| USA. Philanthropists have been given $3.5 billion to help tsunami hit areas |
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| Tuesday, 27 December 2005 | |
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Financial news: The New York Regional Association of Grantmakers, which represents the world's largest concentration of philanthropic capital and some $3.5 billion in annual giving, today announced that its members have given more than $240 million, or 13 percent of all private U.S. donations, to help rebuild areas affected by the South Asia tsunami. By December 2005, total private giving to tsunami-torn areas by Americans was $1.795 billion, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. "In 2005, New York City-based grantmakers applied their resources in extraordinary ways to respond to disasters beyond our region," said Michael Seltzer, NYRAG president. "One NYRAG member alone, Johnson & Johnson, gave nearly $85 million in cash and in-kind contributions, while another member, The Sister Fund, gave a much-needed $2,500 grant to a nongovernmental women's organization in India. "With the increasing number of man-made and natural disasters that grantmakers have responded to, we determined that a report on best charitable approaches to disaster relief and recovery would be invaluable. 'Rebuilding Lives: The Philanthropic Response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004' examines how grantmakers such as the Ford Foundation, American Express, Citigroup, IBM, Give2Asia, UJA-Federation of New York, and others are strategically engaged in immediate and ongoing efforts within devastated areas." The report stresses that rebuilding is a long-term proposition. "Once the headlines fade, the donor community will still be badly needed," said Paula Luff, senior director, International Philanthropy, Pfizer Inc. "This disaster is one of unprecedented proportions. From our perspective, the response on our part was of a magnitude only matched in our history by our efforts after 9/11." Highlights of the report include: Preferred practices for donors as they fund programs that respond to long-term reconstruction in the wake of massive disasters and humanitarian crises. Chronicles of members' cash contributions for education, housing and economic development and in-kind gifts such as medicines and technology aid in the rebuilding effort. The Asian American Federation of New York's special section on the effects of the disaster on New York communities with ties to the Indian Ocean region. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 27 December 2005 ) |
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