donate money without knowing where it really goes (haiti thread)

I've often watched privileged people make themselves feel a little better about the relative advantages they have by donating money to various "causes." Some big-name organization will come along soliciting donations, and because the privileged person recognizes the big-name, they feel safe giving money to it. Or rather, they think, giving money through it. Because they've heard the big non-profit's name before, they feel assured that the money will get to the people in need that the organization claims to be helping.

Trouble is, many of these big-name organizations don't end up giving all that much of the donated funds to the people who need it. The organizations themselves are sometimes too big, with many internal expenses, including in some cases enormous "compensation packages" for upper-level management. In some cases, "non-profit" is a misnomer.

But some potential donors know about this problem, and they don't want to give money merely to make themselves feel better. They want more of their donated money to go to the people they're trying to help. How do these donors find less renowned, but actually more efficient charitable organizations?

One way to start is to ask people you think would probably know -- many of the readers of this blog, for instance.

As we all know, a crisis of unimaginably horrific proportions has hit the people of Haiti. Can you recommend charitable organizations that are more likely to get most of the donations they receive to to the people there?

If so, it would also be helpful to tell us briefly, if you can, why you know a non-profit or two is reliable in this sense, or to provide an explanatory link or two.

This is also an open thread on Haiti -- what else have you noticed about recent events, including the media coverage and the reactions of people around you, in terms of race and privilege?