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.