Ordinary Charities Fear Fewer Donations

[Rose Siding]

ATLANTA -- The unprecedented American outpouring of tsunami-relief donations has some charities fearing a phenomenon they saw after Sept. 11 -- a drop-off in contributions for soup kitchens, shelters, museums and other ordinary needs closer to home.

"There's no question in my mind it will be impacted -- we saw what happened in 9-11," said Paul Kane, an executive with United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York, which helps the needy across the United States and saw donations fall $2 million below projections in 2001, which contributions poured in to Sept. 11 charities.
...
"If people are giving more and more to disaster relief, there is obviously fewer dollars that may be otherwise committed to other charitable organizations," said Philip Coltoff, chief executive of the Children's Aid Society of New York, which relies on donations for half its $75 million budget.

To help counter a potential dip in its fund-raising, Volunteers of America, based in Alexandria, Va., is sending out mailings to its previous donors reminding them that the hungry and homeless in the United States still need their help.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-tsunami-other-charities,0,182242.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

[HuckleB]

1. I think there was a similar issue after 9-11.

Not only that, many national foundations are based in NYC, and they felt that they had to refrain from funding projects elsewhere in order to support 9-11 related projects.

That certainly made me think about where I donated my money.