Donating to the Red Cross

Over at BackupBrain, Tom asks people to donate to the Red Cross, then gets countermanded by comments.

First: the American Red Cross (ARC) cut off its dues payments to the International Red Cross over the Magen David Adom issue (see this link). In that light, it is shameful to withhold help from hurricane victims for this reason. I’m quite surprised that Dori, who certainly knows how to use the Internet to find stuff out, apparently didn’t in this case.

Second: it’s certainly true that other organizations handle their funds differently than the American Red Cross does. It’s also true that the ARC has made mistakes in the past. Having said that, though, they are far and away the most efficient disaster relief agency for crises of this magnitude. Many other relief agencies do a great deal of valuable work in situations like this, but none has the institutional experience or resources that the ARC does.

Third: why all the searching for a secular relief agency? You’ve got one: ARC. Is it really so bad to give money to a religiously-based organization like the Catholic Charities? Organizations like CC, the LDS Church’s Humanitarian Services wing, and others do their work because of religious motivations. You may dislike or distrust those motivations, but there’s no denying the goodness of their results.

Update: this morning’s Al’s Morning Meeting has a terrific summary of relief organizations and what they’re doing (drawn, ironically enough, from the Christian Science Monitor). Among the charities that might fit Dori’s criteria: Habitat for Humanity and the United Way. Check GuideStar.org for more potential charities.