Tsunami Reshapes Fundraising Efforts

HARTFORD (AP) — The tsunami that struck Asia a year ago last Monday reshaped the fundraising and operations of two Connecticut-based international relief organizations.

Save the Children in Westport and the AmeriCares Foundation of Stamford raised record amounts immediately after the December 26, 2004, disaster that destroyed portions of East Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.

“It was an absolutely unprecedented response in terms of money being given by donors,” said Kathleen Vieri, chief operating officer for AmeriCares’ tsunami relief program, which raised more than $45 million in cash, including $12.7 million from Web donations.

Save the Children took in more than $260 million, far more than it had previously raised.

“The magnitude and breadth of the response was larger than anything we’ve seen in our history,” said Charles MacCormick, president and chief executive of Save the Children, which was founded in 1932.

The group received help from 400,000 new donors, with most providing their email addresses. As a result, relief officials can contact hundreds of thousands of potential donors within minutes of more recent crises such as the earthquake in Pakistan, Mr MacCormick said.

Before the tsunami, relief organizations relied primarily on slow and costly mail solicitations.

The immediate tsunami crisis has subsided, but international relief workers continue to help build homes, water purification plants and schools, and help hospitals reestablish adequate pharmaceuticals and staff.