as holidays approach, charities face donor fatigue
Local charities and nonprofits have been busier than usual this year. Organizations like the Red Cross and the Salvation Army have been collecting contributions to aid victims of a string of natural disasters.
From the tsunami that struck Indonesia, Asia and India at the end of 2004 to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast to mudslides in Guatemala and an earthquake in Pakistan and Afghanistan, aid groups are struggling to keep up with an increased demand for assistance. Not even New Hampshire has been left unscathed—days of heavy rain caused flooding in the central part of the state, washing away homes and roads. 

Generally speaking, charitable giving is on the rise. However, as one disaster follows another, donors are being asked to keep giving, and now many local nonprofits fear donor fatigue may set in just as they begin their fundraising campaigns for the holiday season.

Giving USA 2005, a study on charitable giving conducted by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, showed that giving reached $248.52 billion in 2004, a 5 percent increase from 2003. That number is expected to increase in 2005, as much of the money for tsunami relief efforts was not donated until 2005. In New Hampshire, a telethon organized by WMUR Channel 9 alone raised more than $300,000 for flood victims in Keene and the Monadnock region.

But Sarah Cherne, executive director of the Great Bay Red Cross, says half of the organization’s $25,000 disaster budget has already been depleted, even though the “disaster season” doesn’t start until around Christmas. The Great Bay Red Cross provides assistance for major disasters like the hurricanes in the south and the flooding in central New Hampshire, but it also helps local families forced out of their homes by fire. There have been 12 such cases already, and according to Cherne, the GBRC is being frugal with the money it has left so as to ensure there are enough funds for the rest of the year. The GBRC provides shelter and other necessities for those affected by a disaster and also sponsors a number of community education classes and health service programs.

“We’re being very conservative with everything else because our number one priority is the people we serve,” she says.

Money donated to the Red Cross for a specific cause, such as Hurricane Katrina, goes fully to that cause. This means that local groups like the GBRC often have trouble taking care of local folks because “people have already given to the Red Cross, but … their local chapter still needs to be supported so we can provide services at home,” she says.

Cherne says it’s too early to tell if donor fatigue is a problem, and the GBRC has no plans to change its fundraising strategy. Even if money doesn’t come in, Cherne says that will not stop the Red Cross from providing assistance—the American Red Cross is currently taking out loans in order to help Hurricane Katrina victims.

“We’re just moving forward with our services to the community and hoping that people realize this is what happens in time of natural disasters,” she says. “People need to be served. That’s the Red Cross’ role, and we’ll serve people regardless.”

Captain Shaun Belanger of the Rochester Salvation Army thinks things “could be tough” this year.
“We’re having more people in our soup kitchen, there are more people signed up for Christmas than there have been in the past,” he says. In two days, 50 families signed up for assistance, Belanger says.
“It’s much quicker and many more … when before it’s taken a while to get to that number,” he says. “This year, people at the beginning (of the season) want to know they’ll get something.”

Once the red collection kettles are out on the street, Belanger says he’ll have a better idea if people are giving more or less than last year. Like the Red Cross, the Salvation Army sends money earmarked for a particular disaster directly to that fund. Because of this, Belanger is worried that donors don’t realize that even if they gave money to hurricane relief efforts, “that money … didn’t do anything for us here.”

Other organizations are more optimistic. Cheryl Rau, a spokesperson for the United Way of the Greater Seacoast, says there’s “a lot of energy out there” among donors. The UWGS is hoping to raise $5 million for its fundraising campaign this year. That money will then be distributed to various nonprofit and service organizations in the area.

“I’m not hearing or feeling a sense of donor fatigue,” Rau says.

Mary Ellen Sheffield is executive director of the New Hampshire Center for Non-Profits. While she hasn’t seen any evidence of donor fatigue, it’s a topic everyone is talking about.

“I think people are concerned,” she says. “We have not had people call us with that (concern) … but I have been at meetings where I’ve heard people talk about that and strategize (about what to do).”