"Gifts That Give Back"

Are you wondering what kinds of ways you can use your purchasing powers to empower a good cause this holiday season?

Recognizing the desire to support charities through purchasing dollars, the American Red Cross has partnered with companies in the U.S. to provide consumers with the opportunity to purchase popular holiday gifts while helping those in need.

Susan Murray, director of Corporate Partnerships and Cause Marketing for the American Red Cross, was online Monday, Dec. 12, at 2 p.m. ET to talk about charitable gift giving opportunities for this holiday season.

The transcript follows.

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Susan Murray: Thank you so much for having me online today. I appreciate the opportunity and am happy to answer your questions about ways to help this holiday season with your purchasing dollars. The 2005 Cone Holiday Trend Tracker reports that more than half of Americans intend on buying a holiday gift associated with a cause and/or will buy from a retailer that supports a cause.

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Alexandria, Va: We've given cash donations to the Red Cross. but my four-year-old is totally obsessed with the idea of sending physical toys to Katrina victims. I know all the reasons why cash is better, but that is a message lost on my little one for obvious reasons. I want to encourage her philanthropic tendencies. Any suggestions?

Susan Murray: First, thank you for encouraging and properly directing your child's generous spirit. As you know, the Red Cross is unable to accept small, individual donations or collections of items such as clothing, food or cleaning supplies. The cost to sort, package and distribute these types of donations to disaster victims is almost always greater than the cost of purchasing the items locally, and it is logistically impossible to distribute a wide variety of individual items in a meaningful way. The Red Cross also feels that it is empowering to a disaster victim to go out and purchase basic necessities that meet their personal needs. So, to answer your question, your child could collect coins for the Red Cross and other worthy charities and go to any Coinstar machine available at many grocery stores such as Giant Food and Harris Teeter. Coinstar charges just 7.4% for this service. Thanks again to you and your child.

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Washington, D.C.: I am a regular blood donor (every 3 months) and am aware that the pool of donors is ever growing smaller. I try to convince many people I work with as well as friends and neighbors to donate but hear the usual excuses (no time, afraid of needles, etc). A couple of months ago I sent an idea to the Red Cross web site concerning a tax deduction for blood donations. If we can get a break for giving away our used sweaters then why not one for the most valuable donation of all - the gift of life?

Susan Murray: While we think that the gift of life is invaluable, I don't know that the IRS has arrived at a determined value for giving blood. Thanks for the suggestion, I will pass it along.

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Washington, D.C.: With all the disastrous events that have occurred this year, I'm torn about how to spend so much money on gifts without feeling utterly selfish. But at the same time, I can't pick just one group of people or organization that I think most deserves my donation, since there are so many. How do you recommend I best resolve this feeling?

Susan Murray: A few ideas for you. You could purchase gifts that result in donations such as Red Cross or UNICEF holiday cards or one of the many CD's and T-shirts that are being sold now to benefit Katrina relief efforts. Even Oprah is selling a 20th Anniversary DVD collection that will benefit her Angel Network charity. To resolve your conflict about giving to just one organization, you could spread your purchasing dollars among several worthy causes.

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Arlington, Va.: How many calls is the Red Cross getting about Katrina victims these days. Have the donations seriously ebbed since the weeks immediately following the hurricane, or are you receiving a steady flow of concern/contributions?

Susan Murray: The Red Cross has provided financial assistance to 1.2 million families and has served more than 50 million meals and snacks to survivors of the hurricanes. All but one of our shelters are closed but the need for meals and counseling remains great. Thanks to the generosity of the American public, we have raised $1.82 billion to date. We expect the entire relief effort to cost just over $2 billion. Donations are still arriving every day and we hope to meet our fundraising goal.

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Alexandria, Va.: Are there any items we can purchase for this holiday that support the Red Cross?

Susan Murray: There are many products available at retail and online that benefit the Red Cross. We have T-shirts designed by Terri Hatcher, Michael Stars, Kenneth Cole and Major League Baseball. Everything from preparedness kits to wristbands, books, and CDs. For a full list of the products that benefit hurricane relief, as well as some that benefit all humanitarian work of the Red Cross, you can check our web site.

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washingtonpost.com: at www.redcross.org

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Shopper: So tell us, how does this work? Does a store/chain give a percentage of all sales to the Red Cross? Does a store choose particular items, sales of which benefit the Red Cross? Does the purchaser get any credit for the donation or does all tax credit go to the store? Or is it something else? And, has the Red Cross "approved" these stores/items, or are you accepting all such donations as gifts?

Thank you for clarifying this issue.

Susan Murray: You have asked several really good questions. First, we have rarely had a store/chain offer to donate a percentage of all their sales. Nordstrom's did this once for us after 9/11 and the effort raised $2.8 million from one weekend. I wish we could replicate that every weekend. Many national retailers -- including Lowe's, Costco, Safeway, Best Buy, Amazon -- agreed to collect customer donations for the Red Cross following Katrina. All told 12,000 stores nationwide collected funds and have raised well over $50 million for the relief efforts. The customer, of course, would receive the tax deduction for this donation.

