How does the Red Cross spend their money?

There are places that rate non-profits based on how they spend donations. A high rating means that MOST of the money goes where it's intended... the people in need. A low rating means that the organization is spending too much money on themselves. The CEO of the Red Cross makes a lot more money each year than I'm comfortable with.

There are places like Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org) and others that are set up so you can see where your money is going. I used to know a lot more sites but I'm not in the non-profit sector any longer so I'm not as aware of them.

When I give to disaster relief, I really prefer Doctors Without Borders or even on-site charities that can use the money better because they know exactly what's going on in the community.

Do you mean the American Red Cross, or the International Committee of the Red Cross? The former is affiliated with the latter, but they are not at all the same thing.

I know little about the ARC, but the ICRC is a humanitarian organization with which I have worked extensively in the course of my professional life, and whom I hold in the absolute highest regard. Their field officers are the first ones to go into, and usually the last to leave, conflict zones to monitor and ensure the protection of civilians. I have friends have worked in the field for the ICRC in places from Rwanda and Kosovo to Afghanistan and Cote d'Ivoire, and believe me, they know what is going on on the ground.

And yes, Medecins sans Frontieres is a fantastic organization as well (see my note on Chapter 3 of "In the Service" -- I donate a portion of my frequent flyer miles to them). But they have a much more limited mandate, the provision of medical assistance.

The ICRC also acts as an independent honest broker who can (and will) talk to all parties of an armed conflict -- with a view to upholding their protection mandate -- even when states cannot or fail to do so for political reasons. They also are swift to act in humanitarian crises (man-made or natural) and are one of the most reliable recipients of donor assistance on the planet.

As for CEO salaries -- again, I don't know whether you are talking about the ARC or the ICRC. My suspicion is the former. The President of the ICRC, Jakob Kellenberger, draws a salary consistent with other international civil servants and heads of international organizations.

So -- if it's the ICRC that stands to benefit from this comic, it may just be the first one I will ever buy. :-) Besides, that whole idea fits so much with "my" Clint of "In the Service" and the little Friday ficlet I just posted here, it's almost comical (clears throat).

I only know about the American Red Cross. Sorry, I forget that there are two that share the name.

In reading back through the link, it never says whether they mean ICRC or ARC. I'm going to assume that they are talking about the ARC as it's for the Super Storm Sandy disaster but I don't want to put words in their mouths.

At fandomaid, they make a great list of charities (both local and more widespread) for each disaster that they set up an auction for. I'm always highly impressed with the varied types of charities that it is possible to donate to. I would never tell anyone NOT to donate to the American Red Cross (as a donation is a donation is a donation) but there are so many other places that don't get the sort of press that the ARC does that are, perhaps, a better option.

^this is my thought process exactly.

Fair point.

I know this is a personal thing vs. a society as a whole thing, but my brother's apartment burned down about six years ago and the Red Cross was there right away to help him out with toiletries and about a hundred things that we didn't even think he would need (he lived about five hours away at the time). So I'll be buying those comics, but I can understand what everybody's said above.

(Nobody was hurt in the fire. And yes, every single person, when told of the disaster, asked if he started it (after checking to make sure he was okay). He did not)

I'm glad they were able to help him and that no one was hurt. They are a good organization that has the potential to help a lot of people.

I would never say that they aren't doing exactly what they set out to do (which is to help those in need). On a local level, they are great and I've seen them do a lot of good. I'm just saying, as a whole, I don't like how they spend their money. I want them to help people like your brother or the people of New York/New Jersey and it's nice when they do.

There are many charities out there whose overhead-to-aid ratio leaves a lot to be desired. That said, with this comic, it looks like one gets a comic out of it at the end -- if a portion of the money goes to charity, I'm all for it!

But now to the Really Important Bit: IS BLACK WIDOW IN IT??? :-)

I would say no, Black Widow is probably not going to be in it. The Hawkeye comic is great though, and features Hawkeye's protege Kate Bishop, who is awesomeness personified. So I definitely recommend it. The previous issues have been funny and insightful.