1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogobam. Here. We humans have big hearts, 3 00:00:11,560 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: and when we see someone suffering, even if it's a 4 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:16,360 Speaker 1: stranger on the other side of the globe, we want 5 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,400 Speaker 1: to help. But in the rush to help others, we 6 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: can end up doing more harm than good. If you 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:26,520 Speaker 1: really want to help the victims of devastating hurricanes, earthquakes, famines, 8 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,480 Speaker 1: and floods, here are a few tips. First of all, 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:35,919 Speaker 1: send money, not stuff. Charitable organizations receive so many boxes 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: of used clothing, shoes, canned food, and flashlights that it 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: overwhelms local staff and creates what some relief workers call 12 00:00:43,320 --> 00:00:48,199 Speaker 1: the disaster After the disaster, unsolicited donations clog up the 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: supply chain, take up space that could be used for 14 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:54,520 Speaker 1: life saving supplies, and are often inappropriate to the local 15 00:00:54,560 --> 00:00:57,480 Speaker 1: needs and customs, like sending cans of spam to a 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: Muslim community, for example, not to to the expense of 17 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 1: transporting these goods, and that's why almost all disaster relief 18 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: charities ask for cash donations. With money, they can buy 19 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:13,080 Speaker 1: exactly what victims need, often from local sources. Buying locally 20 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:16,760 Speaker 1: or regionally keeps money in the storm rattled local economy 21 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: and cuts down on the logistics and costs of shipping. 22 00:01:20,920 --> 00:01:24,360 Speaker 1: In rare cases, a charitable organization will ask for specific 23 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:28,160 Speaker 1: supplies to meet some urgent need. Local donations are always 24 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:30,880 Speaker 1: the best option, but if you really want to ship supplies, 25 00:01:31,080 --> 00:01:33,760 Speaker 1: talk to the charity first. Make sure that you're sending 26 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: exactly what they need and that someone on staff is 27 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: prepared to receive it. Speaking of when you can give 28 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:46,080 Speaker 1: to local organizations, national and international organizations have convenient ways 29 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: to donate, like via text and everything does help, but 30 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: they're not automatically the best equipped to help local populations. 31 00:01:54,160 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: In some cases, local groups with deep roots in the 32 00:01:56,960 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: affected community have a better understanding of how to meet 33 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: the immediate and long term needs of their people. The 34 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 1: trick is finding the right organization to support. You want 35 00:02:07,240 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: your money to make the biggest impact, and you certainly 36 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: don't want to get scammed. Organizations like Charity Navigator and 37 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: Charity Watch rate charitable organizations by their trustworthiness and transparency, 38 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:23,120 Speaker 1: and if you can think long term to help keep 39 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: charities accountable. The investigative journalism organization Pro Publica encourages donors 40 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,640 Speaker 1: to follow up with organizations and ask for detailed information 41 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,000 Speaker 1: about how their money was spent and how many people 42 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:37,240 Speaker 1: were helped. You can also write to your congressional representatives 43 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:40,040 Speaker 1: and ask them to enact laws that require charities to 44 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: disclose their spending in greater detail. Also on the topic 45 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,080 Speaker 1: of long term it's incredibly helpful to keep up the 46 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: support after the headlines have faded. According to a report 47 00:02:51,760 --> 00:02:54,520 Speaker 1: from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy or the c DP, 48 00:02:56,400 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: of disaster related donations from large ritable foundations, corporations, government agencies, 49 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:07,120 Speaker 1: and online giving was spent on immediate disaster response and relief. 50 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 1: That's because the intense media coverage surrounding disasters like hurricanes 51 00:03:12,440 --> 00:03:15,960 Speaker 1: spurs people and foundations to give, But once the TV 52 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:20,720 Speaker 1: cameras leave town, donations dry up. C DP President and 53 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 1: CEO Bob otten Hooff says that after about a week 54 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,840 Speaker 1: of overwhelming generosity, very little private money is invested in 55 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,040 Speaker 1: the longer term recovery of a storm battered region. I 56 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:36,280 Speaker 1: think of the homes, businesses, transportation, and jobs lost. Otten 57 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,640 Speaker 1: Hoff says a FEMA official from Texas told him the 58 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:43,320 Speaker 1: disaster recovery works in multiples of ten for every day 59 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: of immediate relief, there are ten days required of mid 60 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: term rebuilding and a hundred days of long term recovery. 61 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:53,120 Speaker 1: As so if it took ten days to provide immediate 62 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 1: relief to the victims of Hurricane Harvey, the long term 63 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,480 Speaker 1: recovery for families, businesses, and Houston's infrastructure could go on 64 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:05,720 Speaker 1: for many years. The CDP collects charitable donations immediately after 65 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: a disaster, but waits to invest the funds until it's 66 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 1: clear what needs aren't being met by other nonprofits, government agencies, 67 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: and insurance companies. That could be months after the initial disaster. 68 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:22,120 Speaker 1: Responding to Typhoon Hayen in the Philippines, in the c 69 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:25,440 Speaker 1: DP learned that sixty women were due to give birth 70 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:29,520 Speaker 1: without functioning hospitals, so the organization invested all of its 71 00:04:29,520 --> 00:04:33,760 Speaker 1: money in maternal health services. Individuals can take the same 72 00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:37,680 Speaker 1: approach if you can give to help with the immediate crisis, 73 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:39,919 Speaker 1: but then wait a few months and give again to 74 00:04:39,960 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: support organizations that are doing ongoing work and housing, mental 75 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:52,920 Speaker 1: health counseling, employment assistance, and other long term services. Today's 76 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: episode was written by Dave Ruse and produced by Tyler 77 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:57,680 Speaker 1: Playing for more on this than lots of other helpful topics. 78 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:00,440 Speaker 1: Visit how stuff works dot com brain Stuff production of 79 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:03,200 Speaker 1: I heart Radio or more podcasts my heart Radio visit 80 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: the i heart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you 81 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.