Supporters of Comedy Central Rallies Donate $364,000 to Charity—So Far

Two designated charities are already benefiting from the publicity generated by the mock rallies announced by Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on their shows in recent weeks. The comedians have told supporters to donate money to help restore the park where the rallies will be held and to buy school supplies for classrooms in their community. So far, they’ve raised a total of $364,000.

On “The Daily Show” Wednesday night, Mr. Stewart encouraged attendees to his “Rally to Restore Sanity” on October 30 to contribute money to the Trust for the National Mall, which raises private money to restore and improve the national park.

“The National Mall is an incredible gathering place for all Americans, and it’s in desperate need of upkeep and repair, especially after all of us rally on it,” Mr. Stewart said. “It’s the reasonable thing to do.”

The Trust for the National Mall has already received $23,000 in online donations, says Caroline Cunningham, president of the three-year-old charity. “We are just thrilled that we’re getting the kind of exposure from The Daily Show and the kind of exposure to raise awareness of the need to restore the National Mall.”

Ms. Cunningham says the charity was contacted by Mr. Stewart’s production company last week. “We thought it was a hoax,” she says. “And then they told us that they had chosen us.”

Similarly, Mr. Colbert has said on his “March to Keep Fear Alive” Web site that he hopes rally goers will make a gift to DonorsChoose.org, a Web site that lets visitors pay for school materials for specific projects posted by teachers.

“Not only does it help students and teachers improve their classrooms, but it helps you get rid of all that money—money which is filthy and covered in microscopic germs,” the March’s Web site says. “Give it all away to DonorsChoose.”

For the past few years, DonorsChoose.org has been a favorite charity of the Colbert Report. It has been mentioned several times on the show, and that support has helped it raise about $438,000. An additional $341,000 in online donations due to the Colbert march in the past few weeks has raised that total to $779,000, says Charles Best, founder of DonorsChoose.org. “We’re just thrilled and we’re in awe of the generosity of the Colbert Nation.” He says he hopes the march will eventually raise $500,000 for DonorsChoose.org.

These two rallies are believed to be counterprotest events to parody the Glenn Beck rally in August. Rally organizers are planning for 65,000 people to attend on Halloween Eve. Ms. Cunningham and Mr. Best plan to be there.