I know we don't generally discuss topics like this, but is tangentally connected because it is such a beautiful place to hike (I could post some photos I took to make it more relevant, I guess)
Anyway, I would just like to encourage people to make charitable donations to the kind, poor, and suffering people of Nepal in their hour of need. Who knows? Maybe you'll even be repaid by hiking there someday. Myself, I'm thinking I ought to make a return trip sometime fairly soon for the sake of the money I would put into their economy, though of course I need little persuading that it would be nice to return regardless.
sorry if I'm off-topic

No need to be sorry. I did move it to off-topic, but there is no shame in that.

I agree about the charitable donations. That's really important, both now for urgent life-and-death needs and later for long-term recovery. In addition to the loss of life, it's obvious that Nepal has been devastated and most of the infrastructure is gone.

I can only imagine the terror from the continual aftershocks!

Bobito, that's why we have the Off-Topic section, for important items like this! Thank you for posting!

Call it paranoia or whatever, but I have trepidations over making charitable donations for things like this only because of the horror stories you hear about organizations/governments/whomever reappropriating the funds for something other the what was intended.

Does anyone know of an "honest" aid organization that, should we want to donate to this cause, will actually use the funds appropriately?

That's an excellent question, dd77. I'd like to know too. And if there's an organization that's accepting goods rather than money, that's even better.

It generally costs far more to receive, sort, package and ship used material goods (especially halfway around the world) than to buy the stuff new closer to the site where it's needed. This is especially true of used clothing and gear--close to half of it will have to be discarded, the other half will have to be laundered or otherwise sanitized, and handling it is extremely labor-intensive and time-consuming. That's why very few charities accept used material goods any more. Of course, they won't turn down medical supplies by the case.

There are several organizations that rate charities, and I strongly urge everyone to check out every charity--even the big name ones--before donating. There are some in which less than half of each donated dollar goes to the charitable cause. You want to look for organizations in which 85-90% of donated funds go to those who need them.

I donate to three Northwest-based charities with some of whose staff I'm personally familiar. Mercy Corps (already in Nepal, distributing emergency kits as fast as they can get them there), Medical Teams International, and SIGN Fracture Care International. SIGN provides simplified implants for fractured limbs that have the patient walking within a few days, and teaches local surgeons how to do the implants. They already have trained in-country associates in Nepal and expect to send more from the US, as well as the implants themselves. SIGN was founded by the Richland, WA orthopedic surgeon who put my almost completely disassembled knee back together in 1988.

Many news stories are listing charities involved in the Nepal disaster. You need to research them, both on their websites and with the charity rating organizations, and decide which you prefer. Just because I like the three I mentioned doesn't mean that you will! Please do your research!

Try this:

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-04-25/ho...wing-earthquake

would trust PRI much more than the commercial sources.

Thanks, Gord! The article mentions two good charity rating outfits, Charity Navigator and Guidestar. Better Business Bureau rates US charities, but is more limited.

I haven't researched the organization extensively, but I have a friend who is a former member of the board of directors of World Vision. Simply knowing the kind of person he is, I can't imagine him associating with an organization that isn't credible. I think I heard on NPR that World Vision is active in the relief effort of this earthquake, though it didn't say whether it was Nepal, Tibet, or another nation that was affected.

It is a sad commentary on our world when something like this is exploited for the gain of a few selfish individuals. Frequently we see reports of even well known charitable organizations and fund raising groups where just a small amount of the funds collected actually go to the cause being collected for. It has the effect of making even generous folks hesitant to give to worthy causes. As I said, sad.

I just had an email come through stating that my company, on behalf of all employees worldwide, is making a $10,000 donation to the relief efforts in Nepal. And at the bottom of the email they provided links to recommended organizations which are accepting donations.

Question answered.

In case you are interested, these were the recommended groups:

- Save the Children
- Doctors Without Borders (Medecins sans Frontiers)
- Oxfam
- Global Giving
- Unicef
- Mercy Corps
- Care

Here is a list of vetted charities working in Nepal:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=1888#.VUDxECFVhBc

When my wife and I went through this exercise sometime back we decided to give to Americares. I hadn't heard of them before, but they seem to consistently show up at the top of the ratings and being involved in these disaster areas. The charities I had heard of seem to spend a lot of money on advertising and CEO pay (which is probably why I had heard of them).

Another precaution--I'm seeing folks coming up with ideas for selling T shirts, etc to benefit Nepal. Nice idea, but… If you can take the charitable tax deduction, this won't work.; You need to donate direcctly to a 501(c)(3) organization, and the value of any merchandise received must be deducted from your contribution. Besides, the Nepalese probably need those T shirts more than we do.

Note that the list of vetted charities (thanks, BZH, for the link!) will change as more organizations get involved. Some may choose not to, especially since Nepal is now telling folks not yet in country to hold off. I'm holding off on donating to Medical Teams International, for example, until they determine if they are needed in-country.

EDIT, LATER: MTI now has a team on the ground, in one of the provinces nearest the epicenter.

Just got an email from REI (probably most of you have it by now, too) that they're donating to Mercy Corps.

I mailed our check to Mercy Corps today.

They just got hit with another quake this morning, a 7.3.

anyone know where I can donate online? Im not looking to donate to some random charity orgs, most of those organizations dont actually help.

Since this particular disaster took place over seven months ago (April 2015), you might have to do a little digging on Google to find your answer. On one hand it is seven months late, on the other hand, the needs and support may be better defined making donation less risky.

Repeating what I wrote back in April:




In other words, you need to do your own research. I donated to three charities with whom people I know and trust are associated, thanks to my having worked in the medical community in the Pacific Northwest. These groups, however, may not be working in Nepal at present. Nor should anyone take my word for it that these charities are worth while. Check the ratings, and check the charities' websites to determine their present areas of concern.