# Red Cross a non-profit organization? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107 "2001-09-12T17:34:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/1 "2001-09-12T17:34:50Z")
Is the American Red Cross a “non-profit” organization? I was wondering because I belong to a non-profit organization and we want to donate money to the relief fund. But we can only donate to another non-profit (501.c.3, for those of you who know tax code) for reasons I don’t understand, but my local treasurer assures me important. I can’t get into the [redcross.org](http://redcross.org) website to search. Grrrr. I quick google search brought up that there are _other_organizations that believe the Red Cross is a non-profit, but I can’t find what the Red Cross says about itself. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/2 "2001-09-12T17:49:08Z")
My SO is an accountant for the RC and she says their non-profit. ---
**Author:** ![BF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5ac83/32.png) [@BF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BF)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/3 "2001-09-12T17:50:22Z")
Sorry, My SO is an accountant for the RC and she says **they are** non-profit. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/4 "2001-09-12T17:50:36Z")
The British Red Cross is a not-for-profit, so I’d be surprised if the American one wasn’t. [This link may help](http://www.give.org/reports/redcross.asp) ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/5 "2001-09-12T17:54:08Z")
My father works for the Red Cross at their Holland Laboratory for Biomedical Research in Rockville, MD. One of the things he often talks about is how difficult it is to get decent salary increases when working for a nonprofit. They are, indeed, nonprofit. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/6 "2001-09-12T18:32:22Z")
I can also confirm that they are a 501© non-profit organization. I’ve worked with groups who’ve raised funds for them, and they do meet the criteria. Remember, too, that there are two seperate groups under the Red Cross name. The Red Cross is the place to go to for blood donations; the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund is the group that comes out to disaster sites to provide food, clothing and shelter for victims. Both are non-profits, but the 2nd group is the one that needs money the most. ---
**Author:** ![Guy\_Propski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@Guy\_Propski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guy_Propski)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2001, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/red-cross-a-non-profit-organization/81107/7 "2001-09-12T21:20:17Z")
And if you want more confirmation, go to [http://www.amazon.com](http://www.amazon.com) and check out their Red Cross donation page. At the bottom, it clearly states that the American Red Cross is a 501©(3) corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Incidentally, there seems to be a lot of ways to donate money on-line to the Red Cross. In addition to Amazon ([http://www.amazon.com/paypage/PKAXFNQH7EKCX](http://www.amazon.com/paypage/PKAXFNQH7EKCX)), there’s a link through Yahoo! ([http://paydirect.yahoo.com/PD/onePage/onePageRedCrossMoney-drv.pd](http://paydirect.yahoo.com/PD/onePage/onePageRedCrossMoney-drv.pd)). Both sites are waiving their regular fees, so the ARC will get 100% of the money. And there’s lots of ways to donate listed on the ARC website ([http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html](http://www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html)). I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you’ve been trying to claim that you haven’t been able to figure out a way to help, the Internet just called your bluff. You can be cheap and donate $1 through [Amazon.com](http://Amazon.com), and you’ll still be able to claim you helped. So what are still doing hanging around here?