Donations to Hurricane-Relief Efforts Exceed $504-Million

By Nicole Wallace

Americans have given more than a half-billion to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The pace of giving is unprecedented in recent American history. In the 10 days after September 11, Americans donated $239-million to charitable causes, and in the 9 days after the tsunamis hit, major American relief groups raised $163-million.

Still, the contributions do not yet come close to the total amount raised in the wake of those disasters. After the 2001 terrorist attacks charities raised more than $2.2-billion and U.S. charities have collected nearly $1.3-billion for the tsunamis.

Some relief organizations worry that concerns about the disaster's impact on the national economy and on fuel prices could hurt attempts to raise funds for the long-term recovery work that will be needed in response to one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history.

The American Red Cross, in Washington, has raised $409-million. By comparison, a week after the South Asian tsunamis, the Red Cross had raised $79.2-million.

"It's overwhelming," says Sarah Marchetti, a spokeswoman for the Red Cross. "People are just pouring their hearts out, and making a donation is an expression of that."

For its hurricane relief, the charity has received several large corporate contributions, including $3-million from the Chevron Corporation, in San Ramon, Calif., $2-million from Exxon Mobil, in Irving, Tex., and $2-million from Bayer, in Leverkusen, Germany.

The national office of the Salvation Army has garnered $50-million in donations for hurricane relief. The organization notes that that figure does not include gifts sent to local Salvation Army offices. By Friday morning, the organization had received $1.7-million through its toll-free telephone line. The average size of those gifts was $205. The Salvation Army previously estimated it would require $50-million for its response to Katrina, but it now says the need will exceed that amount.

"We can't even put a number on it," says Major George Hood, the charity's spokesman. "The devastation will exceed September 11."

Catholic Charities USA, in Alexandria, Va., has raised more than $3-million for relief efforts. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked local parishes to take up a special collection that the charity will use to support its response to the hurricane, says Shelley Borysiewicz, a spokeswoman for Catholic Charities.

Wealthy Americans have also been stepping up their donations. Among them: John Grisham, the novelist, and his wife, Renee, have given $5-million to the Rebuild the Coast Fund, which they established at a Tupelo, Miss., bank to help recovery efforts in Mississippi.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, the Internet has also proved to be an important source of gifts.

Of the $409-million the Red Cross has raised for relief efforts, $209-million has come in through the Internet. On Tuesday the charity sent an e-mail appeal to 700,000 supporters, which raised $4.5-million. On Thursday, the organization sent a follow-up solicitation to those supporters who had not opened the first appeal.

The search engine Yahoo and online retailer Amazon.com are also collecting donations to the Red Cross through their Web sites, as they did after the earthquake and tsunamis that struck South Asia last December. Yahoo has collected more than $50-million, and Amazon had collected more than $8.9-million.

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, which had raised more than $3-million by Friday, had to move its Web site to more powerful servers to accommodate the volume of donations coming into the group's two hurricane-relief funds.

"We had to change the provider to manage the volume," says John G. Davies, president of the foundation. "It's been coming in fast and furious."

For a number of groups struggling to keep up with the pace of donations, the amount raised online is the only total they know for sure.

Operation Blessing, a Christian relief organization in Virginia Beach, Va., had received Internet gifts totaling more than $500,000 by Friday, but beyond that, the charity was not sure how much it has raised overall.

"We're still trying to get to that," says Kristin Vischer, a spokeswoman for Operation Blessing. "Our phones are ringing off the hook."

Other nonprofit groups are unable to provide any estimates.

Southern Baptist Convention Disaster Relief, in Alpharetta, Ga., does not yet have a tally of the amount it has raised for relief efforts. Jonathan Wilson, a spokesman for the charity, expects that when a tabulation is done, it will be the most the group has ever raised after a disaster.

Despite the outpouring of donations, some nonprofit executives worry how the economic repercussions of Hurricane Katrina will affect giving.

Ron Patterson, executive director of Christian Disaster Response, in Lake Alfred, Fla., says he expects Americans to give generously for hurricane relief, but worries that the disaster's effect on gas prices will hinder fund-raising efforts.

"How many donations can you make when you're paying $3 a gallon?" he asks.

Among the results from other organizations responding to the disaster:

• America's Second Harvest, in Chicago, has raised $4.4-million, $2-million of which has come in through the Internet.

• The Humane Society of the United States, in Washington, has raised more than $5.5-million for relief efforts to rescue and care for animals left behind in the disaster.

• AmeriCares, in Stamford, Conn., has raised more than $3-million.

• The Foundation for the MidSouth, in Jackson, Miss., has raised more than $3-million, including a $1-million gift from the Entergy Corporation.

• United Jewish Communities, in New York, has raised more than $1.5-million.

• The United Methodist Committee on Relief, in New York, has raised $570,000 from donors giving through its Web site.

• ELCA Domestic Disaster Response/Lutheran Disaster Response had received nearly $500,000 by the end of the day Thursday.

• As of Friday, Habitat for Humanity International, in Americus, Ga., had raised $425,000 in online donations.

• Church World Service, in Elkhart, Ind., had collected more than $260,000 by the end of the day Thursday.

• By the end of the day Thursday, Network for Good, a San Francisco charity whose online giving site allows donors to contribute to any charity, had processed $6.2-million in online donations for hurricane-relief efforts since. On Thursday the site processed just over $3-million in relief gifts, the biggest one-day total in the organization's history.

Suzanne Perry, M.J. Prest, and Ian Wilhelm contributed to this article.