Note that in some countries, a large part of the cost of telephone donation calls goes to the operator. Donating via a bank transfer, Paypal, or credit card will avoid that overhead.
Also please note that donations of blankets, foodstuffs, teddy bears and most other non-financial supplies are unlikely to help. Several organizations have pointed out that in this case the cost of transporting and distributing supplies far exceeds the cost of buying them locally.
Donations by United Kingdom taxpayers to charities established in the United Kingdom will normally attract tax relief of 28% of the donation, direct to the charity concerned. Please note you must specify that the donation is to be treated as Gift Aid to let the charity recover the tax relief.
The U.S. government agency responsible for economic and humanitarian assistance around the world (USAID) maintains a list of relief organizations working in the disaster area. The White House maintains a site about US relief efforts.
