*- RED CROSS donate suggestion -*

[d3wo]

I've sent this letter to webmaster@icrc.org

Greetings Red Cross,

We would like to donate to red cross,
but because of our international rules, it won't play fair.

You see, if we donate U$100, our bank will deduct it almost 15% for fee cost + etc.
They will ask our home address, our jobs, etc. just to check our tax.
So, in a developed country like we lived in right now, in order to donate,
we have to follow those steps !

It is sucks, to be honest.

It would be very best if you open a new donation in form of Bitcoin address.
And if you do, We will gladly  put your donation address to Bitcoin networks.
There will be no taxing, no wire transfer cost, no bullshit.

Thank You so much,
your sincerely,

What do you guys think ?

[imperi]

It is unprofessional to say "sucks".

[d3wo]

It is unprofessional to say "sucks".

Well it might be true tobe unprofessional but, it is the truth! corruptions, fees, etc.
It is sucks! 

Well perhaps somebody in the networks can send them more professional manner 

[evoorhees]

Every letter that goes to them like this one is good, and while I think the letter should've been proofread by a native English speaker, the raw authenticity of it perhaps makes it more compelling =)

It is sucks... hahaha that's how I feel about our current fiat monetary system as well!

[jackjack]

Unprofessional but so true
Good idea OP!

Imagine the Red Cross saying on their website they accept bitcoins: we'll see here dozens of "BUY BUY BUY!!!!!!!!111!1"

[Vince Torres]

Unprofessional but so true
Good idea OP!

Imagine the Red Cross saying on their website they accept bitcoins: we'll see here dozens of "BUY BUY BUY!!!!!!!!111!1"

Probably not, probably not.

[Kolbas]

I think it's a very good method, it can be used everywhere!
I suggest making a board, where people would say what things they are ready to bye for bitcoins or to whom donate.
If two or three musicians are willing to bye Fender guitars, write a letter!
And so on

[d3wo]

You know guys,

When you willing to give some of your fortune to people all over the worlds,
foods, medicine, and blankets, and espect nothing in return.

But, in the middle way, you've meet some people asking your name, address, phone numbers, id cards, etc.
It can make some donator moods down.

moreover, if the data gets stolen... ... 
bad people will know how much you donate... , your name, your phone numbers, your address, id cards
That is a very bad thing...

[datguywhowanders]

OP,

I think the Bitcoin community appreciates your effort, and it is true that getting large recognized entities to accept Bitcoins as donations or payments will certainly help the cause.

However, I think at this point in time it is best to put a very polished and professional face on our dealings with the public. Things like "suck" and "bullshit" are very much the truth, and I agree with your sentiments. Unfortunately, we need the positive press coverage for the time being to encourage early adoption.

Please consider having a native speaker proof read and recommend a more business-like letter to the organizations you would like to contact.

Otherwise, I like your spirit and enthusiasm. Keep it up!

[supermine]

I think that's an awesome idea. See, Bitcoin has enough miners and bad publicity, but lacks good publicity and the idea by the threadstarter is creative, progressive, touches the political space in a very good way and is therefore awesome!

I highly recommend someone translates the letter to higher English and give it a professional touch, so that the RedCross feel themselves taken seriously.

+1

[Icy-]

GREAT idea. Costs them nothing to do, they get donations, and its promoting bitcoin.

[d3wo]

GREAT idea. Costs them nothing to do, they get donations, and its promoting bitcoin.

Ya, all i want a do is our bitcoins can help them to save lifes 
Is there someone in the network can help me with this idea ?

[ledskof]

I have a suggestion: Donate to some other organization.  Red Cross is just about the worst place to donate money.  If you actually desire to have a tiny little fraction of the money you donate being used to help people, then be my guest.  But if you would like to do something besides paying a despicable amount of overhead, which a large portion of is just making executives richer, you'd do better picking just about ANY other charity at random.

Find some local place near you where people need help.  Talk to them about how to use bitcoin if that is all your really care about.

I can't believe people even still talk about giving money to the red cross after the last 10 years of their crap.  Just google it and you'll see plenty of pages about how awful that org is.  You'll even find it all through the official propaganda news media.

[DamienBlack]

Red cross overhead is only 9% according to most charity watchdogs, and a lot of that is outreach. That is pretty low for such a large organization. You shouldn't disparage a good thing.

