Seventeen days after the massive earthquake struck, donors have contributed more than $560-million to 40 U.S. nonprofit groups, a Chronicle tally finds. (See a list of tallies from the organizations.)
The pace of giving for Haiti is running ahead of the amount donated in the same period after the September 11 attacks in 2001 and the Asian tsunamis in 2004 but slower than the outpouring of gifts after the flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
In the eight days after the flooding started in New Orleans, Americans gave at least $580-million for relief efforts.
Last week's star-studded telethon, organized by the actor George Clooney, had brought in $66-million as of Friday. The Entertainment Industry Foundation, a nonprofit group that collected the telethon money, has released information about how the funds will be distributed among seven relief organizations.
Many groups are raising large sums for relief efforts in Haiti online and through text messages. So far, the American Red Cross has received more than $30-million through its campaign to encourage $10 gifts through texts.
That's a record for the group in terms of text messages. In contrast, it raised $200,000 from texts during the 2008 hurricane season.
Over all, the Red Cross had raised approximately $198-million through Friday.
Small Charities Win Big Donations
Less-well-known organizations, too, are benefiting from donors' generosity. Network for Good, an online charity portal, has processed $5.2-million in donations for relief efforts in Haiti.
While some of that money went to high-profile organizations, Network for Good says that smaller charities that had been working in Haiti before the earthquake—such as Angelwish, Beyond Borders, and Hope for Haiti's Children Ministries—have raised tens of thousands of dollars as well.
Charity officials say the pace of online and text giving, in particular, has slowed in the last few days. But they say they expect contributions from corporations and foundations to continue to add up.
“Some of the bigger corporations that have worked with Brother's Brother will give larger checks,” said Karen Dempsey, vice president in charge of fund raising with the Pittsburgh aid group. “The $25 checks are starting to wane.”
Corporations are also stepping up. The Business Civic Leadership Center, a nonprofit group affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, announced on Tuesday that 299 companies had contributed more than $122-million to the relief effort.
We've made it easy for you to submit news about your organization’s events, people, and competitions. Here's how you can tell us about:
Get more great stories about the nonprofit world delivered to your inbox every weekday. 
Comments
1. katiekeating - February 01, 2010 at 06:03 pm
It's wonderful that smaller charities that have already been working hard in Haiti are receiving funds from the massive outpouring of funds from donations large and small.
One way to be sure that donations are going to such groups is to contribute to the Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Fund at the Boston Foundation. It's a different kind of fund in several ways. First, it funds trusted organizations in Haiti that not only have a long-standing history in that country, but are also grassroots and community based. These organizations, like the Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Fund itself, are focused on long-term reconstruction and human rights. Also, this fund is devoting resources to meeting the needs of Haitian Americans affected by the earthquake in so many ways. Finally, this collaborative fund will make grants by a committee including Haitian Americans, giving them a voice in the reconstruction that country.
One final thing I'll add that makes this fund for Haiti so special is that every dollar (up to $1million) will be matched by the Ansara Family Fund. These days we are all trying to find was to spend smarter, make our money work harder, go farther. The Haiti Relief and Reconstruction Fund at the Boston Foundation does just that. For more information please visit
http://www.tbf.org/Giving/GivingDetail.aspx?id=13244
2. wisegiving - February 01, 2010 at 07:27 pm
A second vote of interest in the Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation, a collaborative, community-inspired fund matched dollar for dollar by the Ansara Family Fund. The fund's initial grants were made to large relief agencies and hospital foundations. Importantly, the initial grants also included two to assist with the needs of Haitians in Boston (and the surrounding areas) whose lives have been tragically impacted by the loss of family, friends, colleagues and countrymen.
Future grants will be made by a committee including Haitians and Haitian-Americans with the goal of identifying Haitian NGOS with the capacity to contribute meaningfully to long-term reconstruction and human rights.