Charity Navigator rating is worth money

What is the Red Cross' Four Star Charity Navigator rating worth? In at least one instance, it was worth $800.

When a woman came in to ask about a first aid flip chart she had obtained from the Red Cross several years, I told her I was not familiar with that product, but I would look through the brochures and fliers that I had. I  had no luck finding what she wanted. I told her I would check with other chapters and online to see if I could find what she wanted.

At that point, she told me she wanted to make a year-end charitable donation to the Red Cross. She expressed concern about charities that waste money on administrative costs and have less left over for their clients. I reminded her that the Red Cross has the coveted Four Star rating from Charity Navigator. She handed me a $200 check and continued to ask about other charities. I went to www.charitynavigator.org and searched for each charity she mentioned. Some had three-star ratings and some had four stars. I showed her the percentage of income the Red Cross uses for administrative costs and fundraising and the 92 percent of income that the Red Cross spends on its programs, according to Charity Navigator's calculations.

As we talked, she decided she would write another check to the Red Cross, this one for $600. It was the Charity Navigator rating and transparency of Red Cross finances that prompted her to quadruple her donation.

Trustworthiness and transparency are important for charitable donors.

2011: Year of Disasters and Red Cross Relief

As 2011 speeds to a close, millions of Americans will remember it as a disastrous year. It was a year in which 46 of the 50 states experienced a major disaster of one form or another. Wildfires in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma; tornadoes in 18 states; flooding in 20 states; a hurricane that swamped most of the East Coast from the Carolinas to Maine -- these are the events for which 2011 will be remembered.

Overseas, an earthquake and tsunami turned into the worst disaster in Japan since World War II. American Red Cross has provided assistance to the Japanese Red Cross, even as America continues to help with the earthquake recovery in Haiti, now almost two years old.

In eastern North Carolina, the April tornadoes, which claimed two dozen lives, and Hurricane Irene, which brought powerful winds, heavy flooding, power outages and widespread misery, defined this year. It was a year of disaster, but also a year of disaster relief. A total of 759 Red Cross staff and volunteers responded to help victims of Hurricane Irene.They opened 57 shelters, served 164,753 meals and provided overnight accommodations in shelters 8,038 times as eastern North Carolina residents fled the hurricane's winds, flooding and power outages. It was the largest sheltering operation in North Carolina since Hurricane Floyd in 1999.

Everyone hopes 2012 will be a safer, quieter year in terms of natural disasters, if not in terms of politics. But no one can predict how many hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or wildfires we might have in the next 12 months. We can only predict that the Red Cross will be needed and will have to be ready when the call comes.

To make sure the Red Cross is ready and is able to deliver the services the public needs, volunteer in 2012 for your local Red Cross chapter, or give generously to support the Red Cross through your monetary donation. Give at your local chapter office, online at www.redcross.org, by calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by sending a check to P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

Violent war games are not war crimes

The blogosphere is all atwitter with reports that the Red Cross is proposing that gamers who play violent war games on the Xbox, Nintendo or whatnot should be charged with war crimes if their avatars violate international law, i.e., the rules of war.

It's not true!

The kernel of truth behind this hysteria is that the International Committee of the Red Cross, at a meeting in Geneva, raised the question of how war-like video games might be used to promote respect for international law. The proposal was to work with the gaming community to promote international humanitarian law. There never was a proposal to charge gamers for committing "virtual crimes," which all agree would be ludicrous.

However, the ICRC's proposal raises legitimate issues in a world where insurgencies, guerrilla movements and terrorist organizations operate outside the control of recognized sovereign governments. Promoting respect for international humanitarian law and the dignity of individual combatants or bystanders is a worthy cause. The gaming community could make a great contribution to this cause by making international law an element of their game strategies or tactics.

The American Red Cross is not the same organization as the International Committee for the Red Cross. Both organizations are part of the global Red Cross and Red Crescent network, but they operate separately. The American Red Cross is a humanitarian organization based in the United States, whose mission is to help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. The ICRC is an independent organization providing humanitarian protection and assistance for victims of war and armed violence.

The American Red Cross considers a discussion of international humanitarian law and the rules of war to be healthy, but it does not support (nor does the ICRC) a campaign against the video gaming industry.

Thanks to volunteers as Hurricane Season ends

Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of disaster services for the American Red Cross, has sent an email to Red Cross volunteers and staff thanking them for their work during Hurricane Season and throughout the year.

Here is a portion of that email:

As we reach the end of another Atlantic hurricane season, I want to say thank you to all the disaster services volunteer staff and paid staff that stood tall during the storms.  We have not experienced a hurricane that swept across the eastern seaboard since Hurricane Isabel in 2003.  While Irene proved to be less than predicted, it caused millions of people in over fifteen states to think about disaster preparedness, to access Red Cross shelter information, and to seek assistance with disaster-caused needs through you and your colleagues in Red Cross vests.

Throughout the hurricane season, and during the spring storms of 2011, you were there for our constituents.  24,000 disaster volunteers accepted Level 2+ disaster assignments so far this year, and thousands of you also volunteered on countless single family disaster emergencies in regions across the country. ...

While our Atlantic Hurricane season comes to an end, our readiness does not.  Disaster preparedness and response are a constant occupation.  Unlike the hurricane seasons, sudden onset disasters, flash floods, tornadoes and man-made catastrophes come with little or no warning.  We must be constantly ready, fully prepared and available to respond anywhere and at any time.  The American public expects nothing less, and we are privileged to have their confidence and support during times of disaster.