...but anyways, here's some notes on whom to donate to and whom not to donate to in regards to NOLA relief and dominionist groups. (Very sadly, dominionist groups will run charity groups taking advantage of people who may genuinely want to help. Most of the time, "help" from these groups occurs with substantial strings.)
I am posting this list for folks to not only know of good groups to donate to in regards to NOLA relief, but also so that you can notify workplaces of both the "good guys" and groups to avoid (due to dominionist links). (There are far worthier charities than dominionist groups, and I'd MUCH rather my money go to them than to support "stealth evangelism" and the like)
Good Guys:
http://www.redcross.org/ (if one is not so worried about scandals in fundraising; some folks don't donate to the Red Cross for that reason)
(I have been notified that people have other objections, including controversies regarding recognition of Adom Mogen David (the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross/Red Cresent societies) and regarding blood donation. Regarding the first--*ALL* blood donation groups, sadly, reject gay/les/bi/trans folks unless for self donation--that is from FDA regulations (and it is an area the FDA needs to change, I completely agree). Secondly, the Adom Mogen David controversy is one with the International Red Cross/Red Cresent Society, not necessarily the American branch thereof (and there are groups in *other* countries that have raised similar objections, including in India and Nepal where Hindu and Buddhist symbols have been proposed as a substitute for the Red Cross/Red Cresent.)
(I have noted the Red Cross *is* controversial and people may wish to donate to other organisations because of controversies with the Red Cross/Red Cresent. I am trying to focus on groups that are either specifically nonsectarian or are affiliated with a church (but do have policies against prosyletisation during disaster ops), and groups to specifically *avoid* due to known links with dominionist groups (i.e. there is a real risk that donations to the group *even for well intended purposes* may be used in support of dominionism). If you have evidence that the Red Cross *is* specifically supporting dominionism, please let me know.)
(For those who have serious objections regarding the ICRC's rejection of official recognition of Magen David Adom (which is ICRC only, the American Red Cross has actually *lobbied* for recognition as noted in a comment below), Magen David Adom *does* have an American branch: http://www.magendavidadom.org/)
(For those objecting to the blocking of blood donations by gay/les/bi/trans individuals, I have no good solution. Magen David Adom, the Red Cross, private blood banks/plasma banks, and in fact *all* groups operating blood banks are required to reject gay men due to an FDA directive (again, as noted in a comment below). The only way of fixing that is going to be either donation in a country without such ornerous rules (in which case the blood might not be allowed into the US) or working to get the present administration changed. I do *not* look to see the FDA changing this anytime soon, partly because it failed when Clinton was in office, partly because we had an active dominionist as head of the FDA approvals committee till July, and partly because the FDA is *still* attempting to stonewall emergency contraception availability thanks to dominionist pressure--much less allowing gay men (one of the most demonised populations among dominionists, if not *the* most demonised, anymore) to donate blood.)
http://www.secondharvest.org (Second Harvest, the famous food bank. Originally started as Kentucky Harvest, nonsectarian, good folks all around. They also do not partner with any known blatantly dominionist groups. Some have expressed concern regarding Second Harvest's accounting practices in areas. Those with concerns may wish to give to another food bank service such as Dare To Care, below.)
http://www.daretocare.org (Dare To Care, a group that is a national food bank but also local (they started out in Louisville, KY). Many national grocery chains, such as Krogers/Albertson's/Giant work with Dare To Care and even allow you to buy prepackaged bags of essential food for needy families (and they give you a tax deduction form for it too--so if you buy a $10 or $20 bag of food, you can take it off on your taxes). You can donate directly, or see if your local supermarket chain works with Dare To Care in your area.)
http://www.unitedway.org (United Way, the umbrella group for a *lot* of major charities. Nonsectarian, to the point many dominionists don't like them (many dominionist groups also don't like them because they support Planned Parenthood and/or March of Dimes, both of which they've accused of supporting abortion (and the accusation against the March of Dimes is especially bizarre, but also a *very* popular urban legend in the dominionist community)). In some areas there have been questions re financial accountability but they *have* been working on this longterm.)
