American Relief Charities Raise $41-Million in Wake of Asia Disasters

American relief groups have raised more than $41-million for victims of the cyclone that struck Myanmar and the earthquake in China earlier this month. The charities say about $22-million has been donated for the earthquake victims and $19-million for cyclone relief.

Some charity officials say the response, while minuscule in comparison to the more than $3-billion donated in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunamis, has still been relatively heartening, particularly given the slew of factors that have threatened to stem giving. The lack of sympathy among many Americans for the governments of China and Myanmar, the Myanmar junta’s refusal to give foreign-aid workers and reporters access to people in need, and the weak U.S. economy have curbed donations, charities say, but not to the extent many had feared.

“We’ve had a tremendous outpouring,” said Anne-Marie Grey, vice president of leadership giving at Save the Children, which has raised $4.8-million for Myanmar and nearly $600,000 for China.

Her charity has raised more online for the Myanmar crisis — at least $993,000 — than it has raised via the Web for any other disaster since the tsunamis. It received nearly $12-million online alone for that crisis, compared with $861,000 for the Pakistan earthquake of 2005, and $686,000 for Hurricane Katrina.

But many charity officials say the fund-raising climate has been unusually challenging.

“You have a $4-billion general-election campaign, a recession, and a justifiable need to focus on domestic issues, and all of a sudden the people you normally look to” aren’t able to contribute, said Richard Walden, president of Operation USA.

His charity has raised $110,000 for Myanmar and $106,000 for China, compared with $800,000 for the Pakistan earthquake.

‘Scared Off’ by Government

Fund raisers say the Myanmar government’s intransigence has been a key reason that contributions for relief efforts there haven’t been higher.

“People want to make sure their gift will have an impact,” said Barnett Baron, executive vice president of the Asia Foundation. “They’re scared off by what a complicated situation it is.”

Give2Asia, a public charity established by the Asia Foundation, has raised $3-million for China, compared with $70,000 for Myanmar.

Still, some charities that had long worked in Myanmar have seen greater success in raising money for that particular crisis.

Ms. Grey said the response Save the Children has seen was helped by the fact that it had 500 employees in the country before the cyclone hit, a point that the group’s country director, Andrew Kirkwood, emphasized in interviews with news organizations.

“We were in the media frequently, and the fact that we could distribute aid and we weren’t dependent on aid coming in from overseas” has encouraged donations, Ms. Grey said.

World Vision, which employed 600 people in Myanmar before the crisis, has also seen a strong response: $5.5-million for cyclone victims, compared with $1.25-million for people in China. CARE, which also worked in Myanmar before the storm, has raised $4-million in gifts and pledges. The charity is not raising money for earthquake victims because it doesn’t work in China.

Corporate Contributions

Corporate contributions, particularly from businesses with ties to China, have fueled the donor response to that disaster.

The Business Roundtable, an association of more than 160 large companies, said its members have given more than $28.9-million, some of it in products, services, and pledges to match employee donations, to victims of the earthquake, compared with $5-million to support relief efforts in Myanmar. (Some of the money was donated to charities not based in the United States.)

Most cash donations for the earthquake victims in China have gone to the American Red Cross, which has brought in $14-million in gifts and pledges. (The charity has also raised $1.9-million for Myanmar relief.)

Christy Feig, director of international communications, said she expected that gifts would continue to mount.

“We do expect to still see contributions come in,” she said. “We know a lot of our chapters, especially in places with large Chinese-American communities, still have fund raisers scheduled.”

But charities raising money for China face another challenge: convincing donors of the importance of helping to rebuild the country. The Chinese government has been able to meet most of the immediate needs of victims, so most American charities plan to focus on reconstruction.

Ill will toward the Chinese government may also be discouraging some gifts. Even officials at charities that are pleased with the donations they have received say politics have dissuaded some donors.

“We’ve gotten a few people who call up and say, Why are you giving money to China? That’s not a government that treats its people well,” said Peter Lynch, executive administrator for Lions Clubs International. “But for every one call like that, we’ve received 10 from people wanting to help out.”

His group has raised about $100,000 from American and Canadian donors, as well as $800,000 from members in Hong Kong, mainland China, and Macau. Mr. Lynch said that was an encouraging response, due in part to the fact that his charity has worked in China for years.

Some fund raisers said that many donors weren’t differentiating between the two crises.

“We’re beginning to think of the two disasters as one,” said Carolyn O’Brien, senior vice president for development at AmeriCares. “There are a number of donors making gifts and asking that they go to both disasters.”

Her group has raised $1.2-million, much of which donors have said could be used for either crisis.

Ms. Feig, with the American Red Cross, said her group has also received gifts that could be used in either place. The American Red Cross has raised $4-million for an international relief fund since the cyclone hit. World Vision, meanwhile, has raised $337,000 for a fund that could support victims of either disaster.

Other charities raising money in response to the disasters:

• Direct Relief International, which has raised $527,000 for victims of the Myanmar catastrophe. It has not yet issued an appeal for China.
• Foundation for the People of Burma, which has raised $500,000 for cyclone victims.
• The International Rescue Committee, which has raised $1.5-million to help victims of the cyclone. It is not raising money for earthquake victims.
• Mercy Corps, which has raised $2.67-million for China and $886,000 for Myanmar.
• Project Hope, which has raised $710,000. Of that amount, $600,000 represents corporate contributions that have been earmarked for China.
• The Salvation Army, which has raised $76,000 for the two disasters, most of it earmarked for people in Myanmar.