Not all giving is planned, but disasters do merit it. This isn't a full entry, but rather my executive summary of everything I've just looked into:
AmeriCares: Already has extensive experience with Japanese earthquake relief, 99% of the donation will go to program expenses (as opposed to administrative or fundraising expenses). 4 out of 4 star rating on Charity Navigator. Although we can designate it to disaster relief, there is no place on the donation page online to designate it specifically to Japan.Give here.
Convoy of Hope: A "first responder" disaster-relief oriented organization, active in other recent quakes and provides funding to like-minded organizations as well. Also a 4 out of 4 star rating, 92% goes to program expenses. There is a place for comments on the donation page so I assume you can use that to designate it specifically to Japan. Give here.
Global Giving: They are not doing any action themselves, as they primarily raise funds to give to organizations they deem appropriate. I don't know what these organizations are and can only trust that they're worth it. Nevertheless, they are running a campaign specifically for Japan, and this might be appropriate for a general fundraiser. It seems somewhat popular. Give here.
Although I've done research outside of Charity Navigator to try to get more complete pictures of organizations, they still know what they're talking about and they have very practical advice for how to respond. Please read this page before you decide where/how to give: See here.
EDIT: We have already raised over $3,200 here for our Japanese club/ Valparaiso University fundraiser, and we have decided to split funds between the Red Cross and Lutheran World Relief. My biggest concern is that because of lot of red tape, not every organization that wants to help in Japan will be allowed in. We included LWR because we are a Lutheran school and for many of the people we were aiming the fundraiser at we figured they would appreciate that choice, but I at least feel somewhat confident that the Red Cross will be able to do something in person.
1.3.11
March's Showcase: HeroRAT
Yes, you read that correctly. Rats that are heroes.
Allow me to introduce you all to the rat I am sponsoring:
His name is Chosen One, he is a Giant African pouched rat, he was trained in Tanzania, and now works for peanuts in Mozambique. So it's a little different from when I used to have pet rats, but none of my fancy rats could sniff out landmines. Can you say that you have a landmine-sniffing rat?
Good news: You can! Or you can least say that you sponsor one. Because Apopo, the organization which runs HeroRAT, is based in based in Europe, they can accept direct monthly and/or yearly contributions in Euro, but for those of us in American, we can go through their partner to give in US dollars and receive a tax deduction (more payment details later). To sponsor the rat of your choice for a year, it costs roughly $6.70 per month, or one payment of $80. Because this is one of my favorite organizations I have encountered, I have committed to the extra cost instead of just $10.
Being a sponsor comes with perks, too! Thanks to the help of his organization, Chosen One sends me thank-you letters and progress reports through out the year to let me know his own and his colleagues' successes, complete with his paw print as a signature.
So what does Chosen One actually do?
Because of their heightened sense of smell and intelligence, as well as their sociability, rats can be trained to locate buried landmines that have been left over in abandoned war fields. They alert their trainers, who then dig up and deactivate them. Once they have cleared an area, it's safe for people--and business development!--to return without fear of losing limbs and lives in surprise blasts.
But isn't that dangerous!?
That's another advantage of using rats: they aren't heavy enough to set the landmines off! To date, they have not had any rats accidentally set off any landmines. Both on and off the field, the rats are treated very humanely, and are even introduced to the villagers in the localities where they work, shifting perceptions of people who only thought of them as pests.
Some other advantages: while rats can bond with and trust humans in general very well, their bonds aren't quite like that of a dog, so it is easy to have them switch trainers if necessary. Furthermore, they use a local species of rat. Because they are native to the area, they are also well adjusted to the dry heat and diseases in the area, making them a better fit that animals trained elsewhere and brought in.
But that's not all!
In additional to training rats to sniffing out explosives (they've already cleared 796,178 square meters of land, including 861 landmines, 374 unexploded ordinance and 6,216 small firearms), they also train rats to detect tuberculosis (TB). In Sub-Saharan Africa, 50% of TB cases go undetected, but in 2010, the HeroRats found 594 TB-positive cases which were initially missed by traditional diagnostic methods. According to World Health Organization projections, they've helped prevent at least 5,940 new cases of TB.
This organization is one of my favorites because it's very effective and a little nontraditional (not to mention I've always been a big fan of rats). Their correspondence with me so far when I've had questions has been quick and friendly. While I will probably continuing sponsoring rats with them, I understand that this isn't for everyone. That's why I still encourage you (and your friends!) to contribute $10 to their overall costs.
