In addition to the satisfaction of knowing that you are helping the Red Cross to do our important work, donations are fully deductible as allowed by law.  There may be tax benefits to making significant gifts. For example, when you make a contribution of appreciated securities, you are eligible for a tax deduction and may be able to avoid paying capital gains tax.  Please call 1-877-REDCROSS, ext. 2617, for further information.

Your company can:

• Provide direct monetary support
• Sponsor vehicles, programs and events
• Include the American Red Cross in Greater New York in your employee giving and matching gift program
• Provide venues
• Provide publicity
• Provide expertise
• Provide services

The American Red Cross in Greater New York relies on companies with local operations to take responsibility for protecting and preparing the communities their employees and customers live and work in by providing the Red Cross with crucial resources and expertise.  If you would like information about how your company or your employees can support or partner with the American Red Cross in Greater New York, please call David Gibb at 1-877-REDCROSS ext. 2616. Your company, acting with the Red Cross, can help New Yorkers prepare for and respond to emergencies every single day in our community. Please visit our Corporate Sponsorship page for more information.

The American Red Cross in Greater New York is not collecting letters or care packages to be sent to soldiers. The Department of Defense (DoD) has advised us of heightening security concerns and transportation restrictions, and has further cautioned us against collecting a large amount of goods.  In the past, the military and DoD have accepted care packages directed to "Any Service Member."  However, the DoD has suspended its own "Any Service Member" services due to security and logistical concerns.

Electronic messages of support and gratitude can be sent through "Operation Dear Abby."

You can also help by making a donation to the American Red Cross Service to Armed Forces (SAF) - Iraq Response program.  Around the clock and around the globe, during times of personal crisis, SAF provides assistance and comfort to U.S. military members and their families. Your gift will support the nationally coordinated Red Cross services provided to military families across the country and to the American service men and women located throughout the world. Click here to make an online donation.

Additional resources on how to support the military:

Defend America
An official Defense Department website, offering the latest news, photographs, transcripts and other information about the U.S.-led global effort against terrorism.

USO (United Service Organizations)
Providing morale, welfare and recreation-type services to uniformed military personnel.

Operation Uplink
A unique program that keeps military personnel and hospitalized veterans in touch with their families and loved ones by providing them with a free phone card.

Unfortunately we are not able to accept 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 and equitable way.  In addition, purchasing such items locally and in quantity assists the recovery of the local economy, while importing them ties up vital distribution networks. 

Because of these cost and logistical concerns, we recommend that you donate such items to a local neighborhood or New York city-wide organization that is equipped to put them to the best possible local use, or perhaps sell them to raise money for a donation.

Examples of items we regretfully cannot accept:

Used clothing
Used cars/trucks/vans
Miscellaneous new clothing
Miscellaneous computer/communications/audiovisual equipment
Food (including canned goods)
Medical equipment
Fabric

The following organizations may accept such items:

Goodwill of Greater New York (Accepts clothing and household goods.)
Salvation Army of Greater New York (Accepts clothing and household goods.)

Although the Greater New York Chapter does not do so, the National American Red Cross is happy to accept donations of airline miles and spare change.

We do accept sizeable, bulk donations if they meet a current or potential need of disaster victims or can assist us in providing services.  Bulk donations are typically new (unused), shrink-wrapped and palletized items, usually direct from the manufacturer or distributor, and in most cases must be transported by the donor (unless they are intended for local distribution).  In some cases, bulk donations of specialized or standardized equipment (such as video equipment for our classrooms and instructors, communications equipment for our Disaster Action Teams, etc.) would be welcome. 

Examples of items we would be pleased to accept:

400 new sweat-suits in useful sizes
25 new classroom DVD players
200 new/packaged Teddy-bears
60 new high-quality professional flashlights

If you would like to discuss making this type of donation, please call 1-877-REDCROSS, ext. 2030.

Although the Greater NY Chapter does not accept cars for donation, some of our sister American Red Cross chapters in Nassau County and New Jersey do.  To donate your vehicle to them, visit the American Red Cross Vehicle Donation Center.

The American Lung Association also accepts vehicle donations.

We applaud your desire to help a family at a difficult time, but unfortunately gifts for a specific family or person cannot be made through the Red Cross. This is because we are committed to helping every family in need recover from emergencies by providing food, clothing, shelter and other essential services and supplies. We provide help to each family based on need. If we received special contributions for a specific family, that family might receive more assistance than others in similar circumstances, which would violate our principles of providing help equally to all who need it.

Although we are still accepting donations designated for the tsunami, the American public's response has already exceeded the generous goals we set for this response.  We invite you to consider enabling us to prepare for and respond to the next disaster by making a donation to your local chapter here in Greater New York, to the American Red Cross National Disaster Relief Fund, or to the American Red Cross International Response Fund.

The Red Cross does not operate a blood services program in New York City. Blood donations for our area are handled by the New York Blood Center, which can be reached at 1-800-933-BLOOD.