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Don't Give Your Hurricane Donations to the Red Cross

prisonplanet.com — Interesting article that makes you reconsider whether the Red Cross is the right charity to send donations for the victims of hurricane Katrina.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 3, 2005

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  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8The Red Cross uses 8% of their donations for corporate reasons, paying for buildings, paying employees, keeping the buildings clean and the lights on. The other 92% is uses for relief purpouses. They gave a LARGE amount of the donations of 9/11 to the victims, and used the rest for OTHER VICTIMS! They don't only give money to one group of people who are having trouble, they help everyone who needs it at the time. They didn't "bank" it, they are helping people all over the place, not just the people of one small area.

    The United Way, on the other hand, uses almost 15% for corporate reasons. Who have I donated with? The Red Cross. Who will I continue to donate with? The Red Cross.
  • milomind, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8I read this article, and want to say that this may be the most irresponsible diggs that I have ever seen. It's reactionary, conspirational, and heavily biased. It besmerches an organization that has a century of experience supplying disaster and wartime relief. The writer of the article never cites his sources, uses inflamatory language about the bolshevik revolution to support his argument that the Red Cross is unworthy of support. NO DIGG!
  • Schmeck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Before you go making claims that the Red Cross and the United Way "are evil", make sure you understand what these organizations do. I can't speak as much for the Red Cross, but know that without the United Way, just about all of the smaller human services agencies in your area would not be able to sustain themselves. United Way raises money for agencies that don't have the resources to raise money themselves. 15% is about right for a national average, but also know that your local United Way may be different. The United Way of Greater St. Louis, for example, only retains 9% for administrative purposes. If you are truly worried about these costs, then giving to a smaller charity would be a misinformed desicion. Smaller charities generally retain a much higher percentage in administrative fees simply because they don't have an efficient infrastructure in place to collect funding. Remember that the United Way and Red Cross are non-profit agencies. The % they retain goes directly into supporting their programs. Employees get a small part of that to bring home.

    If you want to give, one of the best ways to research agencies is on the Better Business Bureau's "Wise Giving Alliance" site (http://www.give.org/index.asp). Take a look at the different agencies, look at their numbers, and make your own desicision.
  • jccalhoun, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This article says that the red cross uses money for bombing and setting up surviellance cameras. Does anyone really think this likely? I would think that if the Red Cross were bombing people, it would be a little more newsworthy than some random website.

    I think what is happening is that the Red Cross doesn't use the money people donate in the aftermath of tragedies exclusivly for those tragedies. They use the money in other places, but "To the victims, this meant that the money was going towards bombing broken backed third world countries like Afghanistan and setting up surveillance cameras and expanding the police state in US cities, and not towards helping them rebuild their lives," seems really, really unlikely.
  • dhughes, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4 The TV show 60 Minutes had a pretty good show on the US Red Cross and how it doesn't handle money very well, and it pays it's top employees very well.

    Here in Canada they screwed up the blood collection so much they were sued and the government stopped them from doing it, it's now run by another organization called Canadian Blood Services.


    *btw the new digg servers suck!*
  • reaver, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Oh and you guys know the same guy who wrote this is the one who thought the government was behind 9/11.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The only thing I can say is that your don't hear about the red cross till a M A Y O R disaster happens, makes me remember the Thorns corporation in the movie The Omen, if you have seen it you know what I mean.

    I don't have proof but there is this tale I came across with about the Red Cross selling sweaters people gave them for free during world war 2, not quite sure about it, so I'm not pointing fingers.

    There is no doubt the International Red Cross does some respectable job in poor countries providing FREE health care to people without the resources, from maternity to surgeries.

    My final word is, if you are not sure about a foundation, don't give money, buy food, water and clothes and give them out yourself, if you want something done right do it yourself, governments, corporations or foundations don't help people, people help people.
  • dee-vee, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Alex Jones is a great american. For all you haters out there how about you actually listen to his show and think for yourself?
  • knowizard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I don't donate to the Red Cross. On top of their more recent 9/11 "behavior," a friend's father who was in WWII, told of coming home to San Francisco and when coming off the ship, if any GI picked up a donut or coffee when passing by the Red Cross tables, the guy behind him would knock it out of his hand. Apparently the Red Cross stayed behind the front lines and charged for coffee and food. The Salvation Army was up near the front lines and gave their stuff away for free. This friend's father was an old no-nonsense Marine, and he was very angry when he told the story.

