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Statement by the American Red Cross on GAO Report
The recently-issued US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report confirmed that the American Red
Cross has well-established plans in place to coordinate with FEMA in responding to disasters. Also, as
GAO noted, our coordination with FEMA is consistent with several best practices that are “benefitting” our
coordination efforts.
The Red Cross believes there are several already existing mechanisms in place to evaluate our disaster
response that provide considerable oversight of the American Red Cross. It is important to remember that
the American Red Cross is not a federal agency, and our disaster relief activities are almost entirely
funded by our generous donors – not the government – and carried out by a largely volunteer workforce.
Existing evaluation mechanisms include:
The American Red Cross Modernization Act of 2007 that already authorizes GAO to review Red
Cross involvement in federal government programs and activities. The Act also required creation
of an Office of the Ombudsman that reports annually to 10 Congressional committees.
The IRS reviews data on expenditures, revenues and governance that Red Cross is required to
submit annually to maintain our tax exempt status; the Department of Defense audits Red Cross
annual financial statements; FEMA and the State Department monitor our services in the rare
cases in which they fund those services through grants.
The Red Cross participates in regular after-action reviews convened by federal, state and local
government partners, and we also receive real-time feedback during disasters from local and
state emergency management. We welcome additional opportunities to participate in these
assessments and after-action reviews.
The Red Cross is led by a Board of Governors of which all but one member is independent. The
Board regularly reviews and monitors our disaster readiness and performance.
The Red Cross uses procedures and metrics to continuously evaluate and improve our services
so we can better serve the needs of individuals and families in disasters, including conducting
satisfaction surveys of the people we help and after-action reviews of major disasters.
The Red Cross is continuously monitored by nonprofit watchdogs such as Charity Navigator and
the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, which consistently give us strong ratings on transparency and
other measures.
For more on our response to the GAO report, please see our comments to the GAO report.