October 16, 2008
Does America Need a Single Fund for Disaster Relief?
Writing on his blog for Harvard University’s Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Tony Pipa lays out some ideas for improving the way the United States responds to natural disasters on its own soil.
His top recommendation is to create an independently operated national fund for disasters, which he says would help channel more money to small charities that often lose out against large groups in the battle for private donations.
The fund would also enable charities to act more quickly after an emergency because they could focus on providing aid, rather than raising money. The national fund would make it easier for donors to give, and for the news media to promote giving, by create a single, recognizable organization.
In addition, charities could save money on fund-raising costs.
To read more of Mr. Pipa’s ideas, click here: http://hausercenter.org/iha/archives/24.
What do you think of the idea for a national disaster fund? Would it help or hurt fund raising and charities’ ability to respond to emergencies?
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The idea has merit, but would be detrimental to the organizations who are doing the most in these time of crisis. If the large organizations do most of the work, they should see the greatest support. These needs cannot be determined by an outside fund raiser. This idea could lessen the functional abilities of organizations like the Sal. Army, who were there within hours of a disaster in my community.
— Paul Oct 18, 08:07 PM #