Help for Japan Earthquake / Tsunami Survivors

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   I know many Hubbers continue to be shocked at the massive level Nine (9) Earthquake that has befell Japan with the accompanying Apocalyptic Tsunami that followed.  I know you want to help with a few dollars.  I have put a link on my profile page to the right place.

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   This is a news blog link from Australia covering the tragedy
   
   http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan … 2eb10d970b

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   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   Thanks Barry, but this still looks too big of an organization, with the likelihood of most of the money being lost inside it. Does anybody know how to reach local communities directly?

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   Eaglekiwiposted 13 years ago

   Red Cross seems reputable enough

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      Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      They do have paid staff, and lots of it, don't they?

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         Eaglekiwiposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         They never paid me
         
         No  you are correct,they do have some paid  staff,not sure of proportion.
         
         
         Another thought : Japanese Embassy?
         
         http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/english/html/index.html

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            Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            They link to red cross only...

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   Misha
   
   There are other sites online you can go.  Here in Australia we have a Red Cross site.  I looked for one that I thought Americans would trust but there are plenty of others.  I would think this  charity is fully  audited and quite transparent with their activiites...

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   Yes I have found another one I think I will change my link to this
   
   http://www.google.co.jp/intl/en/crisisr … e2011.html

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      Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Barry, it's again red cross, though Japanese one. I took a look at their finance statement, and I am not very happy with what I saw...

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         barryrutherfordposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         What did you see ? 

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            Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            No transparency about the part of budget that is spent on organization itself. Judging by very imprecise titles of what money are spent on, this is likely around 30% at least.

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               ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Here's a list of 10 charities seeking donations, you may find one here? http://exchange.causes.com/2011/03/trag … your-help/

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                  Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Yeah, and some of them even putting adwords ads for that. Just google "japan tsunami donation". How do you think, where money for these ads come from?

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                     ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I didn't say that they would help, I said that you may find one, I wasn't going to research each of those organisations
                     
                     Save The Children give 90% of their money directly to programs, 10% on administration costs. There are always going to be administration costs, as they have to pay rent and bills like any other organisation There are also logistics. Oxfam only spent 80%, so they spend far more.
                     
                     Charitywatch.org rates charities on this, http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html
                     
                     In the International Relief & Development Category only four charities are given the highest grade (A+):
                     
                     CARE
                     Africare
                     International Rescue Committee
                     Partners In Health
                     
                     So, I guess that if anybody wants to donate then I suggest that they visit the International Rescue Committee donation page: https://www.rescue.org/donate/emergency
                     
                     They are currently on standby in Japan. They claim 4% spent on fundraising (and one would assume that this includes their website) and 6% on Administration (which one would assume includes their overheads). So 90% is a decent amount.

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                        Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Thanks Ryan, this is quite a comprehensive research

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   Eaglekiwiposted 13 years ago

   I goggled missionaries in Japan ,because I know the church I go to sponsers a couple there and wondered all and what they were all doing with the money.
   Of course they have been there for 12mths ,working in a hospital so Im assuming the extra donations will get to the right place.
   
   
   
   http://www.japanmission.org/
   
   Theres also Salvation Army

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   The Red Cross here in Australlia do excellent work.  They need paid staff in order to do a professional job.  I donate money to them & have given blood to them for 35 years

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      Eaglekiwiposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yea must admit Im only familiar with the NZ Redcross,but you do need to check how/where donated money is going too.
      
      Bugger when greed messes up charity,I reckon.

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   80% per cent of something is better than 100% of nothing
   
   
   unless we hand deliver the money this is the best way to help.  And right now Japan needs all the help it can get.  Failure to get Japan back on track will affect us all in future...
   
   Misha
   you can choose not to donate & thats fine but i feel compelled to encourage myself and others to give something

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      ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      80% is better than nothing, but it is not better than 90%.
      
      If one charity is managing to spend 10% on administration and fundraising, whilst the other spends 20%, I would much rather donate to the former.

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         PrettyPantherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I understand the desire to give to organizations that keep the administrative costs as low as possible, and agree with the basic idea.  But let's not forget that some organizations such as the Red Cross provide worldwide assistance and go places to provide services that smaller organizations cannot.  When you think of it that way, then a 30% overhead is not unreasonable.
         
         It is great that we have so many choices for giving.

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            ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I actually never mentioned the Red Cross.
            
            Although you should note that the percentages I am quoting relate to administration and fundraising only.  All costs related to projects are counted in the 80%, 90% or whatever percent. So location of aid is irrelevant, each of the four charities that I listed as well as my two examples deal with things on a global level.
            
            Therefore the 20% that Oxfam spends goes primarily on running offices, paying directors and managers, advertising spending and commission for paid fundraisers (those people with clipboards, they get well paid).
            
            There are charities with numerous directors on six figure salaries. I'm not suggesting that the Red Cross are one, although they may be, but there have been a few revelations in the UK which have resulted in me being very careful where my donations go.
            
            I would hate to see people getting fat on the back of my donations, and the disclosure of statistics like that helps me to make my choice.

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    barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

    Thanks for your comments we had the recent Queensland Premier's Disaster Flood Relief Appeal here in Queensland
    
    Every dollar donated is going to victims.  The Fund will be admininstered by public servants  but I guess the reality is the costs in administering that fund to taxpayers will be 30%

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    Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

    A good place to check on organizations:
    
    http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.c … ;cpid=1221
    
    This has tips on responsible giving and a list of recommended/ rated charities that are currently receiving donations specifically for Japan.  (The home page has links to lists for other crises or catastrophes.)
    
    Another evaluator:
    
    http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/publ … eauID=9999
    
    http://www.bbb.org/us/article/tips-for- … apan-25992
    
    Finally, a lot of different churches have their own relief organizations; I'm pretty sure that many of them are evaluated and can be checked on these sites (and also on Charitywatch.org).
    
    A lot of Christian denominations participate in "One Great Hour of Sharing" - http://onegreathourofsharing.org/index.html - which is an annual drive to raise funds that can be available immediately when a crisis occurs.  In other words, the donations that were given last year were available to help in Haiti, then in New Zealand, and now in Japan.  The advantage of that conduit is that resources are available at once, without having to be solicited.  But then the coffers have to be replenished.  Another advantage is that the various denominations often have workers on the ground in the location where the catastrophe occurred, and they are able to begin immediately to distribute relief through them. (Like what Eaglekiwi said.)

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