INDIANAPOLIS—Nearing the second anniversary of the December 2004 Asian tsunami,
a new study by the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University reports that
individuals, corporations, and foundations in the United States donated a
total of $3.16 billion toward relief efforts.
The overwhelming majority of disaster relief giving came not from million dollar
corporate or foundation gifts, but from the combined gifts of individuals
nationwide.
The 25 percent of American households that donated for tsunami relief gave
a combined total of $2.78 billion. Another $340 million came from corporations
and $40 million came from foundations.
Tsunami giving data was collected from more than 8,000 individual households
as part of the Center on Philanthropy Panel Study (COPPS) conducted in conjunction
with the University of Michigan’s Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The
findings are based on a preliminary release of data from the PSID; the researchers
believe they provide the largest and most comprehensive look to date at individuals’
giving in response to the tsunami.
“Despite the highly publicized million-dollar gifts from corporations and
celebrities, most of the giving to the tsunami relief efforts came from gifts
of less than $50 made by millions of Americans across the country,” said Patrick
M. Rooney, director of research for the Center on Philanthropy. “These giving
patterns are very similar to the charitable response to the September 11, 2001
terrorist attacks and what we believe occurred after Hurricane Katrina.”
Among households that donated for the tsunami relief efforts, the median amount
given was $50, while the average donation was $135. These amounts are virtually
identical to those given for September 11th recovery.
The largest percentage of donors, 37 percent, reported making tsunami relief gifts
through their place of worship. Another 27.5 percent of households said they gave
through their school or work, and 13 percent of donors gave through stores.
“Churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples play a very important mobilizing role
in disaster giving,” said Eugene R. Tempel, executive director of the Center on
Philanthropy. “However they chose to give, Americans’ response to the tsunami was
by far the largest outpouring of giving for an international disaster in recent
memory.”
The study found that people with higher incomes gave only slightly more for the
relief efforts. Households with annual incomes of less than $50,000 gave $104 on
average, while households with incomes between $100,000 and $200,000 gave $164 on
average. People of wealth and those with more education gave slightly more on
average than those with less wealth or education.
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, a part of the Indiana University
School of Liberal Arts at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, is a
leading academic center dedicated to increasing the understanding of philanthropy
and improving its practice through research, teaching, public service and public
affairs programs in philanthropy, fundraising, and management of nonprofit
organizations.
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