Before donating to Japan, check with your HR.
My company is matching dollar for dollar (no maximum matching.) Any amount I put in will be doubled. Your companies might have similar program. Let's donate there instead of other places. No need to point out the obvious benefit.
Excellent suggestion!
Habitat for Humanity will be working to provide housing to the many left homeless in Japan.
https://www.habitat.org/cd/giving/on....aspx?link=353
Donate to help Pacific earthquake and tsunami victims
A deadly 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Japan on Friday, March 11. The resulting aftershocks and tsunami destroyed homes, vehicles and entire towns. Thousands of people were killed and thousands are still missing.
Habitat for Humanity is assessing the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and will work with government authorities and other organizations to determine how we can help. In the short-term, Habitat for Humanity’s response will include mobilizing volunteers in Japan to work with other organizations in the initial clean-up and relief operation.
To respond effectively, we need your help. Please make a donation to help Habitat serve families affected by this disaster.
http://www.usaid.gov has a list of places to donate
My company makes a formal announcement when they decide to match - 50% matching for any contribution towards Tsunami relief through the end of April. I sent in an amount in March for the Red Cross and will likely contribute more in April - split between Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity.
You should also check out charitywatch or charity navigator to note how well the organization utilizes their funds. Administrative costs should be low, etc.
http://www.charitynavigator.org/
http://www.charitywatch.org/azlist.html
It's already been reported that there are scammers, claiming to collect for Japan, while keeping the money themselves. This was a big problem after Hurricane Katrina
Unfortunately, there are always people falsely claiming to be collecting for charity. That's why I don't donate via phone calls. Before Do Not Call, I would ask some of the callers to send the organization's financial statements before I would consider sending money. Some of them claimed that they couldn't provide that without a donation and got my response 'sorry, I can't donate to a organization without proof that the money is being used wisely'.Originally Posted by dorispulaski
In these major disasters, it's best to donate to an organization that's already established in that location.
After the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, many experts advised 'Give money to help internationally - volunteer locally'. They said it was heartwarming that so many people wanted to donate food, water, blankets, etc - however, logistically, it makes no sense to send that stuff overseas. Experts also say that small groups of volunteers going in without being part of a larger established organization is never a good idea - these small groups don't have the connections nor knoweldge of the local governments and are actually more of a distraction.
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