Donations to Japan lag far behind Haiti or Katrina

chart_disaster_donation.top.gif By Jessica Dickler, staff writer


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- News of the earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan has been widespread, but donations have lagged way, way behind.

Seven days after the 9.0 quake, donations to nonprofit organizations have reached about $87 million, according to a tally by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper covering nonprofits.

Ways to donate
To make a $10 donation now to:
  • Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami fund, text REDCROSS to 90999 or go to redcross.org
  • Save the Children's Japan Earthquake Tsunami Children in Emergency fund, text JAPAN to 20222 or go to savethechildren.org
  • GlobalGiving’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief fund, text JAPAN to 50555 or go to globalgiving.org
  • International Medical Corps relief efforts, text MED to 80888 or go to internationalmedicalcorps.org.

In comparison, one week after the earthquake in Haiti, donations totaled about $275 million. In the case of Hurricane Katrina, it was over $522 million.

Of the donations to date, the American Red Cross raised approximately $64 million for the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami response, which includes more than $2.8 million in text donations.

Save the Children raised $5.8 million; World Vision U.S. said they received $3 million as of Wednesday; and The Salvation Army received more than $2.5 million.

But most organizations told the Chronicle that they had raised less than $1 million and more than a dozen relief groups, including Doctors Without Borders, said they are not actively raising money for relief efforts at all.

At the same time, corporations have stepped up with significant pledges and donations. As of Thursday, companies had pledged about $151 million in cash and in-kind donations for disaster relief in Japan, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Some of that money may overlap with the Chronicle tallies, but much of it is additional fundraising that has been sent to international aid organizations, which the Chronicle does not track.

"A number of global companies have strong ties with the Japanese and the Japanese economy so they are responding differently," explained Dr. Una Osili, the director of research at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Individuals, however, are motivated more by their impression of the extent of the damage. In the case of Japan, the devastation was not as immediately apparent as in other recent disasters

"The information on the devastation and degree of damage [in Japan] has only grown over time," Osili said. "It might take some time for individuals to learn about the full impact on the Japanese people."

Although the financial cost to the Japanese government, businesses and individuals is expected to be substantial, it is still unclear what kind of aid the country will need. Even the Red Cross has yet to specify where their funds will be spent.

In addition, "the call to help has not necessarily been made by the Japanese government, so the perception is that Japan can handle this," said Osili.

"Japan is an affluent nation, an industrialized country," she said. Alternatively, "Haiti is a very poor country with a very weak government that lacked the capacity to respond."

As a result, many people may choose to hold back in their giving until more specific needs become apparent, even though the consequences of waiting could be severe.

"Typically the first week is critically important, that sets the pace," said Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of Philanthropy. "After the first week, the momentum will be gone, and once it starts to fade a little bit, most people tune away." To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.