Donating supplies is practically impossible on a small scale. If you were to collect food, do you have a place to store it that is vermin- and weather-proof? How are you going to wash, sort, package, and store clothing or other textiles? How would you get supplies to an airport? What flight would you get it on? Those are problems that are best solved by large organizations with solid infrastructure.
This is why “administrative expenses” are necessary to the running of a solid organization. “Administrative expenses” include office space, which involves rent, electricity, water, computers, printers, desks, chairs, telephone services, etc. People who are coordinating efforts need a place to work. Warehouses need to be built or rented and electrified; trucks need to be bought and fueled, maintained, and inspected. All are these are non-disaster-specific costs.
Donations of money allow the organization to buy large quantities of equal goods from nearby businesses left intact by a disaster. This keeps local residents employed, puts money into the economy, and saves on shipping and storage costs.
Please, please reconsider this plan.
Read these articles for the trouble that such donations cause:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01.....038;st=cse,
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34.....arthquake/
Donating supplies is practically impossible on a small scale. If you were to collect food, do you have a place to store it that is vermin- and weather-proof? How are you going to wash, sort, package, and store clothing or other textiles? How would you get supplies to an airport? What flight would you get it on? Those are problems that are best solved by large organizations with solid infrastructure.
This is why “administrative expenses” are necessary to the running of a solid organization. “Administrative expenses” include office space, which involves rent, electricity, water, computers, printers, desks, chairs, telephone services, etc. People who are coordinating efforts need a place to work. Warehouses need to be built or rented and electrified; trucks need to be bought and fueled, maintained, and inspected. All are these are non-disaster-specific costs.
Donations of money allow the organization to buy large quantities of equal goods from nearby businesses left intact by a disaster. This keeps local residents employed, puts money into the economy, and saves on shipping and storage costs.
The Red Cross will take money. Certain other places take clothes and blankets and stuff . I found a neat web site:
http://dadecosurf.com/node/653
i.Red Cross
2. World Vision
3. Salvation Army