US promises big boost in disaster relief funds

In an outpouring of generosity with few parallels in US history, Americans are sending millions of dollars to charities that are providing water, food, shelter, medicine, blankets, and other supplies to survivors of the colossal tsunami that ravaged broad swaths of Asia.

As of yesterday -- five days after the waves surged out of the Indian Ocean -- 10 major national charities contacted by The Boston Globe said they had raised a combined total of $97 million, with nearly half of that collected by the American Red Cross.

But even as they write checks and make payments and pledges on the Internet, donors are being urged to do their homework and ask discerning questions to determine that their money will be used for its intended purpose and will go to groups with solid track records and the ability to quickly deliver aid to victims in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, and other devastated countries.

''This is a horrible, horrible tragedy, and there are people that need our help, and there are so many good people who want to help," said Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly. ''We are telling them that you should know the charity that you're giving to and that it's important you receive assurances that the money is going to the relief it's intended for."

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the American Red Cross was criticized for planning to use some of the money it raised for purposes other than helping families of victims.

In two months after the attacks, the Red Cross raised $534 million through the Liberty Fund, with donors expecting that the money would be used to assist affected families. But when it became public that the agency planned to set aside more than $200 million in donations to deal with future attacks, upgrade telecommunications systems, and establish a general blood reserve, there was an outcry from donors and government authorities. As a result, Red Cross leaders reversed course, pledging to spend all the donations to help Sept. 11 victims and their families.

Representatives of the 10 charities contacted by the Globe this week said that all money donated expressly to assist tsunami survivors will be used for that purpose and will not be diverted to other projects, except in some cases for a small percentage to cover overhead costs. On many charity websites, donors may specify that their gift be used for the current disaster, or may choose instead to make a gift for general use.

The American Institute of Philanthropy, a watchdog group, says no more than 40 percent, and preferably less than 30 percent, of donations to charities should go to administrative costs.

Reilly and charity officials also warned the public yesterday to be alert for telemarketers and Internet sites posing as charities. ''There's going to be people scamming because it's easy pickings: It's the end of the year, there's the holiday spirit, and this is the worst natural disaster in most people's lives," said Daniel Borochoff, spokesman for the American Institute of Philanthropy, which runs a website, www.charitywatch.org that evaluates charities. ''It's too easy for people to take advantage of other people's generosity."

Reilly's office earlier this year won a judgment against a Southampton couple accused of illegally raising money to benefit victims of the attack on the World Trade Center.

Nationally, charities reported record amounts of giving to help tsunami victims. It took the American Jewish World Service, a New York charity, several months to raise $1 million during the humanitarian crisis in Kosovo and another $1 million when an earthquake struck Turkey recently.

In the first four days after the tsunami, the charity had received $1 million for victims over the Internet alone. Charity executives expect to receive significantly more money through the mail and in additional Internet donations.

Tommy Lobe, deputy executive director of the American Jewish World Service, described what happened when a cab driver visited the agency's midtown Manhattan offices Thursday. ''He walked in and pulled $150 in cash from his wallet -- obviously money he made today," Lobe said. ''I was almost in tears. You sit here and a lot of this is done via e-mail and impersonal to some extent, so that when someone takes the time, parks his cab, and walks up to this office, it really touches you."

Specialists in philanthropy said donors should ask charities for details of their finances as well as information on how they plan to spend contributions.

''If a charity refuses to answer such questions or is hesitant about answering such questions, I would think twice about giving to that group," said Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, which reports on charities.

One important question to ask: What kind of track record does a charity have working in the region devastated by the tsunami?

Several nonprofits, such as the Cambridge-based Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, said they don't have any staff in South Asia but are transferring money and supplies to churches and community groups in the region that they have longstanding relationships with -- ties that give them confidence donations will be used as they intend.

''We've found that governments come and go, but the church is always there through the tough times, and it's made up of people who are directly impacted," said Chris Pettit, a spokesman for Baltimore-based, Christian-affiliated World Relief. Other agencies work closely with governments: More than half of UNICEF's budget comes from countries, and world leaders sit on its executive board, a spokesman said.

Some large groups already had a strong presence in Asia, allowing a quick response to the disaster. Atlanta-based CARE had 17 offices and 250 staff members in hard-hit Sri Lanka, and more than 1,000 staff working in India, a spokeswoman said. Oxfam America's presence in the region includes 70 workers in Sri Lanka, who just three weeks before the tsunami had organized flood drills.

Some relief agencies suffered their own losses in the disaster. Ten Indonesian women were killed when rising waters destroyed a training center for midwives run by Save the Children USA, the charity based in Westport, Conn. A bookkeeper at the group's Indonesian office also drowned along with her newborn, spokesman Mike Kiernan said.

The organization has raised more than $5 million, ''the bulk of it from people who know who we are . . . and know what we're doing through regular e-mail updates," said Kiernan. ''Technology allows people to donate easily, but it also lets us keep them informed in a straightforward way. . . . If a group's website hasn't been updated in three months, people might want to ask why."

Some smaller charities fear they may suffer by comparison with larger groups such as Oxfam and CARE, which have raised $10 million and $9 million respectively. Becky Graninger, another World Relief spokeswoman, declined to share the group's fund-raising total yesterday, saying the charity is a much smaller player, but has raised an unprecedented amount in a short time.

''The public thinks bigger is better," she said. ''We don't want people to compare."

Record-setting donations were received at the New York-based US Fund for UNICEF, where $4 million was given online in a single day on Wednesday -- more than the total online gifts to the fund in all of 2003. The agency has raised $15 million altogether.

''A colleague said today that the history books of fund-raising are being rewritten worldwide, and I think that's true," said Jeff Towers, a UNICEF spokesman. ''It's remarkable to see how eager people are to do something, and I hope the generosity translates beyond this disaster, because the world needs this response year round."

Jenna Russell can be reached at jrussell@globe.com. Stephen Smith can be reached at stsmith@globe.com.