After getting hammered by 60 minutes on TV last year, this large charity has taken it on the chin again. This is from a recent opinion piece in the LA Times. Small charities, ( and we are of the smallest) have taken a drastic reduction in support since Katrina as we did after 9-11. This does not mean that these are not serious and worthy causes that need attention and certainly funding. But once again the mechanism by which that happens, is brought into question. Here is the article:

The Red Cross Money Pit
By Richard M. Walden
Los Angeles Times

With Hurricane Rita now making news, it's time for Americans to take a more disciplined look at their tremendous generosity. As of last week, the American Red Cross reported that it had raised $826 million in private funds for Hurricane Katrina victims. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has the total figure at more than $1.2 billion for all relief groups reporting. So the Red Cross received about 70% of all giving.

This percentage was no doubt bloated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency's mystifying release to the media of the names of 19 faith-based charities (plus the Red Cross, Humane Society and three lesser-known groups) to which the public should donate - rather than the much wider group of established relief agencies.

This skewed giving to Red Cross would be justified if the organization had to pay the cost of the 300,000 people it has sheltered. But FEMA and the affected states are reimbursing the Red Cross under preexisting contracts for emergency shelter and other disaster services. The existence of these contracts is no secret to anyone but the American public. The Red Cross carefully says it functions only by the grace of the American people - but