Public Confidence in American Red Cross Drops After Katrina

Public confidence in the American Red Cross has fallen in the weeks since Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast, a new opinion poll has found.

The survey — commissioned by New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service — found that only 38 percent of Americans had “a great deal of confidence” in the charity as of mid-October. That percentage is down from the 43 percent who reported a high level of confidence in July.

The report’s author, Paul C. Light, says the findings reflect public reaction to negative news reports concerning some aspects of the Red Cross’s relief efforts, as well as to criticisms of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s response. The Red Cross oversaw the federal agency’s program to temporarily house hurricane victims in hotels.

The survey also found that confidence in charities as a whole has faded somewhat. In October, 13 percent of Americans reported a great deal of confidence in nonprofit groups, down from 15 percent in July.

By contrast, a growing percentage of Americans said they had high confidence in the United Way of America over the same time period: 20 percent in October, compared with 16 percent in July. Mr. Light says one explanation for the increase is that the United Way had a lower profile than the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The poll surveyed 1,003 U.S. residents who were selected at random.

65% Donated

In another national poll, 65 percent of Americans said they had donated money to relief efforts, while 6 percent planned to do so. Three-fourths of those donors reported giving $150 or less, according to the survey, which was conducted by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute, in Fairfield, Conn.

Two-thirds of the 1,000 people surveyed said they believed the money they gave would be spent properly. Yet 30 percent said they had “very little or no trust” that their money would be well used. The rest of those polled said they were unsure when asked about their views on this question.

The New York University report, “Update on Confidence in Charitable Organizations — Post-Katrina,” will be available free online at http://wagner.nyu.edu.

More information on the Sacred Heart University study can be found online at http://www.sacredheart.edu.