    I give to the Salvation Army without hesitation. Another good one is the American Friends Service Committee. I do not trust the Red Cross.
  • wildbillyboy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Just sounds like someone who is more than a little paranoid. Terms like "police state" and"military industrial complex" are also seen in a lot of conspiracy theories and sites. If you want to donate to UW or Red Cross, go for it.
  • mousky, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Donating is just a way for people to feel better about some horrible event without having to actually do something. The Red Cross and the United Way capitilize on this.

    If people really want to help, they should get their butts down there and help clean up, look for suvivors/bodies, open their homes and business to all the people will be displaced for a long time and so on. Charity does not mean donating 10 bucks to some organization. It means actually doing something for nothing in return.
  • duzins, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I like the smaller organizations better, but the Red Cross is a worthy organization. They had some exposure of a problem after 9/11 and fixed it (probaby due to the large amt of coverage the story got then). This article is ludicrous. The red cross does not do this, "the money was going towards bombing broken backed third world countries like Afghanistan and setting up surveillance cameras and expanding the police state in US cities" Who the hell would believe that???

    And, if a telemarketer is calling you to give money, at least half of the time it is a scam. Tell them to send you something in the mail. If they are legit, they will. I can't tell you how many times after disasters like this (9/11, tsunami, etc) and in general from the vol. fire dept. or police boosters that I would request paper info on only to be hung up on. Be careful on that man.
  • vern, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3It sounded belieavable until the article started to get into conspiracy theories towards the end. The site is taking advantage of this tragedy to spread it's conspiracy rumors and theories. Just look at the front page.
  • monolith, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The red cross has it's issues. But looking at the stability of their website in the storm of traffice, some of the investment in infrastructure was wise.
    The salvation army is a better place to give, though I think sometimes in huge quick giving instances like these they have trouble just handling things.

    Read the wall street journal article linked to in this article. The prisonplanet one seems heavily driven by some ajenda... not clear what ajenda though.
  • Eric.S.Smith, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3From the linked article:

    "Many informed historians have even alleged that the Red Cross was used as a Skull and Bones cover to overthrow The Russian Czar and pave the way for the rise of the Bolsheviks."

    I like how he just throws that in there.
  • sandrino, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2When you donate to the Red Cross, you can specify what disaster you want your money to go to. Otherwise the Red Cross will use the money for any and all disasters around the world depending on need. For 9/11 too much money was collected by all kind of charities. If you told them they could only use the money for 9/11 victims you'd tie their hands when the next tragedy comes along. I trust the Red Cross a lot more than I trust this administration or other "charitable" organizations that have less oversight.
  • monkeybutler, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Thats one of the absolute worst things about disasters. We all want to do something so we donate to these "organizations" and they're more evil than the disaster itself. Its just so hard to do the right thing because if you dont give youre a jerk, but if you do give you're feeding a monster.
  • rephlektiv, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1the funding to families and firefighters during 9/11 from redcross was a huge ordeal. Families did not receive support for months after the attack. Then, as the "we're getting over it and tired of hearing about the attacks" state of mind settled over america, it was even harder for these families to get the financial support they needed.

    if your significant other is a firefighter who died in 9/11.. and you are a housewife relying on his paychecks, imagine how difficult it is to go months without ANY income.. this is one area where the financial aid in disaster situations failed to provide the support needed in a timely manner.
  • wai_xing_ren, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1How many of you read the article? That guy said the Red Cross is a front group for the Military Industrial Complex (aka The Syndicate, The Octopus, etc.). He accused the Red Cross of overthrowing governments.
  • diggscreenname, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For some detailed info on which charities actually spend your money to help people check out http://www.charitynavigator.org

    After checking out how much the Red Cross wastes on stuff other than their programs I sent my money elsewhere. The ***** CEO of the American Red Cross gets paid $450k!! IMO that is WAY too much and only 91% of the money they take in goes to helping people. Other groups of similiar quality are closer to 99%.
  • TokenUser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I had a telemarketer call asking for donations for . I asked them up front what percentage of the donation goes to the charity. I was told AT LEAST 15%. So, that means that his company gets 85%?

    Before donating to any organisation (especially if you are called over the phone) ask how much goes to the organisation, and if possible what the split is between charity and admin.

    Yes - I gave $100 to the disaster relief, I also gave a similar donation to another group (secondharvest.org). Even with the admin overhead, these people get the services to the people faster than other charities, and have far greater access to resources than most organisations.
  • Dolemack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/08/25/italy.iraq/index.html
  • ramadan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It is fishy nevertheless, there are hundreds of links on the subject:

    http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,38212,00.html
    http://www.apfn.org/apfn/WTC_red-cross.htm
  • Jammerdelray, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0omfg what is this guy on crack?!?

