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Carriers Delay Paying Japan's Texting Donations
Julie188 writes "As the fallout from the Japanese earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown tragedy continues to unfold, Americans want to help. We learned from the Haiti disaster that the easiest thing to do is to text a donation to our favorite relief organization. But, unlike Haiti, Japan's text-to-give donations will take as long as three months to get to the relief agency. And the company handling these donations, mGive.com, has not waived the transaction fees it charges relief agencies."
I wish there would be greater disclosure about this and many other things. It can take up to 3 months for the US, but some other countries such as Latin America and Asian countries not called China and Japan it can take up to 6 months. In the EU, some people don't have to pay their bill monthly, there are quarterly and bi-annual billing cycles. It's a shame, because if there was full disclosure many people would have donated via another method. Hopefully all this exposure will get them to declare this a "crisis" and get the funds moving immediately.
P.S. Please be careful when giving your child a cell phone, it's as easy to buy virtual goods with it as a credit card and companies like mine have no way of knowing that you have given it to your child. If you would like to block these types of purchases, contact your local wireless company and have them remove "Premium SMS" from your child's phone. I wish all wireless carriers were forced to disclose this whenever anyone purchases a "Family Plan".
Just because you profit when you help someone, does not mean you have to be an ass about it, and delay the contributions by three months. [edit] Just noticed mGive is a NON-profit.
I see Microsoft had to apologize too:
"Microsoft apologizes for using Japan disaster to market Bing"
http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/microsoft-apologizes-using-japan-disaster-mar
My AC stalker: " I personally agree with your posts most of the time, but that won't keep me from modding you troll"
This is one of the reasons all the news outlets told people to wait until the smoke settled to donate to the relief effort. Profiteers sit around waiting for these types of disasters. Even if this isn't necessarily profiteer related, you should always know where your money is going when you donate and you never will with these "txt xxxxx to donate $10" numbers, unless they're spearheaded by someone like the Red Cross or another charity that has a plan outlined.
Wise men say, "Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza."
I've had a problem in the past with the Red Cross because they do not segregate donations to specific causes (or, at least, they haven't in the past). That means that if you make a donation to the Red Cross for the Japanese disaster, that doesn't mean that your money necessarily even goes to Japanese relief. And if there is any left over after their (often very limited) efforts, it goes back into their coffers--irrespective of how it was supposed to be earmarked.
My grandfather always used to tell me that he would die before he ever gave to the Red Cross. When he was in Korea, the Red Cross used to show up and sell soldiers coffee and donuts (at a profit, no less). No money meant no coffee and donuts for you, G.I.
I'm not disparaging their work (I don't know enough to comment on that). I'm just saying that they need to be much more upfront with people about where their money is actually going.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
"Note, too, that when you typically text a donation, the organization receiving it has to pay a transaction fee which may or may not be passed along to you on your bill. The mGive Foundation is a non-profit, that charges nothing to certify a charity to the carriers. The carriers forward 100% of the donation amount to the charitable organization. But both the carrier and the similarly named "mGive.com" may still charge a transaction fee. mGive.com is a for-profit arm of the company Mobile Accord. It runs the technology involved in taking text donations (and performing other mobile fundraising campaigns for non-profits). In addition to setup fees and monthly fees it charges a per transaction fee of $0.35 + 3.5 %."
So mGive Foundation - the one you'll probably find if you do an internet search, is a non-profit who will certify the charity and tell you that 100% of the donation goes to the cause, but mGive.com - a separate entity - is for profit and takes their cut off of the top, then forwarding the remaining "donation" to be sent along. Nice. I wonder which MBA thought that one up. Whoever he is, he's probably sitting on a beach somewhere safe, sipping a Mai Tai right now.
Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
The delay is from the carrier, not mGive. Hardly surprising that mGive isn't going to process transactions for free (they have bills too), nor that they're going to wait until they actually get the money to send it on to the charities. Just because you service not-for-profit corporations (and mind you, "not for profit" just means that there aren't shareholders to get a share of the coin, not that nobody makes any money) doesn't mean you don't have to make money to stay alive.
Charity Navigator or something similar. Reward efficiency (i.e. high % of dollar goes to actual cause). Sometimes though if you're trying to support a certain cause, it's hard to find a charity that ranks high.
Really quickly I see:
AmeriCares
International Relief Teams
Direct Relief International
Atlas Shrugged : Thematic Story
There are three parties involved here:
charity like RedCross, etc - have not requested expedited funds according to mGive.
mGive - is just the conduit from the wireless company to the charity. They are non-profit but supported by a transaction fee. Its unlikely they have enough cash sitting around to give expedited payments.
Wireless company - Verizon, etc. They don't send the payment to mGive until you pay your wireless bill. Otherwise they are making a loan to the charity with no collateral. They DO have the cash, tho.
With the money having to take 3 steps to get from you to the charity, 30-90 days is still quick.
Intron: the portion of DNA which expresses nothing useful.
Which is why you should go to www.redcross.org, click the "DONATE" button in the upper right corner and fill out the required fields and donate directly to them. Or you can call them on this thing called a "phone"... 1-800 RED CROSS ( I guess that is too hard to remember), where someone helpful will answer and take your information.
Getting the money to the organization in one step and not waiting 90 days is hugely important. The money is needed NOW (and continuing).
Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.