How can i donate and make sure my money gets to people in need?

I want to donate to Haiti and Chile but i don't know where is good. I want to make sure that my money goes to the people in need not just people working on it. I know that the LDS church does a lot of volunteer work with these things but i don't know how to make sure my money gets to the right place? Do i give a fast offering? and make sure i mark humanitarian? Maybe i should go through the red cross? any help would be great thanksHow can i donate and make sure my money gets to people in need?
The Humanitarian fund of the LDS church is not used for overhead; tithing funds are used to pay the overhead. 100% of the Humanitarian fund goes to those who actually need the help. The LDS church has shown an ability to get into places that even the Red Cross has trouble getting into, and they offer a broad spectrum of aid, from tents and sleeping bags, to food and medical supplies. They even send medical doctors to help in severe emergencies. They get my vote.



The LDS church spends about as much as the Catholic church spends on charity, while being only 1/20th the size. They have nothing to be ashamed of.How can i donate and make sure my money gets to people in need?
Put your money in the ';humanitarian'; section on the tithing slip. Your money absolutely will not go to overhead charges (salaries or shipping costs), because everything is done through volunteer labor or donations and supplies are usually assembled in the area closest to the disaster (this cuts down on both costs and time). The Red Cross is great, but a good portion of your money will go to overhead. As far as I know, only the LDS humanitarian services donate every penny to the actual disaster victims.
One organization I'd personally recommend is Partners in Health, a group that has been working on the ground in Haiti for over 20 years. It's a dedicated, efficient, and highly-rated international charity.



One of the founders of Partners in Health is Paul Farmer, the Harvard University professor/MD who was the subject of Tracy Kidder's book, ';Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World';.
According to their own website, the LDS church spends about $4 per year per member on outside charity. Given the 5-8 billion a year they bring in, that is just pennies on the dollar.



http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/鈥?/a>



I'd go with the International Red Cross.
The LDS church gives 100% of every dollar given to charity. They don't have specific charities for Haiti or Chili, but they have an Emergency response fund that you can donate to. Theres a link to the form to donate on this LDS website http://www.lds.org/humanitarianservices/鈥?/a>
Marking ';humanitarian'; on the tithing slip will work. Giving to the Red Cross is always good. I think the Salvation Army might be a good one. maybe the Catholic charities, I'm sure they're honest.



Do research.
The Red Cross is very careful to honor donor specifications for every gift. If you specify it will go to Haiti or Chile, it will. It is used to buy from local (e.g. surviving Haitian businesses, or Dominican Republic sources) firms to supply food, clothing, and shelter materials.



That said, please think carefully about what the downside is to restricted gifts.



In order to respond quickly to disasters, people and resources already need to be in place. That means that BEFORE the quake, the Red Cross already had to have offices, people, and warehouses with supplies paid for. (Who do you think was there answering phones?)



Very little of that is donated, because there is nothing in the news to encourage donations of boring but very necessary goods. The Red Cross constantly has to raise funds to purchase all this.



An office needs electricity, water, heat, computers, printers, software, etc. A warehouse needs electricity, climate control, forklifts, etc. Vehicles need gas, tires, maintenance, insurance etc. Staff need living wages. All of these require money that cannot come from a restricted donation, and are all ';administrative expenses.'; This is why ';administrative expenses'; are necessary to the running of a solid organization.



It is possible for an organization to be broke and have to lay off people, but have lots of money in ';earmarked gifts.'; That is not healthy for the organization or the people it wants to serve. Please read this about the problems nonprofits have:

http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.鈥?/a>



Also read this recent Time article on doing good:

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/articl鈥?/a>