    Everyone should donate to the red cross or a charity that will help those poor helpless victims!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Vote to get rid of this lame ass digg
  • gorkon, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0NO DIGG. The American Red Cross, which I have worked with before, has to pay some of the people that run the organization. As we all know, disasters can happen at anytime. What IS sad is that noone even thinks about giving to the Red Cross until something like 9/11, the Tsunami or Katrina happens. One thing I may check into is if I can do payroll deduction to the Red Cross ALL YEAR long. Only 8 percent not going to relief efforts? I would say that's pretty darn good. If the Red Cross uses telemarketers(not aware that they do) would not ever give to them, but I would walk it into the office. ANYONE who truly thinks FEMA and the feds were not doing anything doesn't clearly know the whole story. New Orleans as well as the entire Missippi Coast and good chunks of the Alabama close ALL had damage. The sheer amount of resources needed is mind boggling.
  • ReinMasamuri, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0It really doesn't matter if the red cross used 98% of it's monies towards causes. If they take money they SAY are going towards something, and use it to something else, they're in the wrong. Even if that something else is exponentially more important, it's still wrong.
  • Regnak, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Come on people, both the 9/11 issue and the Cali earthquake issue were freaking national news for several days. Can't comment on some of the more out-there speculations in this article, but the basis of it is 100% documented fact. The Red Cross is horribly managed, and a significant portion of people's donations go to things other than the causes they were trying to donate to. That being said, 99% of the people working for the organization are good people, trying to help. As usual, it's just the top management that finds a way to screw things up.
  • artemus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Alex is a pretty credible guy. He can back up pretty much everything he says with credible evidence from mainstream media. Anyway, I knew the 9/11 witholdings, but I didn't know of the other stuff.
  • bedheadben, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0no digg for you, cause you are wrong
  • milomind, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I changed my mind. I'm going to digg this story just so the people who bought this BS get called out as flipping morons on Diggnation.
  • pharcide, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0THIS IS COMPLETE CRAP i've been busting my ass for the last week volunteering 13-15 hour shifts a day to help these victims at a church with the red cross and all the clothes and toys and other material things are definitly going to families. 100% of donations that are material and gift cards are going to families... sure maybe a small percentage of cash donations aren't but c'mon!
  • pinsomniac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Oops. When I say "more than half a million collected," I mean more than half a billion. Sorry about that.
  • telcontar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I don't think this site trust's ANYBODY. Just check out the title of the books at the bottom of the page.

    Besides it was the UNITED WAY that screwed up the 9/11 funds. The Red cross had problems at first but quickly corrected it.
  • Gruesome, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I work for the Red Cross (Blood Services), and *I* wouldn't give money to the Red Cross! Blood Services and Disaster Relief are seperate entities, but if Disaster Relief is as badly managed as Blood Services, they're pissing away money hand over fist. At my chapter, administrative overhead is ridiculous. We must have 20 administrative positions for every collections employee. It's mushrooming into an organisation full of paper pushers and a few of us who actually collect and process the blood. I'm so disenchanted I'm going back to school so I can get OUT!
  • mattjb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I'll just say that. Last year, when at a shelter to escape from the hurricanes that hit Florida last year, the only organization that gave me food and water and support was Red Cross. I live out in the middle of nowhere, and it was a real relief to have them helping out. They made what could've been a very unpleasant experience, into a bearable one.

    Thought I'd post an actual experience, rather than links to websites claiming this and that.
  • tresser, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0this is my experience:

    Hurricane Charley came to town. i was holed up within a mile of dead center of the storm. after all hell broke loose in my town the first people on the scene helping were the red cross. from states as far as michigan, they came with water nd hot meals and supplies.

    meanwhile, FEMA was holding their dicks.
  • pinsomniac, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I've been partial to the Salvation Army myself, but excuse my naivety. I thought the American Red Cross rectified the problems with the Liberty Fund soon after and announced a revised plan where all donations were to go to victims? I'm not sure if that actually happened, but I'm pretty sure that there was more than half a million collected and more than $150 million distributed.
  • drshabazz, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I was in Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster and I witnessed first hand the complete and utter mismanagement and misappropriation of funds by the Red Cross. The only people that were getting stuff done was the private parties that came in with their own money and were delivering the goods themselves. It's as if the red cross has so much money and equipment and trucks and boats and food that they don't know how to get it to people. We got an interview with the guy who was in charge from the International Red Cross and toured their facility and they had a wherehouse full of goods that had been sitting there for weeks. I will never trust them again.

    So the question is, where to donate? I second the earlier comment, Catholic Charities gets stuff done, and they get it done fast. http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/news/katrina.cfm
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Fair article-- Timing is REALLY unfortunate.

