Quick link to organizations accepting relief donations.

CNN.com has a list of international organizations accepting donations for relief in the wake of the tsunamis. The page provides no details, just the list of links, and is of course not complete, but it is a useful collection. My wallet is ready; I just need to decide where its contents go.

The personal recap: I'm back from vacation, and yes, I was vacationing on the coast in Asia; but the waves moved mostly westward, not east, and there but for the grace of God.

It's amazing, and quite awful, how insulated one can become during a vacation, how self-absorbed one can get. Despite the fact that I was in Asia, I still had no inkling of the magnitude or even the details of the disaster except for a glimpse of televised floodwaters while walking past an electronics storefront; it wasn't until I got on the plane and read the terrible newspaper headlines over the shoulder of the passenger a few rows ahead of me that I started to catch on. I can't blame lack of fluency in my not watching the news; channels abounded in languages that I understood, but I was more interested in tuning in for the latest football (soccer) scores than I was in keeping up with the state of the world. I fall into that mindset quite often at cons, and still do; my main concession after 9/11 was in making sure I knew not just the one fire exit I habitually looked for, but also a second; and perhaps I kept an eye on the news at cons the year after, but gradually forgot to do even that.

I won't be doing so again.

Quick link to organizations accepting relief donations.

CNN.com has a list of international organizations accepting donations for relief in the wake of the tsunamis. The page provides no details, just the list of links, and is of course not complete, but it is a useful collection. My wallet is ready; I just need to decide where its contents go.

The personal recap: I'm back from vacation, and yes, I was vacationing on the coast in Asia; but the waves moved mostly westward, not east, and there but for the grace of God.

It's amazing, and quite awful, how insulated one can become during a vacation, how self-absorbed one can get. Despite the fact that I was in Asia, I still had no inkling of the magnitude or even the details of the disaster except for a glimpse of televised floodwaters while walking past an electronics storefront; it wasn't until I got on the plane and read the terrible newspaper headlines over the shoulder of the passenger a few rows ahead of me that I started to catch on. I can't blame lack of fluency in my not watching the news; channels abounded in languages that I understood, but I was more interested in tuning in for the latest football (soccer) scores than I was in keeping up with the state of the world. I fall into that mindset quite often at cons, and still do; my main concession after 9/11 was in making sure I knew not just the one fire exit I habitually looked for, but also a second; and perhaps I kept an eye on the news at cons the year after, but gradually forgot to do even that.

I won't be doing so again.

The question of where to give.

Anyone know if there are any resources out there that list what relief aid organizations have a better track record than others? I split my donation among five different organizations, going on the theory that even if one or some of them were less efficient, then the remainder of the money still has a chance of being put to good use--the trick being to still keep the individual sums large enough to be useful. I'm not exactly rolling in the stuff, but I can't think of a better use for it.

The question of where to give.

Anyone know if there are any resources out there that list what relief aid organizations have a better track record than others? I split my donation among five different organizations, going on the theory that even if one or some of them were less efficient, then the remainder of the money still has a chance of being put to good use--the trick being to still keep the individual sums large enough to be useful. I'm not exactly rolling in the stuff, but I can't think of a better use for it.

Info on giving.

Two sites to help you make decisions on where to send your donations to:

USAID:
* "The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States."
* Their page on the tsunamis is here.
* Look in the "How can I help"? box for an explanation of why cash donations (as opposed to other types of donations) are important, a link to a list of relief organizations accepting donations for this disaster, and links to more general aid info including their Field Operations Guide.

BBB (Better Business Bureau):
* "The BBB Wise Giving Alliance collects and distributes information on hundreds of nonprofit organizations that solicit nationally or have national or international program services."
* Check out their very useful list of tips about responding to tsunami relief appeals. Lots of sensible, cautionary reminders here.
* The list of charities on which they report can be found here.

Info on giving.

Two sites to help you make decisions on where to send your donations to:

USAID:
* "The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world in support of the foreign policy goals of the United States."
* Their page on the tsunamis is here.
* Look in the "How can I help"? box for an explanation of why cash donations (as opposed to other types of donations) are important, a link to a list of relief organizations accepting donations for this disaster, and links to more general aid info including their Field Operations Guide.

BBB (Better Business Bureau):
* "The BBB Wise Giving Alliance collects and distributes information on hundreds of nonprofit organizations that solicit nationally or have national or international program services."
* Check out their very useful list of tips about responding to tsunami relief appeals. Lots of sensible, cautionary reminders here.
* The list of charities on which they report can be found here.