As the title indicates, apart from the Japanese Red Cross and the Salvation Army, any other non-profit organisations that operate to help Japan?? http://www.redcross.org.uk/Donate-Now/Make-a-single-donation/Japan-Tsunami-Appeal http://www.disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/
Just be cautious. There are fake sites that have been erected within 3 hours of the disaster to steal money from you. Keep to organizations you trust, or are well-known organizations.
I agree. There of course, tends to be a bit of personal 'feel good' if one can donate directly to Japan or some Japanese organization. But, unless you're absolutely sure and have an intimate working knowledge of the institution, it's easy to fall prey to fraudulent relief sites. There are actually people who specifically set up web sites on a near daily basis whose sole purpose is to cheat relief donations. Some are pure fakes, while others hook people on the emotions of some current crisis like this one. Thus, my suggestion (for any donation effort) has always been to give to the large and well known international relief organizations like the American Red Cross and or Medicin Sans Frontier (Doctors Without Borders). My thoughts are, that even if you don't put your ducat directly into the crisis cupholder's hands; these large relief organizations would never let such a large scale disaster go without some sort of donation from their coffers. Example, the ARC had almost immediately donated 10 million USD to Red Cross Japan as soon as the tragedy unfolded. My point is, if you put your money into either of these two organizations, your money will somehow get there. Note, these two just happen to be my favorites. You can do your own research and pick your own. One can then feel secure in a lifetime of giving without worry. Related: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16charity.html http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/article.cfm?id=5100&cat=field-news
Yeah, apparently last year for Haiti, a lot of people who went door to door asking for donations; Red Cross never got the cheques or anything. And I was asked a few times 'So this will be donated to Haiti right?' I guess I seemed a little sketch... I can't blame them.
For people who live in the states, here are other sites to consider: http://kokuajapan.org/ http://www.tzuchi.org/ I like them because they guarantee 100% of donation money goes to relief aid; unlike Red Cross where only $0.56/1.00 go to relief aid. Anyway, every charity is different. Whatever or where ever you're comfortable with, donate there. I am just putting up some options for everyone to choose from. Every dollar counts.
