Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with former President George Bush regarding the Presidential campaign for tsunami relief. During our discussion, President Bush asked that we encourage our private foundation clients to give generously to the charitable organizations listed on the USA Freedom Corps website (www.usafreedomcorps.gov).

To help you with your selection, Foundation Source performed a detailed analysis of the approximately 75 charities on the Freedom Corps list, applying certain objective criteria to come up with a select list of recommended charities for you to consider.

The criteria we used in our analysis are as follows:

• The organization is already established "on the ground" in the stricken countries.
• The organization has a strong history of funding from both private foundations and individuals (suggesting a broad pattern of due diligence).
• The organization has received favorable ratings by one or more of the leading charity watchdog groups: American Institute of Philanthropy, the Better Business Bureau and Charity Navigator.
• Historically, a minimum of 85% of donations received goes directly to programs and field services vs. fundraising and administrative costs.

The American Red Cross is well known for providing relief to victims of disasters. Currently, the organization has approximately 20 people in Maldives, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India planning relief efforts focused on the distribution of supplies, health and disease prevention, family reunification and psychosocial services. American Red Cross leadership will continue to work on the relief effort with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, its sister societies. So far, they have raised $177 million in pledges. They estimate that they will need $400 million to complete their recovery efforts.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) was founded in 1985 to alleviate poverty, hunger and disease throughout the world. Within the first 36 hours, AJWS supplied food, water storage containers, cooking supplies, temporary shelters, bedding, and school supplies through their local partners. AJWS also partnered with Direct Relief International to provide shipments of basic medical supplies, water purification materials and oral rehydration therapies to community-based groups in India and Sri Lanka, and with International Rescue Committee to provide emergency relief in Indonesia. AJWS will continue to provide ongoing rehabilitation and reconstruction, as well as income generating programs and job-skills training.

Americares is a disaster relief organization that supports medical assistance and provides emergency relief around the globe. Upon collecting product donations from the private sector, Americares solicits further funding to send aid where it is needed most via airlift or ocean cargo. Americares' Tsunami relief efforts are focused on airlifts carrying medicine and water purification equipment to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Recently, the organization sent 30,000 pounds of water purification equipment to Indonesia where two staffers distributed the goods in partnership with the International Relief Committee. To date, Americares has raised over $15 million. Note: representatives contacted by Foundation Source were unable provide information on additional funding needed to complete their relief efforts.

CARE is a humanitarian relief organization focused on global poverty; many know the organization for the now famous CARE package. CARE currently has emergency response teams distributing food, water purification tablets, shelter material and basic medical supplies in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Somalia. CARE seeks to raise $25 million in total for the recovery. Their website contains detailed descriptions of their current relief efforts.

Direct Relief International (DRI) provides urgently needed medical resources to emergency medical teams and local health facilities in response to specific requests. Most of the medical equipment and products that they provide are donated by pharmaceutical firms. DRI is moving very quickly with their relief efforts; their website provides up-to-date information on specific activities. Already, they have sent eleven shipments of medical goods with a wholesale value of over $4.7 million to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and India. They also are beginning to send shipments to hospitals and clinics in Thailand and Somalia. The organization has raised $3 million in cash to date, and received over $30 million in supplies and pharmaceuticals. Funds provided to DRI pay to ship donated goods and to purchase additional supplies.

Tsunami Response

The International Medical Corps (IMC) is a global humanitarian organization specializing in rapid response medical relief and longer-term health care capacity building and economic community development. Currently the organization is working in Sri Lanka and Indonesia on immediate problems relating to health care access. IMC's activities include operating mobile clinics to treat the sick and injured who have no access to health service, providing clean drinking water, and distributing hygiene and sanitation kits. IMC recently airlifted 10 tons of medical supplies to Banda Aceh. In addition, a team of 25 trauma-specialist physicians and nurses participated in two emergency airlifts to Banda Aceh. Drawing upon its expertise and relationships with local organizations, IMC is coordinating psychosocial services in Aceh and is expanding its outreach to locate displaced individuals in need of assistance. Additionally, IMC will work closely with local populations to help rebuild their communities and livelihoods.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides disaster relief to areas where they have operations. Currently the IRC's mobile relief teams in Indonesia's Aceh province have delivered emergency medical supplies to three tsunami affected communities to prevent the spread of water-borne diseases by distributing hygiene kits and providing access to safe drinking water and sufficient sanitation facilities. IRC plans to provide medicine and emergency supplies for 250,000 people over a three month period. Note: Foundation Source was unable to ascertain their funding needs or donations provided to date.

South Asia Tsunami

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) is an international development and relief organization with a reputation for helping anyone regardless of circumstance or budget. LWR's 50-year history in Southeast Asia enabled it to quickly commence rebuilding efforts in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. The organization began aiding survivors within 15 hours after the disaster. LWR has already developed a three phase recovery plan. They have sent or committed more than $500,000 to partners in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, with an additional $1 million allocated. According to their estimates, they will need another $1 million for Phase 2 and $4 million for Phase 3, which could last over five years. 100% of the donations made to LWR's South Asia Tsunami/Wave of Giving fund will go directly to help those in need.

