Rather than just sending money to the Red Cross or another large national charity, you might want to consider donating directly to organizations which are part of the communities devastated by this disaster or which are working directly on relief efforts such as housing and feeding refugees.
I've identified two regional charities which seem to be on the spot and doing good work, and both are rated four stars by Charity Navigator and spend less than 1% of their total income on administrative expenses, meaning that they are very efficient and the vast majority of their money goes directly to those who need it. They are rated even better than the Red Cross, and much better than groups like the United Way. They are not religiously affiliated and both are located in Baton Rouge where 300,000 refugees have been relocated. They are also taking direct donations through the web, which is much more efficient than donating money to some national group and waiting for it to filter down to the local level.
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank is feeding large numbers of refugees from New Orleans, and all donations are tax deductible. They are also working with the Second Harvest Foodbank of New Orleans which has had to leave the city because of conditions there and is setting up operations in Baton Rouge.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has two funds going, one for immediate disaster relief for refugees and one for rebuilding in New Orleans. Their website appears to be swamped with more queries than it can handle, so you might try bypassing the main site and going direct to their donations shopping cart.
So if you're looking for a different way to show your support, these two alternative charities might be worth considering.
Dave
Article comments
1 - John A. Conley
GREAT article Dave. Excellent research.
2 - troll
well done Dave
troll
3 - Georgio
Thanks Dave I will check out these sites but I would like your opinion on a couple of things..where does the red cross money go other than giving food and clothing to the ppl in this disaster,,so far not much of this has happened to the ppl in N Orleans..and now they have been shipped to other states ..by the way Texas is doing a fine job...now they will be fed and sheltered but I assume Texas will pay for this and not the red cross..but on a more important note I am concerned about all these poor ppl who have lost their homes in the 9th ward..they probably do not have any insurance also their homes will be bulldozed so what happens to them ?..The families of the victims in 9/11 where all given over a million dollars each and most of these where well off to begin with..so maybe a fund should be set up to at least provide these ppl with another home ..also Dave let me ask you a simple question ..why cant the Government just write out a blank check to cover the loss of say ppl who made less than 25000 a year..I know they can afford it because they have a credit card that so far China has not blocked..shit I wanted to leave politics out of this but it's hard..
4 - Lisa McKay
Dave, the link to Charity Navigator is really worthwhile - thanks for putting this up.
5 - AmishHitman
Direct donations to “umbrella” agencies are nice, but only when there is an infrastructure in which to produce results. The Food Bank and area Foundation are having a difficult time enough with providing services…let alone trying to track, control and then even deliver funds and goods distributions.
Dave, I’m a 15 year (retied after 9/11) professional disaster responder for the Red Cross wit a gifting record of raising a total of over $15 million at both the local and national levels.
Both as a large operational director and major gifts fundraiser for some very large disaster events; I can tell you that at this point of the operation; gifts need to be made t organizations who can deliver immediate needs.
Both the examples you’re using do not give direct assistance to individual people. They are a support system to the local non-profits in the area.
After the response stage (which we are still in) the recovery stage will begin. At that phase is the best way to strengthen the base of the foundations to t the local communities. The unfortunate fact is, that phase is far out and wont come any time soon.
6 - AmishHitman
In short….at this phase, support those agencies that can and are delivering case-by-case individualized needs. T
Those agencies (Red CRoss, Sal Army, ect...) can track, maintain and react now to outcome based measurements.
7 - Dave Nalle
Amish, I hear what you're saying, but the Food Bank is a local agency providing direct relief to refugees, not just an umbrella agency.
Some people are not comfortable giving money to the Salvation Army for a number of reasons, and the Red Cross can't be everywhere at once.
I do agree that donations to the BRAF funds probably ought to wait at least for a little bit, because those funds are aimed at long-term recovery. But they are going to need a hell of a lot of money when the time comes, so people shouldn't forget them.
The Red Cross is also in many ways an umbrella organization. They don't do all of their aid delivery directly either, plus money donated to them goes not just to immediate aid but to their general fund for use on other relief efforts as well. That said, they're my top choice for aid, and where I've already sent my money. But I'm also spreading the money I'm raising around, because everyone is already donating to the Red Cross, and other groups need support as well.
Dave
8 - Dave Nalle
Oh, and Amish. With your expertise, where else would you consider sending money? I know you're personally committed to the Red Cross, but nonetheless, there have to be other groups we can give to directly which have good records like the two I cited and the Red Cross which can do a lot of good and help quickly. I'll even consider religious groups within reason.
Dave
9 - The Amish Hitman
Dave,
Please don’t think I’m a “NON-BARFer”…but, I just hate to see gifts go to organizations…that can help down the road rather than now.
Great post…I wish more folks looked at “gifting” as an opportunity, rather then an obligation.
10 - Natalie Davis
Mr. Nalle, thank you for posting this! Charity Navigator is quite good. Another alternative to find legitimate and worthy efforts is Network for Good.
11 - Dave Nalle
Georgio:
>>Thanks Dave I will check out these sites but I would like your opinion on a couple of things..where does the red cross money go other than giving food and clothing to the ppl in this disaster<<
Amish could answer this better than I can, but as I understand it Red Cross money goes into their general fund and won't necessarily be earmarked for this specific disaster, not that this is a real concern. The Red Cross has a good record on efficiency, so they aren't wasting money. Check them with the Charity Navigator. Being a big international group like they are and having a 4-star rating is pretty remarkable. Over 90% of their money goes directly to relief efforts. On the other hand, local organizations which work entirely with volunteers donate close to 100% to the needy, but they're harder to get to as far as donating.