[ledskof]

Red cross overhead is only 9% according to most charity watchdogs, and a lot of that is outreach. That is pretty low for such a large organization. You shouldn't disparage a good thing.

How can a figure like 9% be derived when they bank money for future use?  How can that number be believed with the kind of mishandling of funds they continue to get away with after disasters such as the 89 San Francisco Earthquake, the OKC Bombing, 911, Katrina, Haiti?

Red Cross can bank as much money out of donations as they want.  They can divert the money to any cause they want.  When someone donates money to a cause, they want it spent on that cause, not tossed in the bank so executive salaries and incentives can be guaranteed for years to come.

I'll never give money to Red Cross again. There are plenty of charities to give money too, even during major disasters.  I don't need the government's official endorsements and telling me who to give to and who to be careful about, and the media advertising for Red Cross.  I can do the research myself.  I don't give money to ignorantly feel better because I have an official tax right off for "doing good."  I actually want to help people.

For people just wanting to give money to do good in general, don't just give it to the Red Cross.  Find a local charity.

[DamienBlack]

Red cross overhead is only 9% according to most charity watchdogs, and a lot of that is outreach. That is pretty low for such a large organization. You shouldn't disparage a good thing.

How can a figure like 9% be derived when they bank money for future use?  How can that number be believed with the kind of mishandling of funds they continue to get away with after disasters such as the 89 San Francisco Earthquake, the OKC Bombing, 911, Katrina, Haiti?

Red Cross can bank as much money out of donations as they want.  They can divert the money to any cause they want.  When someone donates money to a cause, they want it spent on that cause, not tossed in the bank so executive salaries and incentives can be guaranteed for years to come.

I'll never give money to Red Cross again. There are plenty of charities to give money too, even during major disasters.  I don't need the government's official endorsements and telling me who to give to and who to be careful about, and the media advertising for Red Cross.  I can do the research myself.  I don't give money to ignorantly feel better because I have an official tax right off for "doing good."  I actually want to help people.

For people just wanting to give money to do good in general, don't just give it to the Red Cross.  Find a local charity.

These question are why we have dedicated watchdog organizations that make it their business to answer them.

[ribuck]

I've sent this letter to webmaster@icrc.org
...
What do you guys think ?

I think there's no point sending your email to their webmaster.

If you want anyone to read your message (rather than deleting it along with all the Nigerian scams), print it out on paper and mail it to the Red Cross.

[d3wo]

Hi guys,

So after I read all your replies, I decided to browse, and found this address http://www.charitynavigator.org/
And i've emailed two more, let us see if there is some respons from them 

It's http://www.gchope.org/home.html and http://www.map.org/
and I've "upgrade" the letter a little bit :

Greetings MAP,

We would like to donate to MAP, but our international rules doesn't play fair.

You see, if we donate U$100, our bank will deduct it almost 15% for fee cost + etc.
They will ask our home address, our jobs, etc. just to check our tax.
So, in a developed country like we lived in right now, in order to donate,
we have to follow those steps !

It would be great if you open a new donation in form of Bitcoin address.
And if you do, we will gladly  put your donation address to Bitcoin networks.
There will be no taxing, no wire transfer cost for us.
Expect us, expect our donations

Thank You,
Your sincerely,

Any effort from bitcoin community is wonderfull 

[nhodges]

If you're interested in getting the Red Cross to accept donations via Bitcoin, please feel free to email or snail mail them this flyer: http://bitcoinsforcharity.org/flyer.pdf

It explains a little about Bitcoin (not too much to be overwhelming, but provides a link to WeUseCoins.com for more info) and encourages charitable organizations to officially accept donations via Bitcoin.

I've mailed this to Red Cross already, as well as the Susan G. Komen foundation, but I'm sure when they start receiving these left and right, they'll think again about using Bitcoin!

[dennis_sweden]

It's a good idea to spread the use/awareness of Bitcoin and help a good cause at the same time, however even your updated letter falls far short of conveying the messasge with an appropriate use of linguistics. Also, it is never good to use negatives (ask for home addresses etc.) as it immediatley begs the question as to why you do not want to disclose such information. It is better to extol the virtues of bitcoin, and explain how it is beneficial to them as receivers.

But it is a great idea!