A quick-moving fire destroys a local family's home and everything they own. Hurricane Katrina swallows up 80 percent of New Orleans. A massive earthquake hits Haiti, affecting 3 million people.

When disasters such as these and others strike, many Americans want to help in whatever way they can. Many of them reach for their checkbooks and send donations to the American Red Cross. They choose the Red Cross because it's an organization they trust, an organization that says historically 91 cents of every dollar donated benefits victims.

Recently, however, the Red Cross has been less than forthcoming about how it spent $312 million in donations the nonprofit agency received in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, which hit the Northeast in 2012 and affected parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, including crippling the Jersey Shore.

ProPublica, a nonprofit group that carries out investigative, public-interest journalism, has been reporting on how money was spent after Sandy. It filed a public request in New York state and the Red Cross has been fighting ProPublica's request for details about how its donations were used, arguing information about its Sandy activities is a "trade secret."

When people give money to charities, they expect their donations to end up in the hands of those in need. When the Red Cross or any organization tries to avoid disclosing how donations were spent, it raises red flags, including whether money got to victims in a timely manner and whether too much money was spent on administrative costs and not enough went to help those in need.

The Red Cross enjoys a good reputation as an organization that uses charitable dollars efficiently. But stonewalling efforts at public transparency can only hurt the organization and its reputation with the American public, including potential contributors.

This strategy isn't good for the Red Cross. It isn't good for contributors. And it most certainly isn't good for the victims who rely on the Red Cross in times of great need.