4,500 new charities for Japan
Posted on March 17, 2011 at 7:19 am
A friend of mine has been working to register a nonprofit for several months now. She was just informed by the IRS that her application would have to wait because they’ve received 4,500 applications for new nonprofits to respond to the disaster in Japan.
I’ve not been able to confirm that number with the IRS, but it doesn’t surprise me that there would be a glut of new nonprofits registered. After the 2004 tsunami, one third of all nonprofits working on the tsunami recovery efforts in Thailand were started after the disaster.
Full disclosure: I also started a nonprofit in Thailand, however my organization did not deliver aid. Our work involved tracking all the aid coming into the area so everyone knew who was doing what where to decrease duplication of aid and find gaps in aid faster. The organization was started at the request of the government and other nonprofts.
I recently attended an event where the guest speaker had started over 35 nonprofits, including one that went to help in Thailand. While I’d met staff from his nonprofit in Thailand, we didn’t bother tracking them because they weren’t really accomplishing anything. But there he was encouraging everyone in the audience to start their own nonprofit as well.
Out of these 4,500 organizations – or however many have actually been registered to help in Japan – maybe 10 of them have the skills and experience to do the job well. The rest, like the “Socks for Japan” guy and the example above, do not. And some will be fraudulent. And for those that are genuine, immediately after a disaster – when people are at their most vulnerable – is not the time to learn through trial and error.
These new nonprofits are not needed. Well-established nonprofits with decades of experience in disaster relief and development are not being asked to help in Japan. They are currently just standing at the ready in case they’re called in to help later. And Japan has no shortage of smart, talented people and competent civil society organizations. It would be far better to give to an established local organization.
Donors need to be aware that post large-scale disasters are prime fundraising times. The easy money can cause charities to start projects even though they don’t have the experience or capacity to do the job right. Or they may raise funds for projects that are not actually needed.
Wanting to help is not the same as actually helping, and good intentions are not enough.
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Update: Giving to local organizations in Japan
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Update: An article in the Guardian actually titled “good intentions are not enough” discusses an all volunteer aid group getting kicked out of Japan.
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Why waiting to give to Japan is a good idea
Dos and Don’ts of Disaster Donations
« The CNN Effect • World Vision’s clothing donation program doesn’t hold up under scrutiny »
Nooo Saundra, why did you have to link to
http://jasonkelly.com/helpjapan/
Now my eyes are bleeding.
It was hard for me not to find the irony in his book title – “Financially Stupid People Are Everywhere”
Yes Jason Kelly. Yes they are…
I assume by your mention of the IRS that what your headline really means is “45,000 new US-based charities for Japan”… which is even more shocking.
Yes, I’m trying to confirm the number. I’m not surprised that a lot of people are trying to start nonprofits, but that number is really big.
Hi Saundra, please can you provide more explanation of your reasons for considering the “Socks for Japan” initiative as not a good idea? It seems to me that as Jason is already well located near to the disaster area, and obviously a fairly smart and talented person, he is well suited to offer a simple service like this. It also seems likely that the service would be well received, and if it was not then he could stop. How exactly is this wasteful, as Felix Salmon describes it? I look forward to your clarity.
Well, here’s an article that does a good job of explaining it and here’s one of my many posts on the topic 6 questions to ask before sending donated goods overseas and here’s over 60 articles on a similar project called 1 million shirts.
Ok, I understand your argument from a general perspective – it is always important to be aware of the consequences of your actions. If we use your model for Socks for Japan, I would have the following answers.
1. Is the donation appropriate for the local climate, culture, and religion? Yes
2. After a disaster, will an influx of donated goods clog the ports? No – Jason has repeatedly checked with the postal service.
3. Do they actually need the donation? Yes – Jason has received requests for socks.
4. Are the goods available locally? Yes – so it would be better to just send money for Jason to buy/ship the socks within Japan. Although exactly how available they are is not clear.
4. Will the people receiving the goods be able to afford to fix or replace the donated item? Yes
5. Will donating this item do more harm than good? Not that I can see – as per this discussion.
Also, as there is a fuel shortage, you could say that the fuel could be put to better use. But as long as he can do this within the allowed fuel ration then I don’t see a problem.
Would you agree with these answers?
Thanks again
Nope, I wouldn’t agree. There is the fuel shortage and the government is carefully putting together large deliveries so as to use what fuel there is as wisely as possible. Socks could be purchased in country. And the government has explicitly stated that it wants all goods to go through them. The government is carefully working to get goods evenly distributed to all people. A major problem with “stop and dropping” is that areas that are easiest to reach get more assistance and those further from passable roads get far less if any.
While one single delivery may have minimal impact hundreds of these same deliveries will. And it’s always the cumulative impact that’s the problem. So no, I don’t agree with it.
Michael, I read your comments and I agree with your thoughts. I have yet to see a disaster handled quickly and precisely, reaching the people most in need…
“The Government of Japan has requested its position on international donations of relief items and on international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating in Japan be made public. With regard to relief items, “the Government of Japan has received offers for relief goods/material from many countries, international organizations, NGOs and private sector. The Government is identifying the needs and establishing a mechanism for storage and transportation to affected people. Therefore, it is recommended not to send any relief goods without coordination with the Government and local governments”. http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/SMDL-8F2GVV/$File/full_report.pdf
And
“Local authorities have networks of inter-prefecture cooperation agreements for emergency situations so that non-affected local authorities can release their emergency stockpiles for the response. The media has called on individual donors to sends goods and food through the local authorities.”
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/MCOI-8EZFNN/$File/full_report.pdf
[...] are not enough. Felix Salmon has more on why the outpouring of charity that occurs after major disasters do less good than they could. Mailing socks to a country with a per capita GDP near $40,000 is to please (or worse, sate) our moral intuitions, but is not a very efficient channel for generosity. [...]
