Apex

OK folks, looking for your feedback.

Right now, we have the Red Cross linked. It's a good solid choice. However, I think it's important to look at where we're donating and to make sure we're maximizing our potential.

Charity Navigator is a pretty good tool to understand the charities we give to. It gives a nice quick snapshot of the organization. It's in no way complete (of course), but it's a very useful tool.

I think we're interested in a few things:

1. Organizational Efficiency: Program Expense. I think that Program Expense is probably the single most important factor. I'd like as much money as possible to actually get to the people you're trying to help. Best: close to 100% as possible. Most charities, thankfully, have > 80% program expense efficiency, with many above 90%. For reference, the US Gov't has roughly a 20-22% efficiency.

2. Organizational Efficiency: Fundraising Efficiency. Also important. How much money it takes for them to raise $1. Best: close to $0.00 as possible.

3. Organizational Capacity. Not quite as important as the above two, but shows how capable the program is of supporting and sustaining growth. Looking for high percentage.

4. Income Statement: Higher revenues is nice, just for stability, but doesn't mean much in overall scheme of things, at least in terms of who we support.

5. Donor Privacy Policy: Good to have written policy.

Anyhow, here's the current selection (all have written privacy policies):

American Red Cross
Link to Katrina Giving Form

• 91.1% Program Expenses
• 18 cents Fundraising Efficiency
• 4-6% Organizational capacity
• $3 Billion revenue

Here are a couple others that have specific links to Katrina relief we may want to consider linking to:

Operation Blessing International
Link to Katrina Giving Form

• 99.4% Program Expenses
• 0 cent Fundraising Efficiency
• 43-44% Organizational capacity
• $192 Million revenue

AmeriCares
Link to Katrina Giving Form

• 98.9% Program Expenses
• 1 cent Fundraising Efficiency
• 20-23% Organizational capacity
• $801 Million revenue

What does everyone think? Any other programs?

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Kim

Great list, thanks!

I wish I knew of a way to get all of my kids' clothes down there. We have so much that the kids have outgrown, but they are still in great shape.

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Jenny

Operation Blessing International looks good! With the 99.4%, 0¢ & 43-44%, it beats the others. It's got the lowest of the 3 in revenue but... That'd be my vote. Red Cross gets a lot of donations (we already gave a bit to them ourselves and I know Josh's school is giving to them as well), so that would be good to support another one too.

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chrissy

Kim, call your Girl Scout council. I know ours is doing an "item" drive. Also check around with some churches there are a couple here doing the same.


If you can, hit up Target's $1 spot. It recently went 75% off and they have all that back to school stuff (coloring books, board markers, flash cards, toiletries etc) and would be great to give. I am heading there tomorrow to see what I can grab to send.

Nija

Kind of off-topic, but on KROQ (local 'modern rock' radio station in LA) They have been tooting the Network for good website (I think that's kind of like an affialiate link, but I couldn't figure out how to get all the same places w/o the kroq part)

*that's all I've got*

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bachviet

We donated some $$$ via www.redcross.org already. I probably donate some more through my company since it has $100K to match employees' donation.

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hapoo

make the thread sticky?

Socalgal

*Update* 9/8/2005

I'm writing to let you know that ResellerRatings' Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort has met its goal of raising $10,000 dollars - within an incredible 4 days!

Since Sept. 4, your donations have been pouring in resulting in our $10,000 goal being met in less than 4 days time - simply amazing!

ResellerRatings.com is matching donors' contributions dollar-for-dollar and will present $20,000 to the American Red Cross. We will request a letter from the Red Cross as verification of our contribution and we will publish a scan of that letter on ResellerRatings in short order. Stay tuned to www.resellerratings.com for further information. Those who contributed will receive an email from ResellerRatings.com soon.

Thank you for contributing your dollars to help the victims of the worst natural disaster in U.S.
history. You've helped to make a positive difference in many lives.

Thanks again to all your good folks at Got|Apex? for helping in this effort.

Best Regards,
ResellerRatings.com
All Enthusiast, Inc.

===== posted 9/4/2005 =======

Thanks for the sticky, Apex.

ResellerRatings is offering to match your donations to the Red Cross from Sunday September 4th, through Thursday September 15th, dollar for dollar, up to a total contribution of $10,000.

To confirm to you that we uphold our end of the bargain, we will request a letter from the Red Cross as verification of our contribution and we will publish a scan of that letter here.

For complete details, click here:
http://resellerratings.com/katrina-relief.html

Thank you!

All Enthusiast, Inc.

Deet

Out of curiousity, I notice the redcross link is via www.jdoqocy.com... does this result in the redcross paying any sort of referral fee to gotapex?

Leon

We will not take any sort of referral fee from the Red Cross or any other relief fund benefits. The link is to simply track the amount of donations that went through this site.

Deet

got|apex rocks in all ways.

revoh

Not sure if you know about this or not, but Operation Blessing has some very mixed reviews and/or suspicious activities.

A short excerpt from [this blog] which was originally from [this new article]:

Disaster used as political payoff

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has done it again.

Already under fire for its woeful response to Hurricane Katrina, the federal disaster agency appears to have turned hurricane relief donations into a political payoff - until it was challenged.

All last week, FEMA bureaucrats gave prominent placement on the agency's Web site to Operation Blessing, the Virginia-based charity run by controversial right-wing evangelist and Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson.Back in 1994, during the infamous Rwandan genocide, Robertson used his 700 Club's daily cable operation to appeal to the American public for donations to fly humanitarian supplies into Zaire to save the Rwandan refugees.

The planes purchased by Operation Blessing did a lot more than ferry relief supplies.

An investigation conducted by the Virginia attorney general's office concluded in 1999 that the planes were mostly used to transport mining equipment for a diamond operation run by a for-profit company called African Development Corp.

And who do you think was the principal executive and sole shareholder of the mining company?

You guessed it, Pat Robertson himself.

Robertson had landed the mining concession from his longtime friend Mobutu Sese Seko, then the dictator of Zaire.

Investigators concluded that Operation Blessing "willfully induced contributions from the public through the use of misleading statements ..."


I make no claim to validity of this, but a quick search on google comes up with alot of scandal info. Wikipedia also has some info [here].

Apex

We've already started looking into those and (many) other links.

Unfortunately, much of the info is difficult to substantiate. Sometimes, it's difficult to separate fact from fiction (ie. from just the info above, Robertson does not run OBI, he's the founder and on the board, OBI is run by Bill Horan. The Virginia Attorney General's office did not conclude anything at all, and Robertson reimbursed OBI for plane use).

Dig enough and dirt can be found on every charity. The Red Cross has more than its share of scandal, yet they remain on the forefront of charitable relief activity.

This being said, I firmly believe that the important thing is for each of us to:

1. Be as informed as we can
2. Make as great of an impact as we can to help the victims

djjazzman

Thank you for everything you are doing.

I am from Pascagoula MS on the Gulf Coast. Let me say No words can express the devestation I have seen just in my city.

A church is usually a safe place to donate money. The little things will make all the difference in the world like old clothes, dishes, anything you would throw out donate it.

Take care
Jeffrey