New York Regional Association of Grantmakers Releases Report
On Contributions, Preferred Practices for Disaster Grantmaking
NEW YORK, Dec. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York Regional Association of
Grantmakers (NYRAG), which represents the world's largest concentration of
philanthropic capital and some $3.5 billion in annual giving, today announced
that its members have given more than $240 million, or 13 percent of all
private U.S. donations, to help rebuild areas affected by the South Asia
tsunami.
By December 2005, total private giving to tsunami-torn areas by Americans
was $1.795 billion, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana
University.
"In 2005, New York City-based grantmakers applied their resources in
extraordinary ways to respond to disasters beyond our region," said Michael
Seltzer, NYRAG president. "One NYRAG member alone, Johnson & Johnson, gave
nearly $85 million in cash and in-kind contributions, while another member,
The Sister Fund, gave a much-needed $2,500 grant to a nongovernmental women's
organization in India.
"With the increasing number of man-made and natural disasters that
grantmakers have responded to, we determined that a report on best charitable
approaches to disaster relief and recovery would be invaluable. 'Rebuilding
Lives: The Philanthropic Response to the Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004'
examines how grantmakers such as the Ford Foundation, American Express,
Citigroup, IBM, Give2Asia, UJA-Federation of New York, and others are
strategically engaged in immediate and ongoing efforts within devastated
areas."
The report stresses that rebuilding is a long-term proposition. "Once the
headlines fade, the donor community will still be badly needed," said Paula
Luff, senior director, International Philanthropy, Pfizer Inc. "This disaster
is one of unprecedented proportions. From our perspective, the response on
our part was of a magnitude only matched in our history by our efforts after
9/11."
Highlights of the report include:
* Preferred practices for donors as they fund programs that respond to
long-term reconstruction in the wake of massive disasters and
humanitarian crises.
* Chronicles of members' cash contributions for education, housing and
economic development and in-kind gifts such as medicines and technology
aid in the rebuilding effort.
* The Asian American Federation of New York's special section on the
effects of the disaster on New York communities with ties to the Indian
Ocean region.
About NYRAG
The New York Regional Association of Grantmakers, a nonprofit membership
organization of more than 270 grantmaking foundations and corporations in the
New York metropolitan area, promotes and supports the practice of effective
philanthropy for the public good. Its members include Fortune 100
corporations, independent, family, corporate, community, public, and operating
foundations; and faith-based donors. NYRAG offers informational resources,
services, professional development and networking opportunities. For more
information, visit NYRAG's website at http://www.nyrag.org.
SOURCE New York Regional Association of Grantmakers
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Related links:
http://www.nyrag.org
CONTACT:
Regina Barboza of New York Regional
Association of Grantmakers, +1-212-714-0699, ext. 225, or
coconsultant@nyrag.org
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