Monday October 29 5:55 PM ET
By DIEGO IBARGUEN,
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The American Red
Cross acknowledged Monday that some of the $550
million in donations to a special fund established
for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
will be used for other broad-based needs instead.
``It takes a lot of money to do a
lot of work. We believe very much that we are
honoring donor intent,'' Red Cross spokesman Mitch
Hibbs said. ``Yes, we are helping the families, but
we're also helping everyone else.''
Soon after the attacks, the Red
Cross took the unusual step of creating a special
account, the Liberty Fund, that was designated for
terrorism relief efforts.
But a portion of that money will go
to broad-based activities such as a blood reserve
program, a national outreach effort, and a
telecommunications upgrade.
Philanthropic watchdogs, while
careful to note the Red Cross meets high standards
overall, said the group has not clearly publicized
its distribution plans for the Liberty Fund. They
also questioned the need for a separate collection
effort in the first place.
``I wish they hadn't set up that
separate fund,'' said Daniel Borochoff, president of
the American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog
group based in Bethesda, Md. By doing so, Borochoff
said, the Red Cross may have created unrealistic
expectations that all donations would go directly to
victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
``We've begun to receive inquiries
from the public raising questions about the
distributions of 9-11 funds,'' said Bennett Weiner, a
spokesman for the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving
Alliance, in Arlington, Va. ``I think the public
certainly expects the 9-11 relief organizations to
follow through'' by helping the victims of the
attacks.
Donations to the Red Cross
typically go into its Disaster Relief Fund, a general
account designed to meet emergencies of all types.
But soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, Red Cross
President Bernadine Healy created the Liberty Fund as
a special account targeted for victims of the
attacks.
Disputes between Healy and members
of the Red Cross board of directors over creation of
the account and the uses of the money were among the
issues that led to her resignation on Friday.
``I strongly oppose commingling of
the monies with any other Red Cross disaster funds.
Reasonable people can differ,'' Healy said last week.
Borochoff said the Red Cross still
receives an ``A'' rating from his group but needs to
be more specific with plans for the money it has
raised since the tragedy, rather than appearing to
use the crisis ``as a way to get money for more
general purposes.''
Fund-raising for the Liberty Fund
has been so successful that the Red Cross expects to
close out the effort, though no date has been set.
Of the $550 million pledged so far,
Hibbs said, the Red Cross expects to spend more than
$300 million over the next several months on disaster
relief related to the attacks.
In particular, $100 million has
been set aside for its Family Gift program, which
provides victims' families with money to help cover
immediate expenses.
Another $100 million will go to
disaster relief services in New York City,
Washington, Pennsylvania and other sites. That
includes meals, shelter, counseling, child-care and
relocation assistance.
Other spending decisions have
raised some questions.
The Liberty Fund will be tapped for
$50 million for a blood readiness and reserve program
that would increase the group's blood inventory from
two or three days to 10 days, and $26 million in
nationwide community outreach.
Hibbs said an additional $29
million would be spent on relief infrastructure,
including telecommunications, information systems,
database management, contribution processing and
other overhead costs.
The latest available figures - for
Oct. 19 - show that $356 million has actually been
collected for the Liberty Fund so far and $121.3
million spent.
On the Net: http://www.redcross.org
Earlier
Stories
Some Red Cross Money for Broad Needs (October 29)
Families Mourn at Ground Zero (October 29)
Victims' Families Mourn at Ground Zero (October 29)
Memorial Service Held at Ground Zero (October 28)
Memorial Service Set for Ground Zero (October 27)
Service Planned at Ground Zero (October 27)
Copyright © 2001
The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
O'Reilly:
Charge Red Cross With Fraud
NewsMax.com
Tuesday,
Oct. 30, 2001
Fox
News Channel star Bill O'Reilly on Tuesday night
accused the Red Cross of deception and fraud and
expressed outrage at the millions
being spent on "community outreach."
"This
is an outrage! They should be charged with
fraud!" he thundered, calling for a government
investigation into diversion of funds solicited for
victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"People
don't know any better. They were snookered
here."
The
organization refused to have a representative appear
on "The O'Reilly Factor."
Red Cross Diverts Donations
From Sept. 11 Victims
Reprinted
from NewsMax.com
Kevin
Curran, NewsMax.com
Wednesday,
Oct. 31, 2001
Americans who gave to the Red Cross
to help the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
will be shocked to learn that much of their money is
being diverted.
Donations by the millions have
poured into charities set up to either help everyone
affected or targeted specific groups of victims, such
as firefighters or families of those killed aboard
the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania.
No charitable organization took a
larger role than the American Red Cross. Volunteers
from counselors to canteen workers descended on the
three crime scenes. Local chapter personnel across
the country set up their own counseling programs and
started massive blood drives.
