Red Cross Structure

Cross and Crescent The Red Cross' symbol, a red cross on a white background, is the reverse of the national flag of Switzerland, a country noted for its neutrality. The design was also chosen because it would be easily recognizable and simple to reproduce from scratch if necessary. The cross was not intended to have any religious connotations. However, a cross of any kind is a powerful reminder of Christianity for many people, so aid organizations in most Muslim countries choose to use a Red Crescent instead. Israel's Magen David Adom aid group uses a red Star of David.

The American Red Cross is made up of 769 regional or city-based chapters. Every chapter is officially chartered by the national Board of Governors. The directors of the chapters have some degree of autonomy is determining which programs and services are most vital in their area, while the Red Cross' $4.1 billion annual budget is distributed at the national level to the individual chapters.

The Red Cross is not funded by the government; its budget comes from donations as well as cost-recovery fees that are charged for some services. In certain circumstances, the Red Cross recieves government money because the government has contracted the Red Cross to carry out some aspect of relief efforts. Because it is a non-profit, charitable organization, the Red Cross is tax-exempt.

The Red Cross is not completely independent of the United States government, however. The organization runs under a Congressional charter that has been in place since 1905. Under this charter, the Red Cross acts as an "instrument of the government," carrying out the duties and responsibilities of the Geneva Convention and other tasks that the federal government delegates to it [ref]. The Federal Food & Drug Administration (FDA) monitors the Red Cross' blood collection and storage programs.

The president of the American Red Cross is elected by a 50-member Board of Governors. The members of the board are volunteers, while the president draws a salary of more than $200,000 per year. Some presidents have offered to forgo this salary [ref]. The President of the U.S. is considered the honorary chairperson of the Board of Governors, and also appoints eight of the board members. The other 42 members are elected at the annual national convention. The board elects 12 of them, and 30 are elected by the delegates from various Red Cross chapters who attend the convention.

The rest of the Red Cross' roster is made up of approximately 1.2 million volunteers and about 40,000 paid employees, mostly nurses.

In the next section we'll examine the controversy that sometimes plagues the Red Cross.

Getting Relief To Where It's Needed One of the biggest challenges the Red Cross faces is efficiently distributing relief money and supplies to those who need it. To streamline the process, it does not accept small individual donations of material items, such as clothing, toiletries or food. It would take far too much time and manpower to sort and transport the items, in addition to problems with safety and cleanliness. Instead, the Red Cross takes monetary donations and uses them to issue vouchers. The vouchers are redeemable at local stores and allow disaster victims to purchase the specific items they need. Distributing aid this way also helps the local economy and lets recipients of the aid feel more in control of their situation. The Red Cross does accept large bulk donations from corporations of items like water or non-perishable food. When it is time to distribute supplies like this at a disaster site, the Red Cross attempts to coordinate their efforts with local chapters and other local humanitarian aid groups. However, this coordination can often be problematic in areas that have recently been devastated by a disaster. Communication systems are often non-existent, and conditions can make it difficult or impossible to reach certain areas. Once immediate emergency medical concerns are dealt with, the Red Cross sets up bulk distribution centers in stable and easily accessible locations. Here, people can get food and water as well as necessities like diapers, flashlights, cleaning supplies, soap, coolers and ice. Red Cross delivery trucks will work through outlying areas to reach people who can't get to the distribution center for any reason [ref].