James Neusom of BDPA Reports on Donating for Katrina
Mr. Neusom, Executive Director of City Lights Software and BDPA member, writes:
We are all saddened by what’s been going on in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. We all want to help, but the question is: How best to help? Do we think long term or short term? Do we feed the hungry, or teach them to feed themselves? Is our goal to rebuild or abandon?
The blame game has started. Everybody’s talking about the government’s response (or lack thereof). The media is bombarding you with the images and self-serving sound bites (If it bleeds, it leads). But we all know that at the end of the day, after the cameras and politicians have gone home, after the commissions, and investigators have done their dance, after insurance companies and lawyers have identified scapegoats, it will be up to us… Black America, to take care of our own!
He goes on to remind us that people are complex. So that organizations are even more complex. And it is an erroneous, simplifying assumption to conclude that donating to organizations like the Red Cross is “all good.” In fact, we are directed to the Marvin Olasky’s “Why the Salvation Army beats the Red Cross” of the Wall Street Journal, its Editorial Page, where Olasky writes:
The American Red Cross ran up a white flag recently, surrendering to critics who had accused it of bait-and-switch fund raising by planning to hold back more than half of the $543 million it had raised for victims of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mr. Neusom chimes in:
My point is this: If we are going to donate our hard earned, and scarce Black dollar, shouldn’t we donate it to a non-profit or charitable group that is established, proven, and accountable to Us? If any group is going to benefit by their good works, shouldn’t it be a group that is working day-to-day in our communities… NOW???
Here is a list of Internet-based resources to consult (provided by BDPA):
Black America Web.com http://www.blackamericaweb.com/relief/
AfriCreations.com http://www.africreations.com/Hurricane-Katrina.html
Afro Blaze.net http://www.afroblaze.net/flood_resources.html
And some final advice from Mr. Neusom and InterServe Networks:
Please check with your tax advisor or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for more information regarding the tax deductibility of your donation. Be advised, to ask the organization for its nonprofit tax ID before making a donation. That ID number can be checked against the database housed by the IRS (http://apps.irs.gov/app/pub78).