Of course, all of this costs a lot
of money. In an unusual move, the Red Cross
headquarters in Washington established the
"Liberty Fund" to gather and hold all the
Sept. 11 donations. In the past, such donations would
have been placed in the charity’s disaster
relief fund.
"I strongly oppose the
commingling of the moneys with any other Red Cross
funds," said American Red Cross President
Bernadine Healy.
The Red Cross collected money from
corporations, cans at stores, contributions through
bank branches and children who poured lemonade or
washed cars. As of Monday, the Liberty Fund had
pledges of $547 million and as of Friday had
collected $433 million.
Disputes between Healy and the Red
Cross board of directors over the use of those funds
led to her resignation last week. The main point of
contention: using the donations for purposes other
than direct aid to rescuers and victims.
In her resignation speech, Healy
said: "The Liberty Find represents a broader
mission … we must be ready to help the suffering
of yesterday and those of tomorrow. We must be there
to help every community mourn and prepare …. Our
Liberty Fund is a war fund."
Where Has All the Money Gone?
It seems less than half of the
money collected will be going to relief efforts or
victims:
$100 million of the fund is being
spent on direct disaster relief such as providing for
40,000 Red Cross workers and volunteers, sheltering
stranded travelers and feeding rescue workers.
$100 million is allocated to
the Family Gift Program, providing cash to
affected families.
$11 million will be used to
help families of victims from overseas with
travel expenses, legal difficulties and
funeral costs.
$4 million is budgeted for
services to active-duty military members as
well as National Guard and reserve troops for
counseling and financial assistance. Other uses of the money appear to
have little to do with people directly
affected by the Sept. 11 attacks, such as:
$50 million to establish a
strategic blood reserve.
Up to $26 million for
"community outreach."
$29 million for indirect
relief costs, such as telecommunications and
accounting. O'Reilly:
'Charge Them With Fraud'
Fox News Channel star Bill
O'Reilly on Tuesday night accused the Red
Cross of deception and fraud and expressed
outrage at the millions being spent on
"community outreach."
"This is an outrage!
They should be charged with fraud!" he
thundered, calling for a government
investigation.
"People don't know any
better. They were snookered here."
The organization refused to
have a representative appear on the program.
Red Cross spokeswoman Dana
Allen has admitted Liberty Fund donations
would be used to prepare for other attacks.
"We also need to make sure we’re
ready to help as the nation engages in
military action, and as we respond to more
terrorist threats."
The diversion of money for future needs or purposes other
than direct aid will come as a surprise to
some donors. "We have been so
straightforward in saying what we are using
the money for," Healy told BusinessWeek.
"The disaster relief involves this
entire country, and its readiness for future
terrorist events, for healing, for
grieving."
That explanation doesn’t
sit well with Stacy Palmer, editor at the
Chronicle of Philanthropy. "One of the
biggest mistakes the American Red Cross made
was they didn’t move fast enough to say
what they’re going to do with all the
money," Palmer told the Los Angeles
Times. "And so far, their aren’t a
lot of explanations coming that the average
person who donated money is going to be happy
about."
"There is no way for
everyone who calls to get a one-on-one
explanation of the Liberty Fund," said
Red Cross spokesman Mitch Hibbs.
He did admit it took the
Red Cross almost a month after the disaster
to post an explanation of the fund on its Web
site for general donors to see. He said
corporate donors and those who met with local
chapter officials, who pledged $455 million,
were told about the charity’s plans in
personal meetings.
'False Advertising'
But a Web site posting of
details is not sufficient when television ads
featuring well-known actors and showing
pictures of Ground Zero urge people to call.
"The question is one of false
advertising," said Palmer. "If you’re
a careful donor, you know to read between the
lines. But how much did most donors think in
this case? Not a lot."
Red Cross officials defend
the uses of non-disaster relief funds as
preparations for future events. Spokeswoman
Kelly Alexander said the national blood bank
would prevent the need for seasonal calls for
donors when supplies are low and have a ready
inventory of blood products when emergency
needs arise.
The community outreach
funds will be spread among all of the more
than 1,000 Red Cross chapters nationwide.
Spokesman Mitch Hibbs said the organization
was establishing a way for professional
counselors to be available at every chapter.
The organization is also modifying its
outreach to school students called
"Masters of Disasters," which
teaches emergency preparedness. Teachers can
now obtain a brochure online discussing
terrorism, Hibbs said. For business owners,
the Red Cross has altered its seminars on
disaster preparations.
How P.C.
Healy said the outreach
program was designed to encourage tolerance.
The fundamental principles of the Red Cross
include a stand against prejudice. Hibbs said
the Red Cross wanted to get out the message
that "hatred is a bad thing."
