A study of giving patterns following last summer’s hurricanes shows only a small reduction in Americans’ generosity, indicating that fears of post-Katrina donor fatigue were unfounded.
The study, released late last month by the Conference Board, showed that 9 out of 10 donors contributed to various hurricane relief efforts, while also giving their usual amounts to their regular charities. Those who cited reductions in their normal giving said the reason was greater competition from more nonprofits and not competition from hurricane funds.
Despite fears of donor fatigue, there have been virtually no signs of such a development in analyses conductedto date, said Paulette Maehara, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Nonprofit leaders say a targeted focus helps them avoid the fallout from nationwide crises like hurricanes.
“As a small, local nonprofit, we’ve focused on developing relationships with donors who care about protecting children,” said Diane Charles, executive director of Stop Child Abuse Now of Northern Virginia. “That helped us develop loyalty among our donors that is less likely to be affected by national and global events.”
Other experts confirmed that donors seem to keep local needs in mind and did not hold back.
“We all recognized the enormity of need in the aftermath of the Katrina. But I think people also recognized the day-to-day smaller ‘disasters’ affecting people in our region,” says Chuck Bean of the Nonprofit Roundtable.
As individual and collective fundraising drives ramped up last fall, Bean said he put extra care into crafting his messages. “We said things like, ‘This year — more than ever — give above and beyond what you normally do. Support the Katrina effort and also remember the needs in our community,’ ” Bean told The Examiner.
Have information about area nonprofits? Contact Frank Sietzen at [email protected].
