American Red Cross is not an organisation that I know much about but considering what they do, is it really outrageous to pay the top bosses a high wage? I’m organising one event once (Arts & Crafts United for Japan) and it is a HUGE amount of work and we don’t even have to do anything once the money has been raised, Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund will do that.

I think it is admirable to question but misguided to slam big charities wholesale. They are doing a tremendous job that wouldn’t be done without them and the people that work to make that happen, work HARD. Six figures evokes the impression that people are being paid a million pounds/dollars – but if you say £100K instead of six figures it becomes a very different ball game. They SHOULD get six figures. They aren’t doing it in their spare time as a hobby, they are running a multi-national aid organisation which does a brilliant job of helping and saving lives. The local church will not achieve what they achieve.

Most individual or group endeavours (like ACU4J) are attached to a larger charity which gets the money used appropriately and the needed items delivered. There is no post to Japan at the moment – only big aid companies with established practices can GET anything there.

As an example – according to some research that a trusted friend of mine did – that the top leaders of the Red Cross are making 6-figures annually! So…who’s actually getting the “relief?” I remember hearing from a WW2 veteran about how the Red Cross actually CHARGED the soldiers for coffee on the front lines in some areas!

Better to get on board with a church or an organization at a local level whom you trust that has international connections and can VERIFY that the aid/funds have really arrived at their intended destination!

Great to want to help, but always best to be cautious so your help actually…helps!

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