In Charity, Too, the Rich Get Richer - New York Times

In Charity, Too, the Rich Get Richer - New York Times: "In Charity, Too, the Rich Get Richer

*
E-Mail This
* Printer-Friendly
* Save Article

By RICHARD M. WALDEN
Published: January 3, 2006

Los Angeles
Skip to next paragraph
David Suter

MONEY is the mother's milk of disaster relief. And over the last 12 months - with the Indian Ocean tsunami, the hurricanes on the Gulf Coast and the Pakistan earthquake - fund-raising records have been broken by the King Kong of relief agencies, the American Red Cross, and by many smaller organizations as well.

While much of this money goes to worthy rescue and rebuilding projects, most Americans are unaware that a shocking amount never ends up helping the people it was intended for. In some cases, agencies take in so much aid that they simply cannot spend it all on one disaster. Sometimes the newly flush groups do little because they have no significant history of working in the stricken area or no experience dealing with a particular type of disaster. Worse, some agencies use the money to push agendas that have little to do with victims' immediate needs."