Once again, an intensive media-driven campaign is underway to fill the coffers of two of America's largest nonprofits--the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. The Los Angeles ABC TV station joined with the Red Cross for a second consecutive time (Hurricane Katrina was the first) in arranging "drive-by drop-offs" of cash in the parking lots of major sports and entertainment venues. While it's too early to tell just how much money will be donated to these two groups, my guess is it will be well over $100 million and perhaps much more nationally.
This time, their fundraising is centered on the response to the California Wildfires which have destroyed over 500,000 acres, 2000 homes and displaced thousands of rural poor from areas which were rich in agricultural jobs.
There is no hint of anything wrong with the immediate disaster response of either group. They are first responders with contractual and other obligations which the smaller nonprofits do not have. For this, they are reimbursed for their basic out of pocket disaster service expenses by government at all levels.
This time, however, the glare of negative press from the Red Cross' response to Hurricane Katrina, the Asian Tsunami and 9/11; and, the Salvation Army's very tardy and meager response to the Tsunami disaster will require a great deal of transparency, moreso because news sources like the Los Angeles Times have run only the names of those two groups for general disaster donations (unless you want to help animal rescue groups or the State of California).
The issues are clear, especially for the American Red Cross. It has new and apparently very able senior management. It has made public commitments--especially to the US Congress which had launched three separate investigations of the Red Cross after the Hurricane Katrina debacle-- to drop its age-old policy against taking extra money it collects as a result of its fund raising virtuosity and spending it locally through non-Red Cross groups. It says it will now consider making grants to local grassroots organizations who best know the needs of their communities. "spare change" or checks without a specific designation for the current disaster were routinely deposited in the Red Cross' National Disaster account and spent wherever the Red Cross felt it was needed. That policy, we are assured, is supposed to change.
Americans, especially those who remember World War II, are usually in two camps between the Red Cross and "Sallie" and these camps are vehement in their support for or derision of the other group. The image fueling their passions is usually of Grandpa limping off a troop ship in 1945 and having to pay Red Cross for coffee while Sallie gave it up for free. [The Red Cross also charged rescue workers at the World Trade Center for coffee until a huge outcry ensued and then contracted with Daniel Bouley, one of New York's great chefs, to cater food and drinks to the workers.]
The rest of the relief groups--large and small agencies, many of whom are highly experienced and highly competent--usually scrape up the leftovers after America's major companies donate millions to either of the two largest groups and ballyhoo those donations in very expensive advertising campaigns.
My sense is we'd all be better served by directing contributions to community foundations with existing links to experienced local nonprofits. They could rapidly assess needs for non-emergency services and direct grants to those groups meeting a far wider set of recovery needs than the Red Cross and Salvation Army are charged with doing.
The Internet--with great care!--can also be a useful tool by linking the public to disaster relief groups with proven track records and bonafides.
Disaster is clearly a growth industry for nonprofits and those others who would exploit the American people's compassion for their neighbors.