And You Thought That The Red Cross Money Was Going To Oklahoma

By Gary Snyder

We thought that transparency was the watchword at the American Red Cross especially after the Congressional hearings that pointed to the many failures at every level at ARC headquarters. Guess we mistaken.

In the aftermath of 9-11 the American Red Cross created the Liberty Fund and received about $547 million that was ostensibly designed for relief for the victims of the terrorist attacks. However, when the fund was closed after reaching the goals only 30% was spent. The then president announced that the remainder (with collections having now grown to nearly $1 billion) of the money would be spent elsewhere on improved communications, blood supply and money for other attacks. There was a huge outcry and the president was forced to resign. She received a severance payment of $1,569,630. 

Congress was assured at that time that such fundraising collection and disbursement practices had been changed.

We saw watchdog agencies respond favorably.

Now we see a similar scenario. The millions of dollars donated to help the savaged Oklahoma area might not be going to help it. 

In this NewsOK  article national spokeswoman at the Washington DC ARC headquarters said money donated by texting to the heavily-promoted “REDCROSS” to 90999 will not be going to Oklahoma but instead toward a national disaster recovery fund. "It is not designated to Oklahoma or any specific disaster relief,” she said.

We await a response from oversight agencies.

Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more Nonprofits: On the Brink (2006) Silence: The Impending Threat to the Charitable Sector (2011)