We all know there are starving orphans out there and disaster-stricken poor communities out there, and we all know there are a bunch of organizations asking for money to help take care of them. It's such a daunting issue that it's very hard to fathom which organization could possibly be more worthy than all the others.
So what would make Cross International special?
Besides the breadth of their experience and needs that they discover and find ways to meet, what is most impressive is that according to Charity Navigator, 98.3% of their funds go to project expenses.
That means that for every dollar you give, 98 cents goes into action, while only 1 or 2 cents will go to administrative and fundraiser costs. This is pretty significant; out of all the noteworthy charities I've looked into, I haven't seen any other with administrative cuts kept quite so low. It takes a very dedicated, selfless group of people to accomplish the work this organization does without much compensation.
Before the earthquake in Haiti in early 2010, Cross International had already been very active there, including housing, feeding, and educating orphaned youth--a very far off notion to most of our minds, as those of us without experience have trouble imaging the amount resources necessary to care for 82 orphans, while paying 175 teachers and helping 18 other schools in the city provide education to 6,600 other impoverished children. This is only a sample of their operations in Port-Au-Prince alone, not to mention their other projects in that city and in the rest of the world!
When the earthquake hit last year, my parents and I discovered Cross International while doing a thorough comparison of other organizations responding to the disaster, and felt that our dollars would be use most directly with Cross. This isn't meant to demerit all of the other organizations who responded, but choices must be made, and I think this was a trustworthy choice.
Certainly, many people are interested in contributing to countries hit by more recent disasters, such as Japan (see previous post for more on that) and Burma. Let's not forget how much other communities still need attention, even after their time in the headlines has passed. Furthermore, let's not be rash with sympathy-driven given. Do always take the time to investigate where your funds are going and how experienced any given organization is in a given area!
While I am making an effort to choice organizations that anyone can be comfortable with contributing to, it is easy to recognize right away that this is a Christian organization--not that that changes the good work they are doing, I would still be happy to support them if they were atheist or Jewish or Muslim. Nevertheless, they are Christian and do what they do because of a religious calling, and frankly, many of the other most productive organizations with this focus are also Christian in nature (World Vision is another favorite of mine for their youth-oriented advocacy and fundraising approaches). Let's not let faith or creed be divisive.
Part of the reason they are able to keep costs so low is because many of their spokespeople are retired pastors who travel and make appeals on behalf of the organization, usually at regular church services, so must of their donations come from other Christians. On that note, I was already looking into Cross more for this blog project when a priest came to give a homily about it, so I asked him afterward if there is any time of year when they are most of in need of donations. Of course, they're in need all year round, but he suggested to feature Cross for Holy Week.
So, Christian-readers, you know what is this month! Palm Sunday is April 17th, and Easter is April 24th, putting Good Friday on April 22nd. Not only would that be a good week for you to consider something bigger than the usual $10 I ask for you all to consider, but to suggest it to your families and fellow parishioners.
As for my equally amiable other readers, I still encourage you to maximize your gifts' effect by giving to Cross because so much of it goes directly to the people it serves. When you tell your friends and challenge them to give, consider it a boost to your esteem that shows you're open-minded.
Payment procedures:
Go to their donation page.
They have a number of options, whether you would like to find a specific project to support (there is a variety of approaches in a variety of locations), or there are options if you want to donate tangible goods, such as jewelry or timeshares, or if you want to make them a Facebook cause, or donate via PayPal or the mail or over the phone.
Or, if you want to do it on a credit card and don't have a preference which project it goes to, you can just choose their single gift option, plug in your information, and then just wait for your receipt to hold onto for your tax deduction!
