October 09, 2009
U.S. Donations for Asia-Pacific Disasters Continue to Trickle In, Aid Groups Say
By Caroline Preston
Eight American relief groups have raised more than $3.9-million to aid victims of disasters in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a Chronicle tally.
The American Red Cross has brought in more than $2-million of that total.
Some groups say the response has been stronger than anticipated. Mercy Corps expected to raise about $100,000, but has brought in more than three times that amount.
The Western Union Foundation gave $100,000 to help victims of the earthquake in Indonesia. The rest came online from individual donors.
Other groups still have a long way to go to raise what they say they will need to help areas overseas recover from the disasters.
Save the Children USA has raised $318,000 for victims in Indonesia and the Philippines; globally, it has brought in $925,000. But the charity hopes to raise $15-million from donors around the world for the disasters.
While coverage by American news outlets of the disasters has ebbed, many groups still expect to raise the bulk of their contributions in the next few weeks and months.
World Vision has raised $927,000 so far, $500,000 of which came from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. But the group expects to raise a total of $2.5-million.
It plans to send two additional direct-mail appeals and another e-mail solicitation.
“We’ve found our donors to be very faithful,” says Casey Calamusa, a communications officer with the relief group in Federal Way, Washington. “We’re expecting to be able to raise that money,”
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I hope the American Red Cross shares its $2 million with the local Red Crescent Societies in Indonesia (which felt insulted after they received a relatively small part of the $568 million the American Red Cross collected after the 2004 Asian Tsunami). I hope other relief groups mentioned spoke only of private donations and did not count US government disaster grants in their totals.
Our experience at Operation USA, despite generous press coverage, was the opposite of the larger groups…very little came in for The Philippines, Samoa and Indonesia.
Richard M. Walden
President & CEO
Operation USA
— Richard Walden Oct 9, 09:43 PM #
The Chronicle’s article correctly reported the American Red Cross raised more than $2 million for the four international disasters that struck the Asia Pacific region two weeks ago. Of that amount, approximately $40,000 has actually been received and earmarked by donors for the Indonesian earthquake, but because of the devastation of that earthquake and our belief that pledges will be fulfilled, we anticipate spending approximately $1 million in response to the earthquake in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Red Cross (not the Red Crescent as noted in a previous comment) is our partner in Indonesia and has always expressed gratitude for the generosity of the American people.
David Meltzer, Senior Vice President
International Services
American Red Cross
— David Meltzer Oct 14, 08:15 PM #