To those who donated cash to Katrina Relief Efforts...

Did you search the charity you were giving to in order to see what percentage goes to the actual evacuees or cause vs. what percentage goes to the charity? I'm asking because I was all set to donate to the Red Cross and then I read that they're not giving people clothing or underwear, that it's the Salvation Army who's providing this. Then I went to the websites and it seems like the Salvation Army is feeding and giving supplies to people. But the Food Bank is feeding people by the truckload...then there's the matter of the animals. The ASPCA is taking donations and putting strays in shelters but some people are donating to the NOSPCA directly.
So this got me thinking about donations and where to donate...I'm confused. If I had more money I would donate to the SA, the ASPCA, the Food Bank and the RC...OK...maybe I will donate to 2 today and to the other two on Friday when I get paid.
Was anyone else as confused as me?

I donated to the ASPCA. Even if all of the money I donated doesn't go to saving animals affected by Katrina, I would still be quite happy knowing that I am supporting the ASPCA in general and I know they will put the $$$ to good use. They are a great organization.

When you donate to the ASPCA, they give you email updates so you can see their progress.

Good to know I'm not alone!

After I posted this, I found this:

Give.org Katrina info

It seems that America’s Second Harvest and the American Red Cross have pretty low administrative fees (less than 3%) and almost all donations go to relief efforts.

There is no information on the Salvation Army, although they seem to be doing a lot and claim on their site that ' $100 donation to The Salvation Army will feed a family of four for two days, provide two cases of drinking water and one household clean-up kit, containing brooms, mops, buckets, and cleaning supplies.'

Nothing on the ASPCA either.Although they have a
hurricane relief page on their website... but their disaster relief seems to go toward 'all' disasters 'like' Hurricane Katrina, so I'm not sure. They do have a press release posted on their site with Katrina related info.

At least I'm not as confused as I was 15 minutes ago.

i don't know if you want to go on the smaller route- but my aunt started a way to help 3 families back on their feet in maryland - a 100% will go to helping these families - she is fionding them apartments, getting them furniture, kids in schools, and finding them jobs so that they can rebuild as quick as possible

here is the info i got in an email from my uncle
As we all saw last week, the relief effort for Katrina victims while well intentioned was too tied up in its own and other bureaucracies to be immediately effective. My sister Cecilia Bach was moved by the incredible circumstances these people faced and decided she needed to do something. Being a successful and well respected business entrepreneur in her community of Frederick, Maryland, www.bachrealestate.com she quickly leveraged her talents and resources and began a personal mission to assist a handful of needy families. The results obtained in just a few days have been remarkable as she has accomplished what many organizations would have taken weeks to achieve.

Not having time to establish her own not-for-profit organization, she aligned herself with the Community Foundation of Frederick County http://cffredco.org/ . This allows all contributions to be tax deductible but even better the Foundation is not charging an administrative fee as my sister is donating her time to run this. So 100% of all contributions result in a direct benefit to the families she is assisting.


She has put up a site on the web www.threefamilyproject.org explaining her mission and the current results achieved. Frankly, I am amazed at her passion for this project and her unselfish desire to assist people in need. However, her goal is to not create a welfare situation but instead to have the families achieve self sufficiency. Already, several of the beneficiaries have obtained full time jobs and are moving towards that objective.


If you are able, I would ask you to please consider making a contribution to her relief effort. Yes, we know there are scams out there but if you have concerns, please go to www.threefamilyproject.org and read about what Cecilia is doing or contact her at [email protected] or call at 800-394-2224 (FYI-BACH) and she’ll be glad to explain how your donation will be distributed. Your donation is tax deductible and should be made out to:

The Community Foundation of Frederick Maryland.

Important - Please note in the memo field on your check “Three Family Project”.

Their address is:

The Community Foundation of Frederick Maryland
Three Family Project
312 E. Church Street
Frederick, MD 21701

We donated to the Salvation Army and Noah's Wish.

I'm a little apprehensive about donating to the Red Cross after what happened with the 9/11 donations.

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Posted by frosty
I'm a little apprehensive about donating to the Red Cross after what happened with the 9/11 donations.

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Me too...but it's nt the same person in charge...I still don't know.

Thank you all!

btw, most of the companies that are named above, are non-profit orgnazations...

they really dont see much money with the exception of covering expenses.

they are gonna need alot more then money in there pocket. they first need to get to a point where they can get money in there pocket.

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Posted by MCDO15

btw, most of the companies that are named above, are non-profit orgnazations...

they really dont see much money with the exception of covering expenses.

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you would be surprised how much $$$ some of these non-profits put in their own pockets, it's disgusting. after working for one i have been completely turned off and am very careful where my $$$ goes, the red cross is one organization that will not get a dime from me...

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Posted by september2004

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Posted by MCDO15

btw, most of the companies that are named above, are non-profit orgnazations...

they really dont see much money with the exception of covering expenses.

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you would be surprised how much $$$ some of these non-profits put in their own pockets, it's disgusting. after working for one i have been completely turned off and am very careful where my $$$ goes, the red cross is one organization that will not get a dime from me...

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Yes, the head of the Red Cross makes a crazy amount of money. I had heard $600,000, but this says $450,000. Still a lot. & if you follow the link from Google answers to Guidestar, you can see how much money the Red Cross spends on other things. It is a huge organization though, so I am not sure how much of those expenses are inevitable.

Red Cross CEO salary

This site was helpful:

Charity Navigator

They do give the Red Cros a high Rating though. . .

I dontaed to the red cross and something thru Amex

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Posted by MCDO15

btw, most of the companies that are named above, are non-profit orgnazations...

they really dont see much money with the exception of covering expenses.

they are gonna need alot more then money in there pocket. they first need to get to a point where they can get money in there pocket.

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All of the organizations are non-profit. But that doens't mean that they don't squander donations for fund raisers, admin fees and salaries. That's why it's always good to do your research.

Thaks for the help!

Louisiana SPCA

LSU School of Veterinary Med

I donated to Habitat for Humanity. The sites you all posted were helpful. Habitat for Humanity

I am going to donate to Salvation Army, Catholic Charities and/or Second Harvest. I have worked directly with the first two orgs.

As someone who worked many disasters (9-11, sniper, Hurricane Isabel, etc) for a FEMA related crisis counseling program I have had a lot of difficulty in my dealings with the Red Cross. I know they do good work but there are some problems with the organization (as there are in many) and I'll leave it at that. There are MANY organizations to donate to, just do your research. Lots of good suggestions on the thread.