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American Red Cross Receives Four Stars from Charity Navigator
For the fifth consecutive year, the American Red Cross receives highest rating from charity watchdog
Written by
Katie Lawson
, Staff Writer, Redcross.org
Tuesday, December 05, 2006 — The holiday season provides an opportunity to think not just about the holiday gifts to be purchased but on the gifts received over the past year. The American Red Cross is thankful for each and every one of its donors who gave this year, contributing time, money or blood to help the Red Cross help America.
American Red Cross has been named a Four-Star Charity by Charity Navigator for the fifth consecutive year.
(Logo Courtesy of Charity Navigator)
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One way in which the Red Cross expresses that gratitude to its donors is by being a good steward of the gifts that have been entrusted to it – making the most of every donated dollar. The goal of maximizing donations is ambitious, and the Red Cross continues to rise to the challenge as evidenced by being named a "four-star charity" by the non-profit site Charity Navigator for the fifth consecutive year.
Found online at www.charitynavigator.org, Charity Navigator is an independent charity evaluator that provides unbiased ratings of a huge number of charities spanning the spectrum of causes to be supported. The non-profit group was founded in 2001 on the premise that, while Americans are generous and wish to make charitable contributions, many are unsure where to start.
All of Charity Navigator’s information is available to the public at no cost. The site serves as an online source for critical data, accessing the financial health of more than 5,000 charities, with the goal of helping charitable givers make informed, intelligent donation decisions. After all, Americans donated more than $260.28 billion to charities and non-profit organizations last year alone, according to the Giving USA Foundation.
The Red Cross is proud to be recognized with a four-star rating by Charity Navigator.
Continuing to prove itself as one of the most efficient non-profit organizations in the United States, the Red Cross works hard to maximize every penny of every dollar donated by the public. On average, 91 cents of each dollar donated are used to directly support Red Cross programs and services, enabling the organization to respond to disasters while helping the public prevent, prepare for and respond to life's emergencies.
The Red Cross is and always has been an organization that is dependent on the generosity of its donors. This includes the hundreds of thousands who selflessly give their time as Red Cross volunteers. By contributing their time and talents free of charge, these individuals ensure that monetary donations can be used for lifesaving programs including such disaster-related services as shelter, food and water.
Anheuser-Busch has supported Red Cross relief operations through in-kind donations of water. At the Pensacola Civic Center distribution site in Florida Truckloads of Anheuser-Busch water were unloaded by volunteers to support the response to Hurricane Ivan, September 2004. (Photo Credit: Dave Murray/American Red Cross File)
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While financial contributions to the Red Cross are the best way to assist victims of disaster, local and national companies or agencies often donate goods or services in times of crisis that help reduce operational costs. These gifts, known as in-kind donations, are valuable to relief efforts and help the Red Cross stretch financial resources even further. As an example, companies such as Anheuser-Busch and Nestlé Waters North America have donated canned or bottled water by the truckload to Red Cross relief efforts.
Select criteria must be met before the Red Cross can accept product donations to ensure that the in-kind gifts do not cost more than they can save the organization. At times, it is more cost effective for the Red Cross to purchase items in adjacent, staging areas because it helps them reduce the added costs involved in transporting goods.
Offers of in-kind donations or collections of goods from the public, while appreciated, often cannot be accepted because the processing of such gifts are cost prohibitive. Since some chapters can work with other local organizations or agencies to process and/or distribute such items to those in need, the Red Cross recommends that any business or individual check with their local Red Cross chapter to determine need and ability to manage before making any type of in-kind contribution.
As a good steward of donated dollars, the Red Cross also has a standard practice of informing the public when sufficient funds have been raised to cover the costs associated with a disaster response. It also consistently reports – both on the organization's public Web site and through stewardship reports – the progress of the long-term recovery operations and monies received and spent.
Finally, the Red Cross is putting in place other initiatives to improve chapter structure, fundraising strategies and technology infrastructure. One initiative currently being implemented is a plan to make administrative functions across the organization more efficient, thereby maximizing donor dollars.
Even as the organization strives to be efficient with donated resources, it likewise continues to improve upon delivery of service to those in need, whether it is a person halfway around the world suffering from the impact of an earthquake or a neighbor across the street having lost their home to a fire.
To learn more about supporting the Red Cross mission with a donation of your time, money or blood, visit the Red Cross public Web site, RedCross.org.
This article is part of a series of “Thanks for Giving” articles that are being published this holiday season. The articles talk about how the public supports the Red Cross and how the organization uses contributions of all types in supporting its fundamental principal to alleviate human suffering and protect life and health.
The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. Almost 4 million people gave blood through the Red Cross, the largest supplier of blood and blood products in the United States. The American Red Cross is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. An average of 91 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in humanitarian services and programs. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.
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