The American Red Cross

[moondance]

I have always been leary about donating to large organizations as The American Red Cross and The American Cancer Society. I heard that the officers and others who run the organizations have high salaries.

As a result of Hurricane Katrina, I started looking into the relief agencies. The American Red Cross has Financial information availble for all to see.
The Tax Return document is 91 pages. I never expected the salaries to be so unreasonable.

If I were to donate $100, what percent will actually go to the victims of the horrific storm?

Page 36 lists the compensation and benefits of their officers, trustees, directors, and key employees.

Marsha Evans CEO and President (60hrs/wk) $450,008

Mary Elcano General Counsel and Secretary (60hrs/wk) $290,004

Rhamesh Thadani Exec VP & CEO Biomedical Services $204,351
(For the period of 7/1/03 - 8/27/03 )
His severance pay $260,791

James Krueger Exec VP Chapter Services Network
(60hrs/wk for the period of 7/1/03 - 11/14/03) $148,792
His severance pay $168,873

Terry Sicilia Exec VP, Disaster Services (60 hrs/wk) $240,006

Alan McCury Chief Operating Officer (60hrs/wk) $335,620

Robert McDonald Chief Financial Officer (60hrs/wk) $315,016

The following are the five highest paid employees, other than officers, directors, and trustees. (page 66)

John D Campbell SVP, Disaster & Chapter Finances $227,446
(60 hrs/wk for period of 7/1/03 to 1/30/04)
His severance pay $99,099

Donald Dudley, SVP External Affairs Biomed. Srv $280,020
(60hrs/wk)

Tom Schwaninger SVC, CIO Information Systems $312,026
(60hrs/wk)

John Seitz, SVP Growth and Integrated Development $300,014
(60hrs/wk)

Allan Ross VP, Technical Operations 292,668
(60 hrs/wk)

:scratch: :scratch: :scratch: :scratch: :scratch:

[kellybsblover]

:noway:. People from the red cross see the terrible destruction to go home and eat caviar while there are people dying.

[Karo]

Wow, that is really sad. Last week my friend went to a local chapter with food. The workers there were really nasty to her saying they have not collected food in 5 years. She thought she was doing something nice. Now I see why they want cash donations.

Kathy

[dudley]

perhaps then donate to the
salvation army - they are
doing disaster relief down here...
ceo's in this country make way
too much money in comparison
to the rank and file - and
especially since the red cross
is a charity - bad, bad, bad.....

[Travelling Slim]

I'm no expert on this stuff, but I do have some experience as a volunteer for the United Way, Meals-On-Wheels, and the Red Cross. In fact, I have been coordianting quarterly Blood Drives at my company for over 15 years now, and as coincidence would have it, we have one here today.

Back in the early '90's, I ran the United Way drive at my company for three years straight. I was a young, idealistic, and at times, indignant, know-it-all. I was at a meeting for company coordiantors and got to listen to the President of the local chapter of the United Way speak to encourage us for the upcoming drive. He asked if there were any questions, and I asked how he could justify his $150,000 salary. He responded very graciously and politely, basically asking me if I'd rather have a $30,000 a year flunkie <my language> out of junior college running a $50 million organization. This got me thinking. The guy was a skilled manager and administrator, and was obviously already making a large contribution just by being there, by forsaking the opportunity that he would otherwise have in the private sector. If I had to guess, the national American Red Cross is at least a $1B organization. Seems to me that to have someone running it for under $500M is probably a bargain.

Regarding the poster who had a friend drop off food to a Red Cross chapter, you're friend DID do something nice, but, hey, if they don't take food, they don't take food. Their attitude is another matter entirely, however, and the attitude of the employees that come to do the drives here has been at issue through the years, though admittedly it has improved markedly to almost not be an issue anymore, at least in my little experience four times a year.

[Daddy-O]

If you are looking for an organization to donate to, I would suggest UMCOR, the United Methodist Committee on Relief. It is a not-for-profit and all of its administrative costs are covered by offerings from United Methodist Church members. So whatever you donate goes to the relief effort you designate.

From their website:

"The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is the not-for-profit humanitarian agency of The United Methodist Church. Since 1940 UMCOR's mission-- providing relief in disaster areas, aiding refugees and confronting the challenge of world hunger and poverty-- has helped to heal the hurts of humanity in nearly 100 countries. UMCOR maintains a corps of trained disaster response specialists for quick reinforcement of national efforts and keeps a supply of relief materials in warehouses for dispatch when and where required. It also trains disaster response specialists in their own countries as part of a global ministry by a global church and works in partnership with other international agencies.

