Observations that donors are not giving much money to provide relief for efforts to clean up the gulf oil spill appear to be borne out by the meager amount given in response to a telethon aired on CNN this week.
The two-hour star-studded broadcast featuring talk-show host Larry King on Monday night generated $1.8-million. By contrast, a similar broadcast with Mr. King raised $10-million following the Haiti earthquake in January.
Fund-raising experts and charity leaders have speculated that the sluggish pace of donations is because Americans expect BP, as the company responsible for the spill, to pay for the damage it has caused.
Donations in response to this week’s telethon are going to the National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, and United Way Worldwide. CNN says it selected those groups as a way to highlight three areas of need: saving animals, restoring natural habitats, and helping people whose livelihoods are being ravaged by the historic disaster.
Donations are still trickling in, but officials say that the National Wildlife Federation has raised the most so far from the telethon — more than $835,000. United Way Worldwide has raised $475,000, while the Nature Conservancy has raised more than $400,000.
0 Responses to Telethon for Gulf Cleanup Generates Relatively Few Gifts
jayfrost - June 23, 2010 at 3:44 pm
While expectations that BP will pay for the clean up is likely a major factor in the modest public contributions to date, it is also possible that people still do not know when or how to respond. With Haiti and other recent disasters, donations started pouring in once the public knew that the event was over and it was now time to clean up and provide relief. The disaster in the gulf continues and nonprofits that are raising funds now may not have persuaded the public that they have a plan for that eventuality which is also distinct from what BP and perhaps the government will fund.