>>so far not much of this has happened to the ppl in N Orleans..and now they have been shipped to other states ..by the way Texas is doing a fine job<<
I tried to find some good charities in Mississippi and couldn't find any which looked decent. I'm also getting info on some in Texas, but they're spreading the refugees all over the place, so I'm not sure where to focus. They're even sending them to El Paso of all places.
>>now they will be fed and sheltered but I assume Texas will pay for this and not the red cross<<
I think that private organizations, school districts and businesses are providing the housing for the most part. Feeding them is likely to be the big challenge, and it's going to come down largely to the food banks.
>>but on a more important note I am concerned about all these poor ppl who have lost their homes in the 9th ward..they probably do not have any insurance also their homes will be bulldozed so what happens to them ?<<
There's a FEMA fund which will compensate them for their losses out of federal money, but I have no idea how it will handle a disaster of this magnitude.
>>The families of the victims in 9/11 where all given over a million dollars each and most of these where well off to begin with..so maybe a fund should be set up to at least provide these ppl with another home<<
I'm sure something like this will be done on a national basis. The BRAF link I provided above also has one such fund. I'm also looking into what habitat for humanity might have planned to help out - they're a really worthy group that works with mostly volunteers and is very efficient, but rebuilding on this scale isn't their usual baliwick.
>>also Dave let me ask you a simple question ..why cant the Government just write out a blank check to cover the loss of say ppl who made less than 25000 a year..I know they can afford it <<
That's highly debatable. We already have a large deficit which we're just beginning to find ways to deal with - I was quite heartened by the substantial reduction of the deficit because of recent growth in corporate tax revenues - and that recovery is going to get a real kick in the nads from this disaster. We're talking close to a million poor people all of whom will need some sort of disaster aid. My guess is that at least a quarter of a million homes will need to be rebuilt or relocated. That's something like $62 trillion dollars unless my math fails me - I can hardly believe that number.
>>because they have a credit card that so far China has not blocked..shit I wanted to leave politics out of this but it's hard.<<
There's no credit card as such. China just buys up debt instruments when the government issues themm just like anyone else does, and we can't guarantee that they'd buy enough more to cover this, though it's a reasonable assumption. And do we actually want to have China invest even more here?
Dave
12 - Georgio
Thanks Dave for taking the time and patience to answer all of my concerns...your knowledge is vast and factual weather or not I agree with you all the time...Thanks
13 - Dave Nalle
Oops, bad math. My $62 trillion guesstimate earlier was off. It's probably more like $12 trillion, but that's still enormously more than any previous recovery/rebuilding project.
Dave
14 - Kathleen
Dear Dave and All,
Great insight and help... Also would like
to point out Second Harvest Food Bank
New Orleans as another longstanding
direct to community effort.....They are also
on Charity Navigator, which has proved to
be a reliable resource for our family giving
in the past.
15 - The Amish Hitman
Always earmark that donation!! Dave is right. Non"marked" donations are gen fund $$.
Thos are called "White Monies".
Sorry..I'm moble right now and hard to text.
By earmarking the donations, your better assured to have the cash used as intended.
LOL..BBL...when I can type on a keyboard.
16 - Dave Nalle
Kathleen, the Second Harvest Food Bank is - not surprisingly - unable to function inside NO. They have relocated to Baton Rouge and are working with the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank mentioned in the article.
Dave
17 - Cerulean
Dave, what information do you have that Second Harvest or the Food Bank in Baton Rouge is feeding hurricane victims? I'm curious.
18 - Dave Nalle
>>Dave, what information do you have that Second Harvest or the Food Bank in Baton Rouge is feeding hurricane victims? I'm curious.<<
The statements on their websites seemed convincing. It's what foodbanks do. The Baton Rouge foodbank had a call for 15 more volunteers out to sort food to send to the shelters, and the Second Harvest website had a notice that they were in Baton Rouge working with the BRFB.
Dave
19 - Cerulean
Thanks. Those organizations have less positive aspects but hopefully they will pull through now. The food bank here was not user friendly for most consumers and not accessible to many that could have used it. There is a convincing book excoriating Second Harvest and the concept behind it. Hopefully they are getting food to people that need it now.
20 - Dave Nalle
Both the GBRFB and Second Harvest have the highest possible rating from Charity Navigator and I couldn't find anything on the web suggesting they were troubled or disreputable organizations.
Dave
21 - Cerulean
I have a lot of firsthand experiences with charities and non profits and also know of the experiences of others. There are charities that could look good to non-consumers which really quite useless or troubled, although not the classic way you may be thinking of. Because of my experience, I always start with the assumption that nothing or almost nothing a non-profit gets will get down to the consumer and then I look for proof to the contrary. I would advise people who are thinking of contributing to a cause to call up the number for consumers, (if there is one) and say you are what they say their target group is and see if anything they claim pans out. Often, it doesn't. Of course people should not clog up emergency numbers. They probably don't want to do this now with Katrina. The Red Cross is looking better now but it took a while. Haven't personally observed nimble, low overhead grass roots organizations working like I saw in the Tsunami. Might give more to the Red Cross later, perhaps.
Believe me, charities and non-profits can benefit from public discussions of their operations by consumers, first hand observers and workers.