Tsunami relief - charity recommendation

[jinasphinx]

I got this from a friend of mine, and thought I'd pass it on in case anyone wanted to donate for tsunami relief but was unsure where.



Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2004 11:35:44 -0800 (PST)
From: My friend Rodney
Subject: [Hortgrads] giving for relief

Hey there beloved friends and family~

In the wake of the unfathomable suffering in SE Asia we've all been sharing
ideas and advice on giving so I thought I'd throw in my small percent. Jeff & I
decided to give to Mercy Corps http://www.mercycorps.org for several reasons
(1) they are one of the highest rated charities going, 91% of what you give goes
to relief. Check their rating out at http://www.charitynavigator.org (2) they
have a progresssive philosophy and run self-sufficiency programs worldwide that
focus on economic and ecological sustainability (3) they're a local Portland OR
based organization (4) they are very highly respected and seen as independent of
religious or political motives.

Giving money may seem trivial at first but the small amounts we donate leverage
so much more in donations. Mercy Corps is able to use every dollar you give to
procure $16 worth of real goods and services for relief efforts, that means your
$10 is actually worth $160. You may feel as impersonal as we do about expressing
your sympathy and concern in the form of money but money is what it takes to get
the appropriate water, food, medicine, shelter and other essentials to those who
need them.

If you feel uncomfortable donating online, you can mail them a check made out to
Mercy Corps/SE Asian relief to:

Mercy Corps
Dept. W
PO Box 2669
Portland OR 97208-2669

Love to you all and love to the grieving & suffering everywhere,

Rodney & Jeff

Comments

[hattifattener]

Hm. I usually give my $ to Doctors w/o Borders / MSF, although I see that charitynavigator only rates them as "pretty good" and they say they've received as much money as they can use for tsunami relief.

There's a good point that it's probably most effective to give money to organizations that have been operating in that general area for some time and already have people, expertise, and infrastructure in place.