It seems every day the death rate from the tsunami increases by tens of thousands. Last Sunday when I first read about it, it was 2500 and this morning, one week later:
With statistics like this many of us are highly motivated to help in any way we possibly can. Worldwide donations to aid those battered by the huge waves that slammed Asian and African nations are approaching $1 billion. The US initially donated $35 million but has now increased that to $350 million. Japan has pitched in $500 million.
Charitable donations are an important part of my life purpose and mission. The USA Today has posted a list of organizations that are providing aid to the tsunami victims. If you are like me, however, you will want to make sure that every single penny you donate is used wisely and efficiently. I just hate having over half my donations going to benefit the organization and not the people that need it.
I thought many of you might benefit from my investigations into charitable organizations. This analysis was initially prompted by the World Trade Center disaster. I learned that there are more than 600,000 organizations in the US alone are clamoring for your money.
The Salvation Army in South Asia
Salvation Army units were among the first responders to the devastating tsunami and its aftermath that struck Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and other countries in South Asia. The Salvation Army maintains year around operations in the affected areas and was able to immediately begin rescue and relief efforts.
Operating in Indonesia since 1894, The Salvation Army has 324 service and worship centers, six hospitals and 18 clinics throughout this vast island nation. At present, 14 Salvation Army relief teams area actively involved in North Sumatra and neighboring areas providing counseling to victims’ relatives and others who still are in a state of shock. Immediate and urgent aid was provided by Salvation Army officers and volunteers in the heavily devastated city of Aceh and the Nias Island.
The Army first established its services in Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) in 1883, and currently maintains 45 service and worship centers, and outposts in the country. In addition, The Salvation Army operates social homes, daycare centers, community centers and three health centers in the country.
In India, where The Salvation Army has been working since 1882 (in fact, the oldest mission field for the Army), Salvation Army rescue workers are meeting the needs in two relief camps, for those who lost everything when the disaster struck their homes in Nagapatnam and Tanjavoor. In Kerala State, the Army has established three camps to shelter and feed the homeless. The Salvation Army’s Trivandrum High School in this area also is being used as a temporary refuge, with emergency services teams providing truck loads of food and clothing.
The Salvation Army’s India South Eastern Territory (the region of India most devastated by the tsunami) maintains 393 service and worship centers, and outposts, 23 schools, and several hospitals and medical facilities.
Experts in the worlds of business and academia regard Peter Drucker as the founding father of the study of management. He recently analyzed these 600,000 charities and found that by far the Salvation Army is the most effective organization in the US.
No one even comes close to it in respect to their:
The Salvation Army has 10,000 centers and 50,000 employees in the US and is probably best known for its work with the homeless, the addicted and the poor. While it may seem like an American organization, it is actually headquartered in London and operates in 109 countries around the world.
By virtually every measure the Salvation Army has emerged as the GE of philanthropies. Their distinctive red shield is right up there with the Coca-Cola bottle and the Nike Swoosh logo as one of the best-known and most trusted symbols in the world. For over ten years they have owned the number one spot on the Chronicle of Philanthropy's list of the US most popular charities.
What impresses my most though is their leadership. Folks, the Salvation Army provides nearly two-and-a-half billion dollars to help those in need every year in the US, with eighty-four cents of every dollar going directly toward program services.
Can you guess how much their CEO leader makes every year? If that person were in a regular business I can assure you it would be MANY millions of dollars.
Are you sitting down? Here it is:
A whopping $13,000 per year.
Yes folks, US Salvation Army works with nearly three billion dollars of donated funds every year and their US CEO earns $13,000. That is about half the salary I pay my least paid assistant. Amazing, absolutely amazing.
This number speaks volumes to me and is one the primary reasons why I have selected them as my primary charity. I am in good company as last year they received a gift estimated to be in excess of $1.5 billion from the estate of Joan B. Kroc, wife of the founder of McDonald's for the construction of community-based centers nationally.
So if you are as interested as I am in making sure that every penny you have is donated with the maximum efficiency please consider the using the Salvation Army as a charitable source. You can go to the middle of their home page and click on the donate on line button. You can rest assured that there is little waste in this organization and that the highest possible use of every single cent you donate will be maximized.
Newsday.com January 5, 2005
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