Looks like there were some issues with transparency 5-10 years ago (Google “Pro Publica Red Cross”), but I’m not finding any recent follow-ups and they’re scoring high marks for transparency now. They pretty consistently spend ~90% of every dollar donated on programs and are generally well-respected.
Are they a perfect charity? Probably not. But are they doing good? Absolutely.
If you want to donate money elsewhere, by all means go for it. Doctors Without Borders, and World Central Kitchen are great international charities, and local food banks in impacted communities can make your dollar go further than just about anyone else.
But also remember money isn’t the only donation the Red Cross accepts - as with any major disaster, blood will be in short supply, and there is unequivocally no better network for blood donations than the Red Cross.
They use a little trick called “lying” to keep their metrics.
Their CEO, Gail McGovern, a failed CEO from AT&T, has more than tripled her own salary while cutting employee benefits and is currently overseeing the absolute worst blood shortage in history.
Why?
Agreed, kind of a bold assertion to throw out without proof against a highly rated international charity
Charity Navigator 4-star 99%
Guidestar Platinum
Charity Watch A-
Looks like there were some issues with transparency 5-10 years ago (Google “Pro Publica Red Cross”), but I’m not finding any recent follow-ups and they’re scoring high marks for transparency now. They pretty consistently spend ~90% of every dollar donated on programs and are generally well-respected.
Are they a perfect charity? Probably not. But are they doing good? Absolutely.
If you want to donate money elsewhere, by all means go for it. Doctors Without Borders, and World Central Kitchen are great international charities, and local food banks in impacted communities can make your dollar go further than just about anyone else.
But also remember money isn’t the only donation the Red Cross accepts - as with any major disaster, blood will be in short supply, and there is unequivocally no better network for blood donations than the Red Cross.
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-the-red-cross-raised-half-a-billion-dollars-for-haiti-and-built-6-homes
They use a little trick called “lying” to keep their metrics.
Their CEO, Gail McGovern, a failed CEO from AT&T, has more than tripled her own salary while cutting employee benefits and is currently overseeing the absolute worst blood shortage in history.
People just don’t trust them anymore.
For some reason.