Fort Mac Wildfire Thread

[transplant99]

I think a better t-shirt slogan would be

"I support the Fort"

That ^^ thing makes me cringe a bit...although i would be happy to purchase one because the proceeds will go where they are needed. However when i clicked on it....

Unauthorized!

We're sorry, but you are unauthorized to view this website.

[corporatejay]

Tried a different link. Hopefully it works now.

http://ow.ly/dF3I3006Zv2

[firebug]

One of the better summaries of the fire that i've seen so far:
http://www.outsideonline.com/2079956...beast-wildfire

A fly-over on May 1 spotted the Horse River Fire shortly after it ignited, when it measured just five acres in size. Firefighters hammered it with four air tankers, but by 6 p.m. (two hours after it was spotted), the blaze had ballooned to 148 acres.

[Locke]

"Hold the Fort!"

[Wormius]

"Return of the Mac"

[agulati]

Originally Posted by Wormius

"Return of the Mac"

Sounds more like a McDonalds promo though.

[Dion]

Some food for thought when it comes to donating.....

It has been noted in news stories that the Red Cross still has $30 million left over from the Haiti earthquake from 5 years ago. After raising $43 million in the Southern Alberta floods, one year later they still had $15 million in the bank. There is no point in massively overcontributing to Red Cross for Fort McMurray relief when there are so many local charities in greater need.

One thing to remember is Red Cross does not operate like United Way. When you give money to United Way, they regift it to partner agencies to deliver services. When you donate to Red Cross, they use the money for Red Cross programs. This is excellent for the immediate disaster response. But who is best to spend money to rebuild communities and support local citizens during the rebuild? I would argue it is the local charities that operate in those communities.

In an analysis done by Kate Bahen of Charity Intelligence, in the past the Red Cross only flowed through about 2 per cent of the dollars they received to local charities. Yet there is no question that the Fort McMurray SPCA is going to need contributions to help support displaced pets while owners rebuild or renovate their homes. The Fort McMurray Food Bank is going to need to restock their shelves. The Fort McMurray Salvation Army is going to have to source clothing, furniture and other necessaries of life for families who have lost everything. The Fort McMurray United Way will be able to identify a myriad of human needs we probably haven’t even considered. If you want to help these groups, you have to donate to them directly. Here are some more ideas on local charities you can support: https://www.charityintelligence.ca/fort-mcmurray-fires.

http://www.newstalk770.com/2016/05/09/123873/

[Dion]

This forum for some reason won't let me edit my above post so i'll ad this to it..

Once this crisis is over, let’s all vow to keep an eye on how much money the Red Cross has spent and how much they have left over. Canadians quite clearly have donated money to benefit the residents of Fort McMurray. If Red Cross ends up taking in more than they need, we should all be pressing them transfer funds to local charities to finish the job.

[blueski]

Re: audit the red cross, do you think we'll get enough reporting from them to even be able to tell how much ended up going there?

I'm doubtful and resigned to accept that there is no perfect way to help fort mac, that the red cross is just the best of the limited options.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by blueski

Re: audit the red cross, do you think we'll get enough reporting from them to even be able to tell how much ended up going there?

I'm doubtful and resigned to accept that there is no perfect way to help fort mac, that the red cross is just the best of the limited options.

My question is why the Red Cross won't support these front line charities. It's shame that they have to fend for themselves.

[Dion]

Consider giving to charities other than Canadian Red Cross: The vast majority of donations for this disaster response go to the Canadian Red Cross; Fort McMurray's local charities are largely overlooked by donors. In looking back over the Lac Megantic train disaster and also the Alberta Floods of 2013, Charity Intelligence was particularly impressed by how local, grassroots charities responded quickly and were able to provide effective disaster help and also lead the rebuilding. Yet very little donations got to these local charities. Only 2% of the donations received by the Canadian Red Cross were passed on to local charities. (The Canadian Red Cross disagrees with this. See below.) In this emergency, give differently, and donate to local charities.

Rebuilding Fort McMurray will be a long term project and will likely cost far more than the emergency response. Families and charities with insurance should have the financial support to get back on their feet. Fort McMurray charities will also have lost their buildings. It isn’t known right now which Fort McMurray charities have suffered loss. There are 74 charities registered in Fort McMurray. Churches, and other religious centres are often the community hub that will need to be rebuilt. We will keep monitoring the situation to understand which local charities also need to rebuild.

https://www.charityintelligence.ca/fort-mcmurray-fires

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Ya, I've heard some pretty sketchy things about Red Cross over the years. So much so that I don't really feel comfortable donating to them, for anything... ever. Hopefully the people of Ft. McMurray get 100% of those funds but I kind of doubt it. Hopefully Red Cross is held accountable to every last penny long after everyone else has "moved on" so to speak.

