http://philanthropy.com/free/update/2005/01/2005010502.htm
Donations to Charities Providing Tsunami Relief Top $245-Million
By Nicole Wallace
Donations have streamed in to relief organizations that are providing aid to victims of the deadly earthquake and
tsunamis in South Asia. American relief charities have raised more than $245-million, with much of the money coming in online. The total amount raised from private sources is now getting closer to the $350-million pledged by the U.S. government.
Some of the money raised by relief groups has been contributed by companies and foundations. The Chronicle has tallied more than $84-million awarded to relief efforts by grant makers.
Among the organizations that have raised the most money are:
- Ten days after the December 26 catastrophe, the American Red Cross has raised more than $106-million. More than $57-million of that total has come in through the organization's Web site.
- The U.S. Fund for Unicef, in New York, has received $30-million for its relief efforts. Donors have made approximately 150,000 Internet gifts totaling $20-million.
- Save the Children, in Westport, Conn., has received more than $15-million in contributions, with $6-million to $7-million coming through the organization's Web site.
- World Vision USA, in Federal Way, Wash., has received gifts totaling $20-million, with Internet contributions accounting for $11-million of that figure.
- Oxfam America, in Boston, has raised $15-million, more than $11-million of which has come in online. Oxfam International affiliates have together raised more than $48-million for relief efforts.
- As of Monday, Catholic Relief Services, in Baltimore, had brought in $14.4-million, $8-million of which was donated online.
- CARE USA, in Atlanta, has collected $12.5-million for its relief efforts. Internet gifts account for $5.4-million of that total. Internationally, CARE has raised approximately $40-million.
- Mercy Corps, in Portland, Ore., has raised approximately $10-million -- which is about the same amount the organization raised during its entire 2004 fiscal year. Roughly half of the money Mercy Corps has received for its relief efforts in South Asia have come in online.
- The International Rescue Committee, in New York, has raised $2.7-million.
Doctors Without Borders, in New York, has raised more than $20-million, $16-million of which was contributed via the Internet. Worldwide, the Doctors Without Borders network has raised more than $50-million.
Three days after the disaster, the American branch of the organization posted a notice on the donation page of its Web site asking donors to give the organization permission to use their gifts for other emergencies in the event that the group had already raised enough money for its operations in South Asia.
So more than $9-million of the more than $20-million raised so far are designated specifically for use in response to the disaster in South Asia, while the remaining $11-million are designated to be used first in South Asia, but can be used elsewhere if they are not needed for tsunami relief.
Doctors Without Borders now believes that it has raised enough for its emergency response in South Asia, and has posted a notice on its Web site donation page asking donors to contribute to the organization's general Emergency Relief Fund.
"We kindly request that you contribute to our general Emergency Relief Fund, which is enabling our quick response to the current disaster in South Asia as well as humanitarian needs in war-torn Darfur, Sudan, and elsewhere in the over 70 countries where MSF is working around the world," the statement reads. "The Emergency Relief Fund provides a resource for MSF to draw upon immediately when a crisis occurs, allowing a quick response to events where the speed of our response is crucial to saving lives."