Where to donate?

On a somewhat related note to the previous post Reuters also had a blog post entitled Don't donate money to Japan which seems to have a somewhat similar focus. It's not a case to avoid charity, but rather one focused on the limitations that NGOs face due to the manner in which funds are given:

Earmarking funds is a really good way of hobbling relief organizations and ensuring that they have to leave large piles of money unspent in one place while facing urgent needs in other places. ... we are all better at responding to human suffering caused by dramatic, telegenic emergencies than to the much greater loss of life from ongoing hunger, disease and conflict.

Even with telegenic emergencies, attention is often short-focused even if the resulting needs take longer to address.