Founded over 45 years ago as an arm of the Christian Medical Society, MAP (Medical Assistance Programs) mission is to provide essential medicines, prevent and eradicate disease, and promote community health development. MAP International's relief effort is focused on getting essential medical supplies to tsunami victims in southern Asia. They are working with a number of organizations who are on-the-ground advising them what the needs are and where to send needed supplies. MAP is also expanding its vaccination effort. Working with the EHA, MAP will help vaccinate 10,000 children on the Andoman and Nicobar Islands against measles and 5,000 children and 5,000 adults in Sri Lanka against Hepatitis A. MAP projects that the value of its initial medical relief for tsunami victims in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka will exceed $1.3 million. The organization expects to provide over $4 million in medicine and medical supplies in the coming weeks. Donations marked for "Tsunami" or "Asia" relief will go 100% to their relief effort, with no overhead.

Southeast Asia Earthquake

Mercy Corps has rapidly deployed staff and resources in three countries: India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In Indonesia, Mercy Corps has 28 emergency response teams that are delivering food, clean water and temporary shelter to over 100,000 displaced persons. In Aceh, their efforts are focused on providing shelter, water purification, sanitation and delivering essential items. In Putvilland, Sri Lanka, staff are distributing essential provisions and are beginning a small grants program aimed at revitalizing the area's devastated economy. In India, the organization is working with the Disaster Mitigation Institute (DMI) to aid the poorest and most vulnerable populations around the coastal city of Pondicherry. Mercy Corps is successfully delivering aid to remote and isolated areas of Sumatra, including Meulaboh and the Nias Islands. To date, they have spent over $2.1 million on emergency aid.

Asian Earthquake Fund

Because Oxfam has worked for years with grassroots groups in the hardest hit areas, they were able to mobilize local leadership to help survivors immediately after the tsunami hit. Oxfam needs to raise $5 million immediately to provide safe water, sanitation, food, shelter, and clothing to 36,000 families in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and India. They have put together a $13.3 million plan to distribute essential household items (such as soap, buckets, and coconut oil) and provide longer-term assistance (such as digging latrines, repairing water sources, and providing temporary shelter) for up to 60,000 people in four regions in India. The organization was appointed to provide clean water and sanitation facilities in the northern part of Sri Lanka and in Banda Aceh, Indonesia-one of the hardest hit areas. The organization received more than $16 million for their Asian Earthquake Fund in less than two weeks. Ninety percent of these funds will go directly to relief and rehabilitation.

Since 1970, Samaritan's Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine. Samaritan's Purse was among the first relief agencies to reach Meulaboh, one of Indonesia's hardest-hit and least-accessible cities, by organizing flights to airlift emergency supplies. Responding to the call for clean water, specialists from Samaritan's Purse water projects around the world are part of the relief teams and are setting up a series of water filtering systems in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Save the Children has created the Asia Earthquake/Tsunami Relief Fund to deliver much-needed food, water, medicines, and shelter to thousands of children and their families. Their initial focus is on Indonesia and the coastal areas of Sri Lanka and India. The organization has been giving out household kits of food, clothing, toothbrushes, etc., and have set up four safe areas for children separated from their parents in Sri Lanka and one in the Aceh province of Indonesia. In addition, they have sent staff members with specialized expertise to different regions: 25-30 individuals to date. As of early January, Save the Children had raised $25 million. They estimate that they will need an additional $100 million over the next 5 years in Indonesia alone.

Since 1947, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF has supported the work of UNICEF by fundraising for its programs and increasing public awareness of the challenges facing the world's children. UNICEF has rushed relief assistance to the countries hardest hit, working to meet the needs of survivors who need shelter, water, medical supplies and other assistance. UNICEF is working with the Government and the World Health Organization, in the worst affected areas in India providing urgent immunization to prevent the spread of disease. During the first two days, more than 14,000 children were immunized and given vitamin A. UNICEF has already delivered basic medicines and shelter supplies to displacement camps in Banda Aceh and has water purification supplies, recreation and school kits, and other vital materials en route. UNICEF also has mounted a relief effort to approximately 15,000 people Somalia affected by flooding The immediate concerns are to prevent waterborne diseases and to provide food, clean water and basic shelter.

World Vision teams are distributing survival packs of food, bottled water, medicine, sleeping mats, clothing, and household items to many of the worst affected areas in Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Myanmar. Their recovery efforts are comprehensive. In the Aceh province of Indonesia, they have distributed food to 4,100 people. They plan to distribute 10,000 packages of tents and supplies to homeless families and to establish 20 centers for traumatized children. In India, 100 local staff members are providing relief to 40,000 families in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. In Chennai, they provided aid to 4,000 families and are undertaking a massive cleaning effort following a broken sewage canal. In Sri Lanka, World Vision is providing critical supplies to 200,000 affected people and is working with the army to distribute goods and build latrines and homes. In cooperation with the Thai government, World Vision has responded to immediate needs with survival packs of food, water, clothing, and cooking utensils and are building 250 tin-roofed homes for the most vulnerable households. They plan to launch counseling programs for children and teenagers and are starting to rebuild three schools, construct 36 water tanks with latrines, and provide 470 sets of building materials for temporary housing. Although Myanmar was lightly affected, World Vision has provided relief assistance for nearly 1,900 people. The organization will assess long-term how to help rebuild infrastructure and support micro-enterprise development for those whose employment opportunities and businesses were destroyed.