The recent uproar isn't the first time the American Red Cross has been in hot water for diverting funds donated for disaster relief.
Readers responding to the ConsumerAffairs.Com Forum have told of incidents in their communities in which the Red Cross was criticized for collecting much more than it spent after local floods, fires and other disasters. Now a survey by The Washington Post has identified several more, including:
The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing The agency collected $13 million for the victims and families of the federal building bombing. Its local spending was only a fourth of what it collected.
The 1997 Red River flood The river surged through Minnesota and North Dakota, destroying homes and farms. The Red Cross collected nearly $16 million. It was only after the Minnesota Attorney General held public hearings that $4 million in unspent money was released.
San Diego Wildfires Some of the $400,000 collected after the January fires was spent on vehicles and a new telephone system for the Red Cross offices. An audit showed that only $10,000 went directly to victims, even though donors had designated nearly $188,000 for that purpose, the Post reported.
1989 San Francisco earthquake The Red Cross raised about $55 million and spent $12 million on the relief effort. Then-mayor Art Agnos said it was only after he complained loudly and bitterly that the Red Cross stepped up disaster relief spending and agreed to help fund homeless shelters.
Let's of course not forget their efforts after 9-11
Civic leaders around the country say this has a familiar ring. Typically, they say, when a major disaster occurs, the Red Cross arrives quickly and begins soliciting donations, using emotional appeals that stress the plight of the victims. But in the end, much of the money raised is never spent on local relief efforts.
My guess is that they may just be slightly corrupt.
