DAN News
Tsunami Relief Charity Recommendations
Last Updated: 1/3/2005 3:18:48 PM

In response to many requests from both members and non-members, Divers Alert Network is offering the following list of top-rated charities recommended by the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP) that offer aid to the victims of the recent tsunami disaster in southeast Asia. These charities are open to all to contribute.

AIP, a leading charity watchdog that issues letter grade (A+ to F) ratings of nonprofit groups, identifies the following relief charities as having receive an “A” or “B” grade based on the portion of their budget going to program services and their fundraising efficiency (all these charities perform favorably in relation to AIP’s benchmarks of spending at least 60 percent of its budget on program services and spending no more than $35 to raise $100). Click on their names to go to their websites:

• Americares (AIP Grade A; call 1-800-486-HELP)
• American Friends Service Committee (AIP Grade A-;1-888-588-2372)
• American Jewish World Service (AIP Grade A; 1-800-889-7146)
• American Red Cross (AIP Grade A+; 1-800-HELP-NOW)
• Brother’s Brother Foundation (AIP Grade B; 1-412-321-3160)
• CARE (AIP Grade A-;1-800-521-CARE, ext. 999)
• Catholic Relief Services (AIP Grade A-; 1-410-625-2220)
• Children Incorporated (AIP Grade A-; 1-800-538-5381)
• Christian Children’s Fund (AIP Grade A; 1-800-776-6767)
• Church World Service (AIP Grade A-; 1-800-297-1516)
• Direct Relief International (AIP Grade B; 1-805-964-4767)
• Doctors Without Borders (AIP Grade A; 1-888-392-0392)
• International Rescue Committee (AIP Grade A; 1-877-REFUGEE)
• Lutheran World Relief (AIP Grade A+; 1-800-597-5972)
• MAP International (AIP Grade B; 1-800-225-8550)
• Mennonite Central Committee (AIP Grade A; 1-888-563-4676)
• Mercy Corps International (AIP Grade B+; 1-800-292-3355, ext. 250)
• Oxfam-America (AIP Grade A-; 1-800-77-OXFAM)
• Project Hope/People to People Health Foundation (AIP Grade B+; 1-800-544-HOPE)
• Samaritan’s Purse (AIP Grade B; 1-828-262-1980)
• Save the Children (AIP Grade A-; 1-800-728-3843)
• World Concern (AIP Grade B; 1-800-755-5022)
• World Vision (AIP Grade B+; 1-888-511-6589)

Also, many agencies highly recommend giving to UNICEF as well.

Contact your favorite charities to find out if they provide the specific types of aid that you would like to fund, e.g., emergency relief, health care, infrastructure development, education, etc., or visit http://www.charitywatch.org for more details on individual charities. Remember, most are requesting CASH DONATIONS to do their work.<