I read in a Washington Post editorial yesterday (link here will work until about Nov. 20, 2001) that Bernardine Healy resigned not because of the allocation of September 11 donations, but because the International Red Cross and Red Crescent umbrella organization would not admit the Jewish counterpart, the Magen David Adom, or Red Shield. To quote from the editorial:

THE DEPARTURE of Bernadine Healy from the American Red Cross is a blow to an organization that profited greatly from her leadership for the past two years. It is also a victory for certain members of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva -- and apparently certain American Red Cross board members -- who objected to Dr. Healy's strong and principled stance against the anti-Israeli feelings that have kept Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross, excluded from full federation membership for 50 years.

The denial of unconditional recognition to MDA in the worldwide family of national Red Cross societies because it employs a Red Shield of David as its symbol rather than the Red Cross or Red Crescent is an abomination. Bernadine Healy thought so too. At her request, and with strong bipartisan backing in Congress, the American Red Cross decided to delay payment of its dues to support the federation until bigotry gave way to tolerance.

All large organizations are political; they're made up of humans who are political by nature. The Red Cross organizations have done lots of good, but perhaps looking to other organizations with smaller political networks might be a better way to go. I've donated money to Doctors Without Borders, as they seem not to have as many political fingers in their pie to distract them from their goals.

This is the time of year when US Federal employees are encouraged to donate to the "Combined Federal Campaign", a payroll deduction way to give to charity. Charities that wish to be designated have to go through an application process; I don't know what all the criteria are for inclusion, but donors receive a booklet with the designation number and a short description of each charity. At the end of each description is a percentage number: 0.0%, 19.4%, 27%, etc, which tells how much of the donation will go to cover administrative costs for the charity, rather than directly to the cause being supported. It's informative to see those figures; some examples:

American Red Cross (national) 10.0%
American Red Cross (Montgomery County, MD chapter) 28.0%
Oxfam America 17.8%
Doctors Without Borders USA 9.9%