Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation's premier emergency response organization. We bring shelter, food and comfort to those affected by disasters, large and small. We collect lifesaving donated blood and supply it to patients in need. We provide support to our men and women in military bases around the world, and to the families they leave behind. We train communities in CPR, first aid and other skills that save lives. And we assist our neighbors abroad with critical disaster response, preparedness and disease prevention efforts. We are able to do all this by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
Program names and associated costs are listed for the top programs as reported on the charity's most recently filed Form 990. The top programs displayed will include the largest three programs, or those programs covering at least 60% of the charity's total expenses, whichever comes first.
Prior to 9/1/2016, Charity Navigator issued Advisories under the name CN Watchlist and Donor Advisory. For more information on the CN Advisory system click here. This charity appeared on the CN Watchlist.
In accordance with our policy for removing charities from the CN Watchlist, Charity Navigator removed the American Red Cross from the Watchlist in January 2016 because the charity provided publicly accessible information regarding issues raised throughout the duration of the Watchlist history. This information, along with their public statement on H.R. 3517 addressed all relevant issues raised in the Watchlist entry and therefore meets our requirements for removal.
Charity Navigator placed the American Red Cross on the CN Watchlist because we became aware of the following information:
On October 29, 2014, ProPublica and National Public Radio (NPR) published a joint investigative article that was critical of the disaster response efforts of the American Red Cross during hurricanes Sandy and Isaac in 2012.
On January 8th, 2015, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa “has asked the American Red Cross to explain how it calculates figures showing how much of a donated dollar goes to services after recent media reports uncovered apparent discrepancies in how the organization portrays its overhead costs.” The article goes on to say that the organization is also undergoing an audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office on the charity’s disaster-response activities.
On February 18, 2015, ProPublica published an article in response to a request from the American Red Cross to issue corrections to the stories about its response to Hurricanes Isaac and Sandy. ProPublica states that it “stands by [the] reporting and have found no instances of errors.”
On June 3, 2015, ProPublica and National Public Radio (NPR) published a joint investigative article stating, "The Red Cross won’t disclose details of how it has spent the hundreds of millions of dollars donated for Haiti [...] The Red Cross’ public reports offer only broad categories about where $488 million in donations has gone. The article states, "Soon after the earthquake, McGovern, the Red Cross CEO, said the group would make sure donors knew exactly what happened to their money, [...yet] it has declined repeated requests to disclose the specific projects, to explain how much money went to each or to say what the results of each project were." For more information see the ProPublica report.
On June 3, 2015, The Red Cross released an official statement responding to the article. It states, “The Red Cross is disappointed, once again, by the lack of balance, context and accuracy in the most recent reporting by ProPublica/NPR, which follows the pattern of all their previous Red Cross stories. It is particularly disappointing to see our work misrepresented considering we answered more than 100 questions in writing and provided an interview with the head of our international programs.”
On June 8, 2015, Democratic Representative Rick Nolan of Minnesota issued a press release stating he "called for Congressional hearings to give the American Red Cross the opportunity to clear the air over a National Public Radio (NPR)/ProPublica report. [...] In a letter to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Nolan pointed out that while the Red Cross is not a federal agency, it is a 'Federal Instrumentality' chartered by Congress to maintain a domestic and international system of disaster relief."
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Since its founding in 1881 by visionary leader Clara Barton, the American Red Cross has been the nation's premier emergency response organization. We bring shelter, food and comfort to those affected by disasters, large and small. We collect lifesaving donated blood and supply it to patients in need. We provide support to our men and women in military bases around the world, and to the families they leave behind. We train communities in CPR, first aid and other skills that save lives. And we assist our neighbors abroad with critical disaster response, preparedness and disease prevention efforts. We are able to do all this by mobilizing the power of volunteers and the generosity of donors.