Payment procedures:
Go to the tax deductible donation page.
For those of you in the US, scroll down to the bottom and follow their instructions for giving with their US partner, the King Baudouin Foundation United States (and yes, this will be tax deductible--save the receipt that will be sent to your e-mail inbox!).
From there, specify the amount you would like to give (and then tell all your friends so they do the same, of course).
If you would like to adopt a rat, see the selection.
Once you give according to the instructions above (you'll want to do $80 for the year), forward your receipt to herorats@herorat.org and tell them which rat you would like to sponsor. They will sent your certificate and updates from your rat to the e-mail address you provide to them. (You can also do this as a gift for someone else!)
For information about HeroRAT operations: See here.
For information about Apopo's work and research: See here.
Allow me to introduce you all to the rat I am sponsoring:
His name is Chosen One, he is a Giant African pouched rat, he was trained in Tanzania, and now works for peanuts in Mozambique. So it's a little different from when I used to have pet rats, but none of my fancy rats could sniff out landmines. Can you say that you have a landmine-sniffing rat?
Good news: You can! Or you can least say that you sponsor one. Because Apopo, the organization which runs HeroRAT, is based in based in Europe, they can accept direct monthly and/or yearly contributions in Euro, but for those of us in American, we can go through their partner to give in US dollars and receive a tax deduction (more payment details later). To sponsor the rat of your choice for a year, it costs roughly $6.70 per month, or one payment of $80. Because this is one of my favorite organizations I have encountered, I have committed to the extra cost instead of just $10.
Being a sponsor comes with perks, too! Thanks to the help of his organization, Chosen One sends me thank-you letters and progress reports through out the year to let me know his own and his colleagues' successes, complete with his paw print as a signature.
So what does Chosen One actually do?
Because of their heightened sense of smell and intelligence, as well as their sociability, rats can be trained to locate buried landmines that have been left over in abandoned war fields. They alert their trainers, who then dig up and deactivate them. Once they have cleared an area, it's safe for people--and business development!--to return without fear of losing limbs and lives in surprise blasts.
But isn't that dangerous!?
That's another advantage of using rats: they aren't heavy enough to set the landmines off! To date, they have not had any rats accidentally set off any landmines. Both on and off the field, the rats are treated very humanely, and are even introduced to the villagers in the localities where they work, shifting perceptions of people who only thought of them as pests.
Some other advantages: while rats can bond with and trust humans in general very well, their bonds aren't quite like that of a dog, so it is easy to have them switch trainers if necessary. Furthermore, they use a local species of rat. Because they are native to the area, they are also well adjusted to the dry heat and diseases in the area, making them a better fit that animals trained elsewhere and brought in.
But that's not all!
In additional to training rats to sniffing out explosives (they've already cleared 796,178 square meters of land, including 861 landmines, 374 unexploded ordinance and 6,216 small firearms), they also train rats to detect tuberculosis (TB). In Sub-Saharan Africa, 50% of TB cases go undetected, but in 2010, the HeroRats found 594 TB-positive cases which were initially missed by traditional diagnostic methods. According to World Health Organization projections, they've helped prevent at least 5,940 new cases of TB.
This organization is one of my favorites because it's very effective and a little nontraditional (not to mention I've always been a big fan of rats). Their correspondence with me so far when I've had questions has been quick and friendly. While I will probably continuing sponsoring rats with them, I understand that this isn't for everyone. That's why I still encourage you (and your friends!) to contribute $10 to their overall costs.
Payment procedures:
Go to the tax deductible donation page.
For those of you in the US, scroll down to the bottom and follow their instructions for giving with their US partner, the King Baudouin Foundation United States (and yes, this will be tax deductible--save the receipt that will be sent to your e-mail inbox!).
From there, specify the amount you would like to give (and then tell all your friends so they do the same, of course).
If you would like to adopt a rat, see the selection.
Once you give according to the instructions above (you'll want to do $80 for the year), forward your receipt to herorats@herorat.org and tell them which rat you would like to sponsor. They will sent your certificate and updates from your rat to the e-mail address you provide to them. (You can also do this as a gift for someone else!)
For information about HeroRAT operations: See here.
For information about Apopo's work and research: See here.
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