The people that run this "charity" rake in over half a million a year. A quick Google search about their integrity as an organization reveals a lot of head shaking stuff, even if only half of it is true.

[polak]

Major charities like the Red Cross need talented people to run them. You don't get the best people without paying for them. Even if you're a charity.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

Ya, I've heard some pretty sketchy things about Red Cross over the years. So much so that I don't really feel comfortable donating to them, for anything... ever. Hopefully the people of Ft. McMurray get 100% of those funds but I kind of doubt it. Hopefully Red Cross is held accountable to every last penny long after everyone else has "moved on" so to speak.

The people that run this "charity" rake in over half a million a year. A quick Google search about their integrity as an organization reveals a lot of head shaking stuff, even if only half of it is true.

Are you sure? There's no half million dollar employees according to charity intelligence:

https://www.charityintelligence.ca/c...dian-red-cross

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

Ya, I've heard some pretty sketchy things about Red Cross over the years. So much so that I don't really feel comfortable donating to them, for anything... ever. Hopefully the people of Ft. McMurray get 100% of those funds but I kind of doubt it. Hopefully Red Cross is held accountable to every last penny long after everyone else has "moved on" so to speak.

The people that run this "charity" rake in over half a million a year. A quick Google search about their integrity as an organization reveals a lot of head shaking stuff, even if only half of it is true.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...ticle29983405/

The Red Cross program, which will provide $600 to each adult registered with the agency and $300 for each dependent, reflects the largest and quickest distribution of money in the agency’s history – a response to a disaster which flared up with the start of the fire 10 days ago.

The Red Cross has, so far, raised $67-million to support its efforts in Fort McMurray. The federal and Alberta governments have each said they would match such donations.

The Red Cross is an international organization, but I believe they are not run under one banner, so you can get one nation's Red Cross being run differently than another.

Money Sense give the Canadian Red Cross a good review, #2 in Canada:

http://www.moneysense.ca/save/financ...ities/image/3/

Canadian Red Cross

Charity Efficiency (Money to Cause): 87.6%

Fundraising Efficiency (Cost/$100): $17.59

Reserve Months: 8

Final Grade: A+

http://www.moneysense.ca/save/financ...ty-100-grades/

I am sure there is room for improvement, I can't think of any organization that couldn't improve.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Street Pharmacist

Are you sure? There's no half million dollar employees according to charity intelligence:

https://www.charityintelligence.ca/c...dian-red-cross

Top Salary:

Website: WWW.REDCROSS.CA
Charity Efficiency (Money to Cause): 87.6
Charity Efficiency Grade: A+
Fundraising Efficiency (Cost to Raise $100): 17.59
Fundraising Efficiency Grade: A+
Reserve Months: 8
Reserve Grade: A+
Governance Grade: A+
Final Grade: A+
Top Salary: $302,564
Description: Information not provided
Key Accomplishments: Information not provided
Current Initiatives: Information not provided

http://www.moneysense.ca/save/financ...ty-100-grades/

The above site breakdown the top 100 charities in Canada

[Locke]

Originally Posted by polak

Major charities like the Red Cross need talented people to run them. You don't get the best people without paying for them. Even if you're a charity.

Yes you can. In many ways, especially when it comes to Executives working for a charity is a charitable act in and of itself at the end of a lucrative career.

[undercoverbrother]

The Red Cross also posts their independently audited year financials:

http://www.redcross.ca/crc/pdf/FINAL...h-31,-2015.pdf

[polak]

Originally Posted by Locke

Yes you can. In many ways, especially when it comes to Executives working for a charity is a charitable act in and of itself at the end of a lucrative career.

If the highest executive salary for the Red Cross is 300K then a lot of people are leaving a lot of money on the table.

[rayne008]

Not sure I'd call Red Cross (Canada) sketchy, but I do echo the same concerns about aid in a few weeks.

I'm very thankful for Red Cross in the hours / days / weeks after disaster, but now that we are moving from emergency evacuation to assessment and rebuild mode I'm very interested in hearing on more direct methods to assist.