You next asked about product promotions. Target is currently selling a Red Cross, co-branded preparedness kit which sells for $29.99. Every kit sold generates a $10 donation to the American Red Cross up to a maximum of $1 million. You would not be able to deduct this $10 from your taxes because Target is making the donation.

The Red Cross enters into a written agreement with anyone using the name and or logo when selling a product or service. Most approved partners may found on our web site. As you can imagine, following the hurricanes, many companies wanted to partner with the Red Cross. We hope that they all sought and secured permission to raise funds on behalf of the Red Cross.

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Arlington, Va.: Susan, As someone who educates the public and corporations about how best they can help after international emergencies, I certainly appreciate your response to the first question. We have had great success working with young people who undertake bakes sales, walkathons, school fairs and other programs to raise funds for international disaster relief. I find that often it is easier to teach young people rather than the adults, why "cash is best!" Your readers can find additional information about how best they can help at http://www.cidi.org .

Susan Murray: Thanks for this additional resource.

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Washington, D.C.: Does the American Red Cross commit itself uniquely to American needs? How does the organization choose to distribute its donations around the holiday season?

Susan Murray: The American Red Cross commits itself to the American public in local communities nationwide during the holiday season and beyond. More than 800 local chapters of the American Red Cross are respond to over 70,000 local disasters throughout the year. In Washington, DC, we are served by the National Capital Chapter who also provided volunteers, staff and resources to the nationwide Katrina effort. Beyond disasters, local chapters provide critically needed community education and services in health and safety and biomedical services. They need your support of all their lifesaving programs and services.

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Washington DC: How much money does cause-marketing raise for the Red Cross annually? How do I know how much is benefiting your charity?

Susan Murray: Last year, we raised more than $40 million from products, customer donation programs and program sponsorships. So far this year, we've raised roughly $65 million through product promotions, customer donation programs and program sponsorships. In addition to these funds, many of our corporate partners also provide pure philanthropic gifts to support the humanitarian work of the Red Cross.

It is always wise to read the product packaging carefully and see how much of the purchase price is going toward the cause. Better Business Bureau guidelines require that a cause marketing promotion must clearly disclose how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services. The disclosure should include the actual or anticipated amount of the purchase price that will be donated, the duration of the promotion and whether there is a minimum or maximum donation. Better Business Bureau guidelines require that the amount of the purchase price that will benefit the charity, the duration of the campaign and any guaranteed maximum or minimum contribution be clearly marked on the packaging. The American Red Cross requires that these guidelines are followed when entering into cause marketing partnerships, and we clearly state what the funds will be used for. Most of our officially sanctioned national cause marketing products are listed on our web site

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Reston, Va.: What is your sense regarding the trend of philanthropy in America in the past few years- do you feel that Americans are becoming more aware of/generous towards the needy in their country, especially after Hurricane Katrina? Or do you consider this year to be pretty consistent with previous years?

Susan Murray: While this year has been unusual for the American Red Cross, giving generally remains steady and is growing at a slow rate. Several recent philanthropic studies indicate that episodic disaster giving is not cannibalizing other charitable giving. We were humbled by the generosity of the public following the tsunami and the hurricanes.

We are proud and honored that the public chooses the American Red Cross as the conduit for their compassion.

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Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: Hi-

If we purchase gifts benefiting the Red Cross, how will the funds be used? Do these go into general operating funds? Disaster relief funds? Are they Katrina-specific?

Also, what is the current percentage of every dollar that is spent on services vs overhead? (I have no problem with overhead, staff need salaries they can live on, etc, just want to be sure the percentages remain reasonable.)

Susan Murray: The products you purchase will specify if the donation is designated to hurricane relief efforts. If the product simply states that it benefits the American Red Cross, the funds will support all of our life saving services.

In answer to your second question, ninety-one percent of all donations directly supports mission related programs and services. Only nine percent goes towards management and other administrative costs. The American Red Cross has received a four star ranking from Charity Navigator as a result of our low overhead costs.

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Washington, DC: First of all, thank you to the Red Cross for all the amazing work your organization does every day.

Question - are there any holiday ornaments available now that would benefit the Red Cross?

Susan Murray: Target and HARVEY LEWIS will donate a total of 50 percent of the original sales price ($14.99) for every special Hurricane Relief Ribbon holiday ornament, accented with Swarovski crystals, sold to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. To purchase, visit target.com. Also available at a Target store near you. Red Cross also has a holiday ornament available on our online store.

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Susan Murray: Thank you for all of your great questions. Have a wonderful, safe holiday season. Remember to support your local Red Cross!

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Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.