Where does the money go that’s raised and given to the Red Cross?

How much of our donations do you think goes to charity? An average of 91 cents of every dollar the American Red Cross, a nonprofit organization, spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs, according to the Red Cross itself, but they don’t put it in regular print so people can see it. So not all the money that is raised is given to people and places that it is raised for. The Red Cross doesn’t tell everyone where all the money goes. The people of the Red Cross only inform that they give money to the places donated to.

The National Public Radio (NPR), a nonprofit media organization, claims they made multiple efforts to talk to the Red Cross about how the money is spent. The 91 cents for every dollar can add up fast when you figure donations are in the millions of dollars. Richard Gonzalez, a reporter for NPR, wrote an article in August 2017, “Red Cross Exec Doesn’t Know What Portion Of Donations Go To Harvey Relief,” about how difficult it is to get clear answers from the Red Cross. Gonzalez says NPR has been claiming the Red Cross was not being truthful about how money was spent since 2014. The NPR reporter also referenced a study from 2010 showing $124 million of donations toward Haiti was spent on internal expenses. What does that mean for people who think they are sending money to help others in need?

When giving money to a donation organization each person should research how much of your money actually goes to that charity. Why? The Red Cross uses some of the money for new equipment such as chairs and office supplies that they need. You should know where the money is being spent. See Figure 1 for a breakdown of money spent for Superstorm Sandy.

Fig. 1.

“Red Cross Superstorm Sandy Expenses and Commitments.” American Red Cross Wisconsin Region. WordPress.com

Editors Note: The American Red Cross was established in 1881 and provides shelter and emergency responses as needed around the world. According to Charity Navigator, the Red Cross rates three (3) stars as per their 10/1/2016 publication. See their website for information on a variety of charity organizations. Figure 2 reflects the star rating given by Charity Navigator.

Sources:

“American Red Cross.” CharityNavigator.org. 1 Oct. 2016. Assessed on 20 Oct. 2017.

Gonzales, Richard. “Red Cross Exec Doesn’t Know What Portion Of Donations Go To Harvey Relief.” npr.org. Aug. 2017. Assessed 10 Oct. 2017.