Donations to Victims of 2004 Asian Tsunamis Topped $3-Billion

Individuals, corporations, and foundations in the United States donated $3.16-billion to help victims of the December 2004 South Asian tsunamis, according to a new study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Most of that money came from individuals, with 25 percent of American households donating a total of $2.78-billion through 2005, the study found. Corporations provided $340-million and foundations $40-million.

“The overwhelming majority of disaster-relief giving came not from million-dollar corporate or foundation gifts, but from the combined gifts of individuals nationwide,” the center said in a statement.

The data on individual giving was collected from a joint study by the Center of Philanthropy and the University of Michigan, which regularly survey more than 8,000 households about their economic behavior. The center said it believed the findings, based on preliminary data, offer the most comprehensive look to date at individual giving for Asian tsunami-relief. efforts.

$50 Median Gift

The study found that the median contribution among households that donated to aid tsunami victims was $50, while the average donation was $135 — virtually identical to the figures for donations to help victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The amount did not vary greatly by income level: Households with annual incomes of less than $50,000 gave an average of $104, compared with $164 from those with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000.

The largest share of donors, 37 percent, made gifts through places of worship, while 27.5 percent gave through their school or employer, and 13 percent through stores.

The center used data from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Foundation Center to calculate corporate and foundation giving.

Tsunami Relief Continues

In a separate report published last month, 62 U.S. disaster-relief organizations said they had raised almost $1.8-billion from individuals, corporations, and foundations in cash, products, and services to help tsunami victims — and had spent 58 percent of that money, or $1.03-billion, through September 2006.

The report, published by InterAction, an umbrella group in Washington of humanitarian and development organizations, showed that the American Red Cross, in Washington, raised by far the most money, $574.4-million, and had spent less than half of that, or $205.6-million.

Catholic Relief Services, in Baltimore, raised the second-highest amount, $169.6-million, and had spent $68.9-million, followed by Save the Children, in Westport, Conn., which raised $81.9-million and had spent $33.6-million.

The report, the third that InterAction has published to explain to Americans how their tsunami donations were spent, notes that groups that specialize in immediate humanitarian aid finished their activities within the first year following the catastrophe. But those involved in recovery efforts were likely to work in tsunami-affected countries for a total of three to five years, or even longer.

The report includes detailed accounts from 46 groups that were still operating tsunami-recovery programs in 2006 in countries including India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

A preface prepared by InterAction notes that the affected regions continued to recover in 2006, with local and international groups and authorities uniting to rebuild medical facilities, schools, and homes; provide boats to fishermen; and revive tourism.

However, it also highlights some of the challenges facing those who are still working in the region, including:

• A civil war in Sri Lanka that has forced humanitarian groups to withdraw personnel and suspend reconstruction programs.

• Uncertainty about government land-use policies and regulations, which has slowed reconstruction activities in some areas, particularly those involving shelter construction.

• Coordination problems among the huge number of groups that responded to the tsunami, especially beween international and indigenous organizations.

A news release describing the Center on Philanthropy study is available on the center’s Web site.

The InterAction report is available on the group’s Web site.