When you give to the United Methodist Committee on Relief you can be sure that your money will go where you want it to go. One hundred percent of your tax-deductible gifts go to the emergency or project that you designate. UMCOR's administrative costs come from other sources, especially the United Methodist One Great Hour of Sharing offering."


As for Katrina, UMCOR has laid out a 3 phase process for providing relief:

1. The emergency stage is the present stage and is anticipated to last for up to 10 days. During this time rescue efforts and infrastructure repair are carried out by official agencies.

2. In the second phase, the relief phase, assistance is provided to home owners who need to "muck out," assess damage, receive emotional and spiritual care, and begin their long road to recovery. During this time the local churches are very active, acting as shelters and support areas for the community.

3. The third phase, long-term recovery, involves a holistic approach to people who have suffered losses, covering everything from seeking them out in their neighborhood to providing information and advocacy about their federal and state assistance rights. In coordination with other religious bodies and community service agencies, UMCOR will participate in repairing and rebuilding of homes, and assistance with living expenses.

http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/

[dhenise]

I was at a meeting for company coordiantors and got to listen to the President of the local chapter of the United Way speak to encourage us for the upcoming drive. He asked if there were any questions, and I asked how he could justify his $150,000 salary. He responded very graciously and politely, basically asking me if I'd rather have a $30,000 a year flunkie <my language> out of junior college running a $50 million organization. This got me thinking. The guy was a skilled manager and administrator, and was obviously already making a large contribution just by being there, by forsaking the opportunity that he would otherwise have in the private sector. If I had to guess, the national American Red Cross is at least a $1B organization. Seems to me that to have someone running it for under $500M is probably a bargain.


I agree with you Slim. Their budget is actually over 3 billion, so those salaries ......... even with those not listed ........ make up less than 1%.
To coordinate the things this organization does every day ...... all over the world ......... frankly that's a job worth 10 times what they are getting paid. I also doubt those "hours worked" in times of crisis.
Here is some food for thought:

"Last year the Red Cross assisted the victims of more than 70,000 disasters; collected and processed nearly half the nation's blood supply; trained almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills such as first aid and CPR; transmitted 14 million emergency messages and provided other direct assistance to more than half a million military families; and responded to international natural disasters and other humanitarian emergencies such as unsafe, non-potable water, mass starvation, and life-threatening diseases such as measles."

As far as the head of the Red Cross being overpaid ..... "Marsha Evans leads the American Red Cross in continuing its legacy. As one of the country's top leaders, Evans brings impressive experience to the organization. During her 29-year career with the United States Navy, Evans distinguished herself as one of only a handful of women to reach the honored rank of rear admiral, and gained a reputation for forging new ground for women in the military. Admiral Evans held a variety of command positions overseeing multi-million dollar budgets and thousands of employees. She led the Navy Recruiting Command, where she managed 6,000 employees in 1,200 locations and recruited more than 70,000 officers and enlisted personnel annually. She also held top positions at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and the Treasure Island Naval Station in the San Francisco Bay Area. Evans retired in 1998 as a rear admiral.

In January 1998, Evans assumed leadership of Girl Scouts of the USA, the largest organization representing girls in the world, with troops in every zip code in America. Evans revolutionized the 90-year old organization and modernized its vision and programs for its nearly three million young members. Under her leadership, Girl Scouts created cutting-edge programs in science, technology, sports, money management and community service. Evans updated Girl Scouts' image, enhanced its recruiting practices and increased its number of adult volunteers to nearly one million, the highest number in the organization's history. Throughout Evan's tenure, Girl Scouts enjoyed a continuous increase in young membership, and reached an unprecedented level of diversity as African-American, Asian, and a record number of Hispanic girls discovered the organization.

Evans has been honored with numerous awards and accolades throughout her career. Among them: a 2003 Woman of Distinction award, a 1979-80 White House Fellowship, and the prestigious 2002 John W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award from the White House Fellows Association, and the 2003 American Women Award from the Women's Research and Education Institute."

Sorry, but to me she is worth every penny.

[Richard Tafoya]

We'll be seeing banners supporting donations to the Red Cross on this site starting later today.