    Folks-- PEOPLE NEED YOUR HELP. DO NOT HESITATE. DO SOMETHING. MANY OF YOU MAKE PLENTY OF MONEY TO CONTEMPLATE THE COLOR OF YOUR NEXT IPOD ACCESSORY.

    DONATE YOUR TIME AND MONEY NOW PLEASE... IF NOT THE RED CROSS-- SOMEWHERE.
  • brettotte1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I should've mentioned as well that YES you should ask the caller/fundraiser if they work for a fundraising company. Ask how much goes to the charity.

    In the midwest it's often that I get calls from the Fire Department, Sheriff's Association, Police, & calls for other environmental, etc groups. It is usually about 8-15% that goes to the cause and the fundraising company gets the rest.

    You may ask yourself....why would the fire department contract themselves with companies that take so much of the money?

    It's because they usually have a lot more overhead first of all since they're calling EVERY phone # in the book and sending a lot more mail than having a good database of names of people who are interested in a cause & wish to help a group.

    Plus, YES, they are in it for profit.

    The fire department does it because they don't have to do ANYTHING and at the end of the month they get a check for the 8-15% net. Free money to THEM.

    Always ask before donating.

    Credit cards are cheaper as well to donate with too. Less overhead. The group can get the money right away. They get a non-profit rate transaction fee. They don't have to mail you a "pledge envelope" to get a check back. They don't have to pay mail staff to open envelopes, sort checks, record the donation for recordkeeping (tax purposes), then mail a receipt.

    CC#'s result in you getting ONE envelope with your receipt and is done on the phone.

    Yes, I know many are scared to use a credit card, but you should ALWAYS use a card since you're protected by the Fair Credit & Billing Act which states you may dispute ANY charge on your bill up to 60 days AFTER you receive it. (use a one-time use #...I do)

    Debit cards should NEVER be used since a scheister could bankrupt your bank account and you'd have NO MONEY to pay bills and fight to get your money back.
  • inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Why is money supposidly being given to "the war on terror", is this true?

    Im sure people dont want their money going on ruining people's lives, bombing and all thaat crap.

    They want it being spent on building people's lives not ruining them.
  • DenDen, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1People will believe anything they read, it's a shame. BTW, you must send me money, or you will die. :)
  • Brhine, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1"The history is clear, the Red Cross and other large so-called charities are in actual fact front group collection agencies for the military industrial complex."

    Plus no verifiable facts makes this BS. I was a paramedic for eight years and was personally involved in 2 large scale incidents. Not as large as 9/11 or Katrina, but large enough to see many people hurt. The Red Cross was always there in force with trucks of food, water, supplies, etc..., usually within a couple hours, and they stayed until the last of the rescue and medical workers were gone. They hung around taking care of us too.

    The Red Cross are one of only a small group of charities that have the resources to mount a large scale relief effort like the one needed for Katrina. Money needs to be spent on their own infrastructure in order to facilitate that. I will continue to give to The Red Cross
  • producer2k, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1When will it ever become obvious to the intellectual chattel amongst us that the politics of self-promotion is the seed of propaganda, and ultimately "the Big Lie", as Josef Goebbels cultivated during the forging of power in his fascist state. Alex Jones is no different the the double-breasted suit delusionals standing on the corners thrusting Dollar pamphlets from Calypso Louie into hands of passers-by; enslaved to the religion of self-importance and the ideal that politics is the path of truth for those "who know better" than the rest of us. Another 2-bit demagogue, another "voice" no more important than a fart in the night.
  • ke4wkp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Personally I prefer The Salvation Army. Thats why I submitted this Digg yesterday.
    http://digg.com/links/Please_don_t_forget_about_the_Salvation_Army
  • FishyJoe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The article didn't show where the Red Cross is WASTING money. Just because they didn't spend all their money on a single project is meaningless. If they don't keep some of the money for rainy days and infrastructure upgrades, then how are they supposed to respond to future catastrophes?
  • beatsy_dave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The Salvation Army is the only way to go. Even if half the stories about the red cross are true, the salvation army is transparent about where their funds got.....unlike the red cross.

    I remember the Canadian red cross SCREAMING for donations for the 9-11 victims, yet not a cent went across the border.



  • Vill4no, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0If you guys don't trust the Red Cross,then just do as I did, instead of giving them money I bought canned food and diapers and donated that to the Red Cross.

  • beatsy_dave, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0 donate your time and non-perishable foodstuffs, not $$
  • WackyT, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0But, the world famous humanitarian and diplomat Kanye West said to donate to the Red Cross last night.
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