In the aftermath of the
attacks, Red Cross spokeswoman Leslie Van
Sant said, chapter officials have been
reaching out to Arab-Americans to explain how
the Red Cross operates under seven
principles: humanity, impartiality,
neutrality, independence, voluntary service,
unity and universality. They are reminded how
these principles "really come into
play," as the Red Cross provides aid to
anyone based on need.
Van Sant said this type of
outreach happened all the time and did not
represent additional costs to be paid out of
the Liberty Fund.
Has the Red Cross collected
enough money to meet its needs? David
McLaughlin, the chairman of the charity’s
board of directors, may be thinking of
closing the books. He told the Washington
Post, "I think we should not sustain the
collection effort beyond what’s in the
pipeline."
While all donations to the
Red Cross since Sept. 11 have been placed in
the Liberty Fund, that will change today.
Donors can now designate whether their money
goes into the Liberty Fund or the general
disaster relief fund.
Big charity like big government
Wednesday,
October 31, 2001
By Joseph Farah
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
My friend and colleague
Bill O'Reilly is doing an admirable job keeping
the heat on the charities that have raised $1.4
billion for the victims of the World Trade Center
attack.
O'Reilly,
supported by some excellent reporting in the New York
Post, hammers away on the point that less than 10
percent of the $1.4 billion has actually been
distributed to the grieving families. Still, the
money continues to pour in because Americans are the
most generous people on earth.
"There are
approximately 6,000 families involved here,"
O'Reilly writes. "Fifteen thousand American kids
have lost a parent. That is not an overwhelming
number. In fact, if you divide 6,000 by 160
charities, it comes out to less than 38 families per
charitable organization."
It's a scandal,
indeed. But here's where I part company with O'Reilly
on this issue.
He says the
problem is that one charity doesn't know what the
other is doing – that there is no "central
controlling authority."
That's a nice
theory. The only problem is that it's wrong.
The real problem
with the Big Charities involved in this debacle
– Red Cross, United Way and the like – is
that they do conduct their pseudo-charitable
operations under command-and-control bureaucracies
that resemble nothing more than the inefficient
federal government model.
And guess what?
Government oversight won't help alleviate the
problem. It will worsen it – creating more
paperwork, more administrative procedures, more red
tape.
I founded a charity and directed one for many
years – in my spare time. So I don't write about
this in the theoretical realm. I know what is
involved in creating a 501-c-3 corporation, getting a
tax-exemption, raising money, directing expenditures.
I would never do
it again. Why? Because of the red tape, because of
the government hassles, because of the obstacles
placed in your way deliberately by government.
And that was a
small charity.
Big Charity is
worse. Not only do they have to deal with the
selective government oversight, they have the
problems that any big bureaucracies have – they
move slowly, at virtually a snail's pace, they act
impersonally, they are big, unwieldy machines that
often forget they are actually in the business of
helping individuals.
In fact, the Big
Charities will tell you flat-out that they do not
help individuals. They give money to other
organizations, which, in turn, are supposed to help
people. At every step of the way, of course, you have
administrative overhead, paperwork, more red tape.
Only a pittance of the donations you give to those
Big Charities ever trickles down to the recipients,
the victims, the individuals who need help.
Giving to Big
Charity is just like paying taxes. Don't expect that
your money is really going to do any good. It does
not. Most is wasted, squandered, misused, given to
people who have no business getting money,
redistributed in ways you could never imagine.
This is the
reality of Big Charity. It's a joke. It's a scandal.
It's a crying shame. It may make you feel good to
write that check, but if you ever found out what
happened to the money, you'd be angry. I guarantee
it.
So what's the
answer?
The answer is
individuals helping individuals. Oftentimes, people
in crisis need much more than money. They need a
friend. They need comfort. They need prayer. They
need counseling. They need a helping hand. They need
someone to talk to. They need love. Big Charity can't
and won't offer any of those things.
Only individuals
can – or small charities. They do a much better
job – though their work is made more difficult
by government oversight, as anyone involved will tell
you.
So, let me commend
Bill O'Reilly for his work in exposing the problem.
But let me caution him against demanding government
get involved in this mess. Government created the
mess – and can and will only make it worse.
Let me conclude
with one controversial suggestion: Don't send any
more money to the Big Charities raising money on
behalf of victims of the World Trade Center disaster
or any other worthy cause. The money will never get
to its destination. If you want to help victims of
this disaster, help someone you know who has been
affected. Help them directly. Bypass the middleman.
Joseph Farah is editor and chief
executive officer of WorldNetDaily.com and writes a
daily column.
Saturday, September 22, 2001
recent outbreak of racial attcks and intolerance towards Arabs and Muslims . . . We know that the Islamic faith is not the enemy. We are all brothers and sisters. We are all family."