Support The Victims of Japan's Earthquake With Your Loose Change | Hacker News Reader

Support The Victims of Japan's Earthquake With Your Loose Change

blog.swipegood.com

55 pointsSteliE20 comments

I wonder where all the money will go to, and whether a developed country like Japan really need help to handle the disaster in this situation, given their history with such events.

Its really hard to find where the money will go to, the swipegood site doesn't even link to world vision, I had to get there through google. The world vision site says:

"Your gift will help us rush emergency supplies like life-saving food, clean water, medical supplies, and shelter to survivors."

Your gift will help World Vision respond to this and other disasters around the world including:

A devastating drought and food crisis is threatening more than 7 million lives in the Horn of Africa. Increasing numbers of children are severely malnourished and at risk of disease in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Millions of displaced children and families are struggling to survive in Sudan after decades of civil unrest. The recent Referendum has brought hope for peace, but malnutrition, disease, and poverty remain at critical levels. Heavy monsoon rains have caused widespread flooding in Sri Lanka, displacing more than 200,000 people from their homes and impacting 1.2 million. World Vision is continuing to support earthquake survivors in Haiti, rebuilding their communities and meeting essential needs for food, clean water, and healthcare. World Vision urgently needs your support to help children and families suffering from these and other disasters around the world.

So by donating here you're implicitly donating to other disasters too.

> So by donating here you're implicitly donating to other disasters too

Which I'm sure you'll agree would be a good thing

I know somebody who works with retirement plans for charity organizations. I was shocked after seeing the salaries and pension plans of the people in some of these organizations. They are only required to donate a very small percentage of the money collected.

I've been saying this for years.

they are required to donate 5% of their equity each year to retain their tax exempt status with IRS. most charities do it this way including the biggest one - bill and melinda gates foundation.

bill and melinda aren't asking me for money though

the point is that charities are run for the benefit of people who control them.

I tend to agree...but would you apply that statement to the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation as well?

it's important to say that Bill Gates doesn't give charity his own taxed income... by moving his equity into his foundation, he is essentially avoiding capital gains tax and dividend tax. I'm not saying that taxes are good but we all have to pay them. super-rich have all these smart schemes to pay in taxes as little as possible.

As long as Bill Gates foundation spends 5% of his equity on charity annually, you can't call him philanthropist since 5% rate is exactly what IRS requires charities to do as long as they want to keep their tax exempt status. When Bill Gates starts giving to charity more than he is legally required, then I'll change my opinion.

For full disclosure, WorldVision is a Christian evangelical organization that only hires Christians for its staff: http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/about/hr-requirements...

I don't mean to deter anyone from donating. I just thought people might like to know about the charity before they donate.

They're one of the efficient charities though:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary...

This comment struck me as a bit ugly. Here is why.

First, it includes the word "evangelical", but nothing in the HR requirements says, "You must also spread the Word to those you help." I understand that some sects of evangelical Christians have been getting into the news for the last 10 years in negative ways (and I understand the reaction), but I have not yet seen a relationship between those extremists and this group.

Second, it promotes hate against a group. Why did you think this statement was important or relevant? You pose it, and the question that comes to mind is, "Wait... should we care?"

If you are going to post about a charity's effectiveness, post something relevant, such as documentation about where the money is going, what actions the group has actually taken. What a sad world when it is acceptable -- an upvoted comment! -- to judge a group by their religious preference rather than by their actions.

There are so many relief organizations. I often wonder which ones are the most effective and most efficient. I also wonder which one's would be most effective in Japan at this time.

I Googled and got a list.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20473235,00.html

People like to help but I think we could all do more if we understood the problem better. Often donated money isn't used for the current disaster but is used for another one.

I completely get your point & at the same time it's really important not to be paralyzed by the need to make "the perfect choice" and act quickly in a moment of urgency.

There needs to be balance between taking some time to make an informed decision and acting today rather than pushing it away for later!

That's right there needs to be balance. There currently isn't any. I'm asking the HN crowd if they have any insight into the most effective ways to donate.

I found this site that seems to be reputable.

http://charitywatch.org/

[update]

I found a direct link on the site related to the earthquake in Japan. World Vision is listed along with others.

http://charitywatch.org/hottopics/JapanTsunami2011.html

This site does say people should wait to give while the situation is being assessed.

Another useful site I've found for helping you figure out where the money goes, etc. is http://www.charitynavigator.org -- IIRC, I first heard of it in the wake of the 2004 tsunami off of Thailand, and it's been a helpful resource ever since.

Do you know how long it takes for your donation to have the impact you expect it should?

Does a day make a difference? A week? A month?

I don't know the answer to that, but I'd like to, but not enough to do the research myself.

Using disasters as an opportunity for marketing/promoting doesn't feel right to me (given swipegood is a for profit business)

Its hard to understand the magnitude of this situation.

Great program! The least we can do!!!

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