Red Cross: Charity or Scam?

It truly pains me to see such a sincere outpouring of donations to the Red Cross in response to the devastation from Hurricane Katrina.

In response to 9/11 the American public sent $543 Million to the Red Cross to directly help the victims. Of that total, the Red Cross used $147 million, or 27%. That's right, nearly 3/4 of people's hard-earned donations went directly into the coffers of the Red Cross for use, among other things, in "preparing for future terrorist attacks".

So far, of the over $735 million collected for Katrina victims, $578 million has gone to the Red Cross. Nearly everyone I know has sent money to the Red Cross this month for this cause. Employees at my place of work have collected and sent thousands of dollars to the Red Cross. Practically every store I enter these days has Red Cross Katrina donation receptacles conveniently set up at entrances or check-out counters. Nearly every public service announcement about victims of Katrina that I see in the media recommends sending money to the Red Cross. Of the many hundreds of millions of $ that has already been confiscated from the public through this scam, just how much of it is going to end up in the hands of Katrina's victims through direct cash grants, or food or shelter or other desperately needed services? I guarantee you, not much.

Of course the Red Cross does provide some relief to disaster victims. But if I send them $200 in donations, thinking that it will all be put to the best use, and only $50 actually is used for direct aid, how am I supposed to feel? How am I supposed to feel when I discover that 30-40 percent of all donations to the Red Cross routinely ends up paying for plush office furniture, or all-expense-paid junkets around the world, or lavish facilities redecorating, or athletic club memberships, or luxury vehicles, or other non-relief expenses, all for Red Cross administrators and their staff?

When will Americans stop being duped by these types of scams? Do your research before sending your hard-earned wages to popular charities like the Red Cross or United Way. Learn what they do with your donations, how much they use for expenses that DON'T directly help disaster victims. Then decide if you really intended for your money to be spent this way.

I believe that at least 90% of public donations to charities should be spent on services and suppies that directly help disaster victims, not squirreled away for a rainy day or misused for unnecessary home (i.e. "company") improvements or company perks.

If there is a disaster in your local community and you see, on the local news, the Red Cross on the site in their generally very visible appearance, before you rush to the phone with your credit card, consider the probability that if you hop into your car, drive down to the area and give your donation directly to a victim (who's probably been evacuated from their home), that person will know exactly what they need and will probably get a much better use of that cash.

Or you could continue to blindly throw away your money to the most popular charities. A lot or readers will get mad at me for suggesting that they have been wasting their money. Fine. Get mad, but also do some research and start realizing that you are getting mad at the wrong people.