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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Local charities see giving fall off after tsunamis
The outpouring of donations to tsunami relief groups has some local charities torn. While they are moved that Puget Sound area residents donated millions of dollars to tsunami victims, they fear that they must now compete for a limited amount of donor dollars.
Most say the tsunami donations will probably have some effect on local giving, but aren't sure what that will be.
Others, such as Seattle-based Northwest Harvest, say they have already seen donations dwindle. In the first two weeks in January last year, the hunger-relief group raised $333,500; in the same period this year, it raised only $100,248, said community affairs director Becky Guerra.
Donations through December were steady, but immediately after the tsunami, "it really shifted," she said. "We've seen a dramatic drop."
The loss hurts even more because the group typically receives about half its yearly donations between November and January, she said.
"It's a tough position, because we certainly acknowledge the need over there," Guerra said. "But hunger is still in our own back yard."
Her concern is echoed by Sharon Thomas-Hearns, a spokeswoman for Seattle's Union Gospel Mission, which provides services to the homeless.
"While there is a great, great need in Indonesia and other tsunami-hit countries, there's also a need locally," she said.
Thomas-Hearns says she's not sure whether donations have dropped more than is typical after the holidays.
"But we have faith that long-term donors are going to come through," she said.
Other local charities were more optimistic.
"This is a very generous community," said United Way of King County spokesman Adam Bashaw. "They give locally, and then they dig a little deeper to give when a tragedy like this happens."
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