Non-Profit Disaster Mitigation Organization. Specifically,

¶ … non-profit disaster mitigation organization. Specifically, it will analyze the American Red Cross, including the mission of the organization, and its involvement in recent disasters, and funding issues. Founded in 1881, the American Red Cross is one of the largest disaster response organizations in the country. There are Red Cross chapters in just about every city and town in the country, and the organization relies on a large stable of volunteers to help when disasters strike. However, the organization has come under fire during recent disasters, because of funding and fund-raising issues.

The American Red Cross has been in existence since the nineteenth century. Organized by nurse Clara Barton, it has grown to be one of the premier disaster mitigation organizations in the country and the world. It is a non-partisan, humanitarian organization responds to all types of local and national emergencies, from families displaced by home fires to war and terrorism victims. Its mission is to step in during any time of disaster and provide food, clothing, shelter, and assistance to any victims of that disaster.

The Red Cross plays an integral role in regional and national emergency management systems. In many cases, they are the first and only relief organization responding to a disaster. For example, a recent hotel fire in Reno, Nevada, occurred on Halloween night. The fire destroyed a residential hotel in the downtown area, displaced 62 families, and killed 12. The Red Cross opened a shelter at a local high school immediately after the fire. They also worked with county and state agencies to locate new housing for all the victims displaced by the fire ("Northern Nevada," 2006). This is an example of how local Red Cross agencies work. The staff work with people on a personal level, and ensure their needs are all met before the close shelters and move on to respond to other local disasters.

The organization is a member of the National Response Plan, and as a direct provider, it responds when the government invokes the Plan. The Red Cross is also responsible for coordinating disaster relief with such agencies as FEMA. It is interesting to note that the American Red Cross is the only disaster responder who is considered a direct provider under the Plan. Many people think the Red Cross is a healthcare or search and rescue type provider, but instead, it mainly deals with food, shelter, clothing, and even some healthcare and mental health services. Emergency rescue and ambulance services are not part of the Red Cross mission.

The Red Cross was first on the scene of the Comair Crash in Kentucky in August 2006, and in national disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, they provide funding, housing, and even counseling assistance for victims. However, many of their fund-raising and disbursement techniques have come under question after these very public disasters, and CEOs of the organization have been replaced.

After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Red Cross set up disaster relief centers and then offered financial assistance to victims of the terrorist attacks, including families who had lost loved ones in the attacks. However, the estimated number of victims by the Associated Press came to 3,021 total victims in the World Trade Center, Pentagon, airliners, and even the 19 terrorists who instigated the attacks. This includes 1,609 people who lost a spouse or partner, 3,051 children who lost a parent (or parents), and 403 firefighters, paramedics, police and Port Authority personnel (O'Meara, 2004, p. 21). However, the Red Cross eventually identified a database of 60,000 families who had received some kind of assistance after the attacks. Their records indicated these include home and business owners who had been affected by the attacks, families of victims, and those who had lost housing after the attacks. However, studies by journalists indicated that in the eleven ZIP codes affected by the attacks, there were only a total 12,903 households that could possibly have been directly affected by the attacks, and yet 31,1000 received rent or mortgage assistance of some kind (O'Meara, 2004, p. 21). When pressed, the Red Cross said they did not know if any of their recipients had received aid from other agencies, or even actually lived in the affected areas (O'Meara, 2004, p. 21). There was a controversy after the facts became known, and after the controversy hit the news, the President of the organization, Dr. Bernadine Healy resigned in October 2001 after allegations that the organization did not use all the funds collected for victim relief. In December 2005, Marsha J. Evans also resigned her position as the President And CEO, after new allegations surfaced over the terrorist attacks and problems with the relief effort in the Gulf Coast area after the 2005 hurricane season. Today, the organization posts their tax returns and annual reports on their Web site, and has a list of commonly asked questions about where their funding comes from and where it goes.

Funding may be one of the most controversial aspects of the Red Cross and their leadership. The American Red Cross receives literally billions of dollars in donations each year (in 2005 their annual report states they receive $1,424 million in contributions). They also receive about five percent of their income from investments, and fifty-eight percent of their income from the sales of products and services ("American Red Cross," 2006). The organization also relies on a huge volunteer staff to keep costs as low as possible. They claim 91 cents of every dollar they raise goes to disaster relief in some way ("American Red Cross," 2006). There have been studies that show this may not always be the case, as the questions over the terrorist attacks indicate.

The Red Cross responds to each disaster situation as necessary. Often, they do not respond directly to the disaster site, but rather set up a response center near the site where victims can find clothing, food, and shelter. For example, during Hurricane Katrina and afterward, the Red Cross and Red Cross volunteers traveled into the region and set up over 1,000 shelters across the Gulf Coast area. They distributed food, clothing, and provided housing for many of the thousands of victims of the hurricane. They also handed out kits to victims containing personal care products, and distributed clean-up products in kit form, as well ("American Red Cross," 2006). In the September 11 attacks, they handed out meals, provided mental health counseling and facilities, found alternative housing, and paid benefits to victims who were touched by the disaster. Rather than medical care, their main concerns are public safety and the basic necessities of life. One of their most important responses is coordinating blood donations through other agencies. The Red Cross coordinates the blood supply of the nation, and insures it is safe and ready when disaster strikes.