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/ (Presbyterian Disaster Response, for those wishing to donate to mainstream Christian groups)
http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor (United Methodist Committee on Relief, for those wishing to donate to mainstream Christian groups)
http://www.tzuchi.org/global/ (Tzu Chi, a Buddhist charity group that is operating a relief fund)
http://www.elca.org/disaster/ (Lutheran disaster fund, for those wishing to donate to mainstream Christian groups)
http://www.mds.mennonite.net/ (Mennonite disaster service--Anabaptist religious order (they're "plain folk" like Amish, also pacifist, but do believe in use of modern tools and the like; they do a lot of good charity work)
http://www.mcc.org (Mennonite Central Committee, the larger of the Mennonite charities, Canadians may wish to consider this as an option as well)
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.or
http://www.ujc.org/ (United Jewish Committee, also good folk)
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.o
http://www.arrl.org/ (American Radio Relay League, aka ham radio. Seriously. (Right now the *only* method of communication to many areas is through ham radio relay nets.) Hams do a lot of general disaster work as well.)
http://www.friendsdisasterservice.org/
http://www.hwn.org/ (Hurricane Watch Net--*THE* major net for disaster reports and communication for areas cut off by hurricanes.)
http://www.voa.org/ (Volunteers of America, an ostenably Christian group but not terribly sectarian and probably a good alternative to the Salvation Army for those who are a bit concerned at the direction the Salvation Army has taken as of late)
http://www.reactintl.org/ (REACT International, another group (this one largely working with CB radio operators and ham operators) for communication in areas that have been subjected to disasters)
http://www.habitat.org/ (Habitat for Humanity--ostenably Christian, but again, not one that overtly prosyletises. Jimmy Carter has done much work for them in past; mentioned because Habitat housing is probably going to be *badly* needed if/when New Orleans is rebuilt.)
http://www.uusc.org/ (Unitarian Universalist Service Committee--again, good folks all around.)
https://secure.hsus.org/01/disaster_rel
http://www.noahswish.org (Noah's Wish--despite the name, they aren't dominionist, they are an animal rescue charity that specialises in disaster rescue and care of animals. Again, good folks all around, and they are actively helping out in the Slidell, LA area in particular. Of note, they do assist in rescue of nontraditional pets (like snakes, "pocket pets" like ratties, etc.) which are occasionally not accepted in HSUS shelters.)
http://www.americares.org (Americares, another non-sectarian international charity group. Good folks all around. They are actively contributing to NOLA relief efforts; Writer's Cafe has a website set up where people can donate via Paypal (http://writerscafe.net/donations.html#f
http://www.er-d.org/ (Episcopal Relief and Disaster group)
http://directrelief.org/ (Direct Relief, another medical assistance group in the same vein as Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres--specialises in disaster area medical assistance)
http://www.afsc.org/ (American Friends Service Committee, another assistance group associated with the Society of Friends)
http://www.feedthechildren.org (Feed The Children--after research, I have not found complaints of dominionist activity (and even some evidence dominionists aren't terribly happy with them, partly because Feed the Children has pointed out that prosyletising dominionist "charity" groups have made it much harder for legitimate charities to operate in places like the Middle East), so I am recommending them tentatively as one of the "good guys".)
http://www.planusa.org (Plan USA, another children's charity that is explicitly nonsectarian and is taking funds for NOLA relief)
http://www.mercycorps.org/ (Mercy Corps, a Catholic associated group that does worthwile charity work and is actively soliciting funds for NOLA relief. Not to be confused with "Mercy Ships" (in the "bad guys" section, below) which is associated with Youth With A Mission/Campus Crusade for Christ.)
http://www.montrosecounselingcente
http://www.oxfamamerica.org/ (OxFam--I'd like to thank the readers of Dark Christianity in the Commonwealth countries for reminding folks of OxFam, which isn't terribly publicised in the US. OxFam does a LOT of good work, and definitely do count as "good guys" in this list. (I'm actually sort of embarrassed I didn't remember them, seeing as a friend of mine actually has a link on his website to OxFam's tsunami relief pages! >_<))
http://www.brethren.org/genbd/ersm/Disa
http://www.onegreathourofsharing.org/in
http://ga1.org/ct/s7S_g3917PnD/ (Secular Humanist Aid and Relief Effort, whom is working with Americares (see link above) in much the same fashion as Writer's Cafe (and fark.com via Writer's Cafe) are working on assisting Americares)
http://www.hurricanehousing.org/ (This is an interesting charity (sponsored by moveon.org)--specifically, people are pledging room and board for hurricane victims. If you have a spare room or spare property and live within a few hundred miles of the affected area (especially in Texas) this could be immensely helpful. (As an aside, fark.com actually has a similar program going on in one of its threads where people are offering room and board to hurricane victims.))
