Red Cross disaster assistance to victims is about basic needs to sustain life-- water, shelter, food, clothing.

Red Cross advances funds for this purpose from reserves as soon as a disaster occurs. They don't wait for people to figure out what org to send their money to.

Thus, disaster contributions are deposited into the disaster fund, unless someone with a huge ego designates it can only go to a specific disaster.

If one is only willing to donate in order to stroke one's own ego, so that one can feel one has personally impacted a disaster of global proportions, one can limit the designation. Or one can send one's own personal blankie to an organization that would rather pay to ship a boatload of blankets, than help rebuild the affected area's economy by buying the blankets where the recipients live.

I prefer to think I donate in order to make ALL the world safer, and to me that means keeping the pooled funds up to a rapid-response level-- to ensure that people anywhere have the best chance possible of surviving the disaster. I don't feel a need to send my old used blanket and clothing-- I'd rather know people are getting the water they need and cash to pick out their own blanket and clothing.

The Red Cross is governed by people like us, at all levels. It's staffed by a few professionals directing hordes of volunteers.

~Former Red Cross Chapter Manager