AS WAS THE CASE WITH LAST winter's tsunami, several charities almost immediately began raising money online to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and other affected areas.
For example, food charity America's Second Harvest collected $1.4 million via inbound telemarketing and its Web site within the first few days of the hurricane, which hit Aug. 29. And Church World Service pulled in more than $221,000 through its site.
Meanwhile, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sent 250,000 e-mail messages two days after the storm to raise money to rebuild shelters. It hoped to raise $2 million.
AS WAS THE CASE WITH LAST winter's tsunami, several charities almost immediately began raising money online to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and other affected areas.
Thanks to heavy news coverage on television and in local and regional newspapers, food charity America's Second Harvest raised $1.4 million through inbound telemarketing and its Web site (www.secondharvesrt.org) within the first few days of the hurricane, which hit Aug. 29, said spokeswoman Maura Daly.
The Chicago organization was planning to distribute more than 1 million pounds of food and water to victims in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.
“We've delivered 28 truckloads of food and have 80 in the on-deck circle,” Daly said, noting that America's Second Harvest had received donated warehouse space and trucking services for the supplies.
She wasn't sure whether Second Harvest would be running any telemarketing efforts.
While the Web certainly has been the fastest way to raise money, it hasn't been the only one.
New York-based Church World Service (CWS) was set to send out a mailing at the end of August but stopped it and came up with a special Hurricane Katrina-related insert to add to the envelopes, said spokeswoman Jan Dragin. The mailings didn't ask for any specific contributions since congregation members can fall into several different income brackets.
In addition, the organization raised $221,281 through Web site Churchworldservice.org and asked for cash donations in lieu of food or material donations.
CWS also sends twice-yearly mailings to 110,000 church congregations in the United States. When a letter is sent to a church pastor “hundreds of people find out about it right away,” Dragin said.
The group stays away from telemarketing.
CWS donations are going to fund such things as its “Tools and Blankets” program, which tries to help people rebuild their lives after disasters.
Another faith-based organization successful with online fundraising is the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) which pulled in $570,000 at deadline, said spokesman Elliot Wright.
Even though UMCOR raises most of its money through collection plates in the country's 35,000 Methodist churches, Wright said this effort — its second-ever after the tsunami — was its most successful.
UMCOR uses donations in three ways: to help victims within 10 days of a disaster, to assist homeowners rebuild their lives physically and spiritually and to seek whatever assistance is available from other religious or government agencies.
One of UMCOR's primary activities surrounding Hurricane Katrina has been to distribute “health kits” — packages with soap, toothbrushes and other sanitary items.
“It doesn't sound like much, but the people down there have absolutely nothing,” said Wright.
Meanwhile, an e-mail blast helped launch a campaign that the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) hopes will raise over $2 million to rebuild shelters in areas affected by the storm.
The e-mailing to 250,000 two days after the storm was to be followed by a more than 700,000-piece direct mailing asking for donations. This was to target individuals who have given to the ASPCA within the last 48 months, said Jo Sullivan, senior vice president for development and communications.
All campaign funds will be earmarked for hurricane-affected shelters in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi and held for them until they're ready to rebuild, Sullivan said. Several hundred thousand dollars in donations already had been raised.
“But that's just a drop in the bucket,” she added. “These shelters can't even think about fundraising right now.”
Animals from shelters in the New Orleans area have been evacuated to the Houston Astrodome, Sullivan said, noting that a rescue team from the ASPCA's New York headquarters was getting ready to head down South to help take care of displaced animals.
The ASPCA is also compiling a list of people who've been separated from their animals because of the natural disaster. While there is no infrastructure to begin searches at present, the group hopes it can maintain a “master list” to help search for missing pets.
For its part, the Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation (DMANF) has urged public support for areas affected by Hurricane Katrina.
The DMA also warned of the very strong possibility of fraud in connection with the disaster and urged potential donors to be careful and know who they were dealing with.
“We cannot fully measure the scope of the need in the devastated region, but we know that the generosity of every American can have a positive impact. Even small donations will make a big difference,” said DMANF executive director Senny Boone in a statement.
Two DMA member nonprofits that were collecting donations were affected by the disaster themselves, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Hendricks.
The New Orleans-based National Cancer Coalition Inc. lost $13.5 million worth of medical supplies and medicines that will need to be replaced. The group was planning to set up temporary headquarters in Baton Rouge, LA.
And Mercy Corps of Portland, OR, which operated a home for children in New Orleans, had to evacuate that facility. It reportedly was destroyed. Mercy Corps was partnering with Episcopal Relief and Development to aid hurricane survivors.
Storm Kills Conferences
Many direct marketers have fond memories of attending industry events in the Big Easy. But associations with conferences planned for the city now have the uneasy task of deciding what to do in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The Marketing Research Association's fall meeting scheduled for Nov. 2-4 originally was to be held at the Hyatt Regency in New Orleans. While the meeting dates will not change, the MRA has been informed by the hotel that it cannot honor any group contracts until after Nov. 15.
Next month's DMA annual conference is set for Atlanta. But the Direct Marketing Association's 2004 annual conference was held in New Orleans, and the event was slated to return there in 2008
While the fate of that event is unknown, next year's Direct Marketing to Business conference planned for the Hyatt in New Orleans next year most likely will be relocated, as well as some other seminars scheduled for the devastated city in 2006, said DMA spokeswoman Stephanie Hendricks.