http://www.pphouston.org/site/PageServe
http://www.rainbowworldfund.org/ (Rainbow World Fund, a gay/les/bi/trans friendly charity that has been recommended in a livejournal comment in a linker's journal.)
http://www.livejournal.com/community/no
http://www.defhr.org/Katrina.htm (Days End Farm Horse Rescue, a group specialising in large animal/livestock rescue, is cooperating with another animal rescue group)
http://code3associates.org/ (Code 3 Associates, another group specialising in animal rescue (and working with Days End Farm Horse Rescue) in the Mississippi area)
Additions in regards to non-dominionist charities are appreciated. According to some reports, local United Way groups are also conducting NOLA relief fundraising under their umbrella.
Bad Guys:
http://www.ob.org/ (Operation Blessing, which is Pat Robertson's charity group. Has used planes (that were marketed as aid planes for Zairian refugees) to transport equipment for his own mining ops: http://www.au.org/site/News2?page=NewsA
http://www.sbc.net/ (Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief--as noted multiple times here, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest dominionist denomination in the US (having hijacked the seminary and church leadership some fifteen years ago). The Southern Baptist Convention's purges in its seminary in Louisville have literally destroyed a world-renowned school of social works.)
http://www.convoyofhope.org (Convoy of Hope, group that specialises in "stealth evangelism" in its fundraising and is a "shell organisation" operated by the Assemblies of God, another large dominionist denomination; the group is located in Springfield, MO very near the AoG world headquarters, and is heavily promoted on the AoG's website (http://www.ag.org/). Do not give to this group--The Assemblies of God as a denomination is dominionist in its official church policy and also advocates "stealth evangelism" as official policy; the AoG is also directly linked with dominionist parties in both the US and Australia. "Convoy of Hope" is de facto the charity wing of the AoG and an example of the "stealth evangelism" practiced in this group; also keep in mind the AoG as a denomination is a coercive religious group. Trust me, speaking as a walkaway--you don't want ANY of your funds going here.)
http://www.cdresponse.org ("Christian Disaster Response", a dominionist charity operated by "One Way Ministries" (a group in the
American Evangelical Christian Church, a pentecostal denomination))
http://www.worldharvest.cc/ (World Harvest, a dominionist group with several international branches. Site is presently down, but Wayback Machine archives available. Is heavily promoted by Focus on the Family; see http://family-topics.custhelp.com/cgi-b
http://www.missionofmercy.org/ (Mission of Mercy, a dominionist children's charity associated with Bethseda Christian, a dominionist church in the Colorado Springs area. Associated with what I term the Colorado Springs Complex of dominionist groups)
http://www.imb.org/core/default.asp
http://www.wr.org/ and http://www.worldrelief.org/ (World Relief, another dominionist charity that largely operates in the dominionist "shadow economy" and is promoted largely by dominionist evangelical groups; promoted by both Focus on the Family and American Family Association)
http://www.samaritanspurse.org/home.a
http://www.mercyships.org (Mercy Ships, appears to be a dominionist "shadow economy" alternative to Doctors Without Borders. The fact that the major groups endorsing them are Focus on the Family and the President (who has links to dominionist groups and is likely a dominionist himself) tends to make one very leery. Practices stealth evangelism--had to do a fair amount of digging on the site to see that they do explicitly market themselves as a Christian group; a further websearch (http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Ps
http://www.globalhopenetwork.org (Global Hope Network, another dominionist charity promoted by Focus on the Family; promotes a group, "International Foundation of Hope", which is part of the "Colorado Springs Complex" of dominionist groups)
http://www.ifhope.org/ (International Foundation of Hope, the aforementioned dominionist charity in question that is part of the Colorado Springs Complex of dominionist groups)
http://www.centoday.com (Christian Emergency Network, a group that is almost entirely funded by dominionist denominations and groups (per http://www.centoday.com/about_cen/partn
http://www.disasterreliefeffort.or
(This group should not be confused with the United Church of Christ, which is actually an accepting group; there are *multiple* church denominations using "Church of Christ", including the International Churches of Christ (which are known to be coercive).)
