The AIP currently gives them an excellent rating. But ARC has been involved in what I would consider a lot of scandals. One is over sloppy handling of blood, which dates back to the mid-1980s and which ARC keeps promising will never happen again.
There are financial scandals.
And more.
The one criticism of the Red Cross that resonates most strongly with me is that I hear they serve the middle class at the expense of the poor. I don't have first-hand knowledge.
The Salvation Army. "Does anyone remember," asked Eeyore, "exactly who the Salvation Army regards as deserving of compassionate care? Because as I recall," he continued, "they continue to deny that a certain kind of people are not."
I tend to give to Oxfam.
::sigh::
Again.
Feed the Children received an F rating in the latest charity-watchdog report by the American Institute of Philanthropy (aip), which said: "in our opinion [Feed the Children] spends only about 14 percent of its cash budget on programs that are not conducted in conjunction with fund-raising."
This is from a Christianity Today article by Jody Veenker, which unfortunately I can't link and for which I don't have a precise date. But AIP's CharityWatch has some choice comments up:
The fiscal 1999 and 1998 financial statements of Feed the Children (FTC), formerly Larry Jones International Ministries, Inc., distributed to AIP and state regulators contain the forged signature of Arthur Andersen L.L.P., a major public accounting firm.
and
Wesley Billings, a former FTC finance officer, says he quit his job in 1998 at the charity because he was asked to create false paperwork to cover up a $20,000 bribe that was allegedly made by the charity to a Russian official...
Plus I think they may engage in abusive evangelization.
PW, would you mention these facts to the Kos crowd?
The American Red Cross. "Well" (said Eeyore) "there is a... history."
The AIP currently gives them an excellent rating. But ARC has been involved in what I would consider a lot of scandals. One is over sloppy handling of blood, which dates back to the mid-1980s and which ARC keeps promising will never happen again.
There are financial scandals.
And more.
The one criticism of the Red Cross that resonates most strongly with me is that I hear they serve the middle class at the expense of the poor. I don't have first-hand knowledge.
The Salvation Army. "Does anyone remember," asked Eeyore, "exactly who the Salvation Army regards as deserving of compassionate care? Because as I recall," he continued, "they continue to deny that a certain kind of people are not."
I tend to give to Oxfam.
Charles, is Oxfam operating in Louisiana right now? No.
But the Red Cross is, as is Habitat for Humanity.
I'm sorry, but when the people of the Gulf Coast are staring cholera and starvation in the face, now is not the time to be finicky.
But the Red Cross is, as is Habitat for Humanity.
I'm sorry, but when the people of the Gulf Coast are staring cholera and starvation in the face, now is not the time to be finicky.
What Phoenix Woman said. I considered both the Red Cross' past sins and the Salvation Army's bad employement policies. And I considered the desperate need in the hurricane zone. And, actually, I donated to the Espicopalian charity, because it was recommended by someone who knows a lot about the goings-on in that church.
But thanks for the heads-up on Feed the Children.
But thanks for the heads-up on Feed the Children.
If anybody's been looking for a nonsectarian charity that's doing relief work in the hurricane zone (and has qualms about the Red Cross), Mercy Corps looks like a good bet. Charity Navigator gives them a four-star ("Excellent") rating.
Mercy Corps definitely deserves that rating.
On the other hand, I am puzzled by Charity Navigator. I get the sense that charities are getting a couple of bonus stars for being "Christian," because there are some that I know are clunkers with good ratings and some I know are pretty good with poor ratings.
As for me, I finally sent my contribution to Catholic Charities.
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On the other hand, I am puzzled by Charity Navigator. I get the sense that charities are getting a couple of bonus stars for being "Christian," because there are some that I know are clunkers with good ratings and some I know are pretty good with poor ratings.
As for me, I finally sent my contribution to Catholic Charities.
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