[crazyjaney6]

A very timely thread...I've thought about the American Red Cross and whether to donate to them or not because of what on the surface seems to be overinflated administrative costs...
In fact, during the Tsunami relief efforts, I instead donated to a much smaller charity located in Thailand that was recommended to me by a friend whose family was in Thailand...I felt more confident at the time the money would help on the front lines...

But...... today as I was driving to work after passing the $3+/gallon gas pumps...I couldn't help thinking how trivial that was today in comparison to the lives of thousands of others...
That led me back to my usual internal conflict of whom to make a donation to..who could make the most use of it...and I started thinking in larger terms just like some of what's been insightfully brought to the table in this thread...

It became as simple as this:
Thinking back to 1996 when I battled mother nature's forces and finally threw in the towel to evacuate my 2 German Shepherds and 3 cats to higher ground(twice) and to watch my house be swallowed by the Potomac River...I thought about what helped me from losing my sanity and jumping into the Potomac myself with concrete boots...and there was the answer...plain as day...
The American Red Cross...
They were the first to hear about the unpredicted flash flood along the Potomac...even the fire department didn't know it happened until a day later and the town 10 miles away was oblivious until they started to hear about car lots, tankers, and houses floating down the river...
It was The American Red Cross who immediately sprang into action, implementing the structural plan that makes them who they are time after time after time...those plans don't happen haphazardly...those plans are envisioned, created, implemented and perfected by teams of people...and many of those with sights on a much larger picture...those whose expertise comes only through higher education and experience...that's something to be compensated for if you want continued quality of care...and that's what they provided...

It was 5 days before FEMA arrived...another 5 before the first insurance adjusters started making their rounds...
It was the first initial 5 days that I didn't know my a** from a flooded hole in the ground...and The Red Cross came to point us in the right direction, set us up with a hotel room for 7 days that was allowing animals...gave us vouchers for 7 days for a local restaurant and started finding out who needed the absolute basic necessities...what people had children...who was needing clothes, diapers etc. Those 7 days were critical...
The Red Cross was the only organization who helped so quickly and diverted even further tragedy in the lives of so many less fortunate than I...my experience was nothing compared to others' devastation...I'd lost no lives of loved ones...

Today it became clearer for me...there's a reason why each time a tragedy of magnitude occurs...we hear about The Red Cross relief efforts first...it starts at the top....

Thanks for lending clarity to this complex issue...it 's much deeper than the 6 digit salaries on the financial report...

[bossmom]

i completely agree with travelling slim, dhenise and crazyjaney6 on this one

your $100 contribution will benefit the victims of this horrific storm 100% whether it be that it goes to the salaries of the people running this organization or directly to the supplies needed - if it were not for these people running this organization, it would either not exist or not be able to respond as quickly and efficiently as it does -

if you want to talk about ridiculous salaries, let's talk entertainment ;)

[Fly_Chiquita]

I agree with the above. www.charitynavigator.org is a great site. According to that site, the ARC brings in appx. 3 billion dollars a year. 2.8 billion goes to program expenses, I.E, money for things like disaster relief. 5% goes to administration spending. The CEO's pay turns out to be .01% of their total budget.

Yes, your money will go toward disaster relief. I volunteer for the Red Cross (NOT disaster services though). I live about as far away from New Orleans as you can get (Minnesota) and recieved an email asking for any and ALL willing volunteers to go down there, whether or not these people are trained in disaster relief. They NEED the money. Taking truckloads of people and supplies down there costs money, especially with gas these days.

So indeed, I think your money will be spent wisely.

[orthy]

Seems to me that to have someone running it for under $500M is probably a bargain.



Absolutely 100% dead-on. I didn't see one executive salary out of the bunch listed that made me scratch my head...

[myhometown]

It seems to me those execs could make 3 - 4 times more in the private sector.

[dudley]

last year with florida's
4 hurricanes i gave
money each time to the
ARC - the last - ivan
i gave double both to
the ARC and the Salvation
Army - ivan was here -
in my hometown - we
went 5 days without
power, water, phone, etc...
luckily we had draw up tons of
water ahead of time as we have
horses, cats, a dog - we were
about as prepared as you can get -
except for a generator - which we
have this year - and used with
dennis in july -

planning to give again - both to
the ARC and SA -

katrina was/is a sad and horrific
storm - the reality is the central
gulf coast will be hurting for a
very long time to come........