http://www.map.org/ (MAP International, which is another group apparently meant as a "Christian alternative" to Doctors Without Borders, admits on its own website they explicitly prosyletise to people and other statements indicate dominionist worldview; it also appears that the only groups certifying them are various evangelical "accountability groups" like the National Association of Evangelicals, which is in itself suspicious)
http://www.wer-us.org/ (World Emergency Relief, an explicitly dominionist/"Christian Supremacist" charity group (they literally will not work with non-evangelical charity groups, and follows guidelines of another dominionist charity group, AERDO (see below))
http://www.aerdo.net/ and http://www.aerdo.org/ (AERDO, an umbrella group for multiple dominionist charity groups; almost all the dominionist groups listed above are in their members list (http://www.aerdo.net/Members/Home.lsp
http://www.volunteerministers.org/
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/ (Sadly, new information (listed below) has forced me to list this group as dominionist; see below. Supportive of dominionist groups like "Operation Blessing" and also having restrictions on funding; has used homeless groups to fight initiatives for Fairness Ordinances and has actually threatened to close soup kitchens and homeless shelters in areas whose Fairness Ordinances require offering benefits to partners of gay/les/bi/trans individuals (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/05/052
(http://aolsvc.news.aol.com/news/articl
Groups not blatantly dominionist, but of concern for various reasons (including support of dominionists):
http://www.worldvision.org (World Vision, which generally has had a reputation of being a reliable charity but has also had reports, much like the Salvation Army, of support from or supporting dominionist groups; is promoted by Focus on the Family (http://family-topics.custhelp.com/cgi-b
The listing in particular of the Salvation Army and World Vision as being AERDO members is concerning enough that I may end up relisting these two groups as supporting dominionism. This is based on the other groups listed as AERDO members (including "deliverance ministry" groups as well as charities associated with, or being direct charity wings of, dominionist groups) and AERDO's general policies (which are pretty much dominionist). I would actually like a second opinion before formally listing them and all other AERDO associated groups as "bad guys", but it IS extremely troubling.
http://www.adventist.communityservi
EDIT:
Further commentary (including additions to lists of Good Charities/Bad Charities and additional info on "charities of concern") is greatly appreciated. (I actually want to get a good list together so that people who want to donate but don't want to risk their money being diverted towards dominionist groups can have a resource for "responsible donation". The people of New Orleans are going to need a LOT of help in the coming years, and I want them to be able to be helped without being preyed upon by dominionists.)
As noted above, I am *strongly* requesting feedback regarding listing of AERDO associated groups as definitely dominionist-linked. (AERDO seems pretty hard dominionist as do most of the groups; I ask for the input because if we list all AERDO members as "bad guys", both World Vision and the Salvation Army go from the "iffy, you may not want to donate" to the "avoid like the plague". AERDO's general activity concerns me enough I am considering doing just that, but again, would appreciate feedback from others.)
List of "Good Guys/Bad Guys" will be periodically updated on the main page. I will keep updating this until LJ begins to complain that it won't accept the list anymore (after which point I'll note that further groups of note are in the comments). You all have been *extremely* helpful in your suggestions and providing links to both good guys and bad guys, as well as distributing the list. (Should anyone wish to mirror the contents, feel free.)
http://www.give.org/reports/index.a
This list is now mirrored (in slightly different format) at http://nola-biglist.blogspot.com.
If anyone is reading this via a link from someone else's blog or journal, feel free to add a comment with a group (either a "good guy" group, info on a group listed, or a listing of a group to avoid) and I'll add till the LJ post can't hold any more; at that point, the BlogSpot mirror will become the main resource and I'll link to it from the LJ article.