Searched google news for info on haiti elections (very little coverage).
But, on the first results-page these 2 stories appear:
Haitian children grateful for clothing donations
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/haitian-children-grateful-for-clothing-donations-1.1121560#axzz1HDlv9QfX
Elk Grove woman works to bring Haiti clean water
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110320/news/703209937/
Could Haiti be the lucky champion of american DIY projects? Is haiti both “the republic of NGOs”, And the republic of american DIY AID?
Peter,
I’ve heard it’s the epicenter of DIY aid because it’s so close to the U.S. Even before the earthquake it was apparently continually inundated with people starting their own nonprofits.
Oh dear – here is a quote from the Socks from Japan site. ” Japanese people treasure letters, especially ones from foreigners. ” Another example of how gifts in kind are usually to appease the conscience of the donor and give a sense of “I helped” rather than meet a real need.
I live in Japan, where local organizations are indeed distributing needed items, with all required permits secured, and with the same level of government interaction that they’ve always had. I’m glad to see that donating to these groups finally gets a mention, but find it remiss that you chose to stress NOT donating (or not yet) over supporting the people already on the ground doing what needs to be done.
Arwen,
I am all for giving to local charities, you’ll see that in my Do’s and Don’ts of Disaster Donations and in the post The importance of giving to local organizations after a disaster. And in the comment section of the post on waiting I’ve linked to resources for giving to local organizations as I’ve found them.
The goal of asking people to wait was to avoid them giving money to U.S. charities that would take advantage of the situation without to raise funds without any clear plan of how to spend it well. Now that I’ve got more links to resources for people to give locally, I’m happy to do write another post to provide that information. Thanks for calling me on it.
Sorry Saundra, but that Globe and Mail article you linked to in an earlier reply did not “do a good job of explaining it”. The article merely consisted of a scattering of opinions belonging to a single aid worker (I suppose the author was too busy to interview anyone else that day), with the general focus being on the NGO efforts in Africa. From what I gathered at least, the words of caution outlined in the article are neither relevant nor applicable to the Socks for Japan initiative.
By the way, having lived in Japan for over 5 years and gained fluency in the language, I can say with confidence that, after reading your replies to the measured and intelligent comments by Michael John Roberts, you have a lot more faith in the Japanese government than do the people of Japan.
Finally, while your comment about fuel shortages was entirely correct (and by far your strongest argument), Jason Kelly of Socks for Japan does address that issue as well in his website. Sure, the initiative isn’t perfect, but since when is perfection a prerequisite to offering comfort and support to those who have lost everything? The messages of encouragement and hope — as well as the socks themselves (who knew?) — do help in a tangible way, and will continue to do more good than harm as less organized efforts stumble and bubble through their inefficiencies.
Having read some of these comments, it’s clear (to me, anyway) that Socks for Japan doesn’t deserve to be written off in such an offhand manner, especially by people living so far away from the devastation. To everyone who reads this (including Saundra herself), please take the time to read Mr. Kelly’s website in more detail if you have the chance; you may be surprised at the lengths to which he’s gone to make this initiative worthy of your trust and respect.
I have looked at it again, and I still disagree with it. Socks can be purchased locally and there are lots of problems that occur with stop a dropping.
[...] people know that the Japanese Red Cross does not want your money, period, on top of there are now 4,500 new charities focused on Japan alone with the number [...]
Hi Saundra,
Thanks for taking the time to take another look. Hopefully, you were also able to read Jason’s most recent blog posts; he really seems to know what he’s doing, despite his inexperience in the field of disaster relief. To me, he seems to have accounted for every possible contingency… but if you still disagree, then fair enough.
While I have you, please take a look at this blog post by Alanna Shaikh of UN Dispatch. If she can be half-convinced of the legitimacy of Socks For Japan, then perhaps anyone can?
http://www.undispatch.com/lets-talk-about-socks
Saundra, Opinions from a distance are easy. Getting in the trenches and finding a way to help in a disaster, going outside the box is what has to be done in a disaster. Please take a moment to remember Katrina, people stood on their rooftops with signs begging for help, bodies lay in the street and when people broke into stores to find food and water to survive, one police officer looked the other way and commented, “You have to do what you have to do to survive.” It’s so easy to sit at home and write a commentary without experiencing the true devastation that thousands of people are living and give people the correct rules…but in a disaster of this magnitude just kindness like socksforjapan gives more then your article ever could.
It’s easy to wait for all the proper non-profits to get in and do what you expect. But that takes time, and the people who were most affected were receiving the bare minimums, living in shelters, in their devastated homes, the streets and even in their cars.
I had never heard of socksforjapan until I saw a similar article like yours written by Felix Salmon. I took the time to read what they were doing, and how they were going to offer their help. I also took the time to read all accounts of each city they visited and understood how a simple pair of socks from someone half a world away was making a difference. Care letters of hope and encouragement had to be included and for the Japanese culture that was a true gift of hope and kindness.
Who cares if logically socks can be purchased locally, the true results is that socksforjapan was able to get socks and kindness to people in need faster than the formal organizations…
I would prefer to see you write an article about how the approved organizations can work smarter and faster, cutting through the red tape that limits and slows down what needs to be done now. With your experience that should be easy.
P
I’ve written quite a lot of articles on the topic on the work of the large nonprofits. Critiquing someone’s blog from a distance is also easy – especially anonymously. Please feel free to start your own blog and write about this topic yourself.
[...] least one aid group has already been kicked out of Japan, and there are reports that thousands of new charities have been registered since the earthquake. The New York Times [...]