Feds may step in to manage disaster relief contributions

If the disaster of September 11 was unprecedented, so was the response. And now, American charities have found themselves with an unfamiliar problem: They are awash in cash, pledges, and in-kind donations earmarked for the survivors of those who died in the twin towers, the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field. The challenge--and it is a herculean one--is how to disburse the funds equitably to those families that need it, and how to know who has received help and who hasn't. Charities accustomed to going it alone with little oversight or need for cooperation are struggling to find ways to work with rival nonprofits, and they are chafing at the idea of playing a subordinate role to any government entity. So far, no one person or agency is in charge of the charity effort, although the need for some coordination grows more evident each day. Thus far, nearly $1 billion has been raised. Typically, the government would step in, but the government itself has overlapping jurisdictions. In New York City, who should take the lead--the mayor, the governor, or the state attorney general? Where does the Federal Emergency Management Agency fit in? And what about the Bush Administration's new Office of Homeland Security led by Tom Ridge? The very idea of coordination can be contentious. "Coordination is not giving direction to independent entities. They don't take direction," says FEMA's Ken Curtin, who serves as a liaison with charity groups. "It's not a matter of leadership or direction. It's a matter of understanding all the needs and all the services, and all the resources to pay for those services, and marrying them up. It's letting the funds know where the programmers are, letting the programmers know where the needs are, and letting the people with the needs know where the programs are." That doesn't mean that people have stopped trying to synchronize the massive disaster relief efforts. Indeed, Curtin is working to make sure a group called the New York City Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster plays a central role. The city organization is a consortium of nonprofit groups, private entities, and government agencies that have roles in disaster relief. Its very nature calls for its member groups to maintain their independence while serving those struck by catastrophe. The national organization has been around since July 1970 and has provided assistance in many disaster areas. New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has another idea. As the official responsible for regulating charities in his state, Spitzer took the lead in calling various groups together. He met recently with representatives of 20 large relief groups to discuss two database projects--one that would track the goals of various relief groups and one that would track those people receiving funds. The former is supposed to launch any day now. But then Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's office tried to assert its authority. The office and the attorney general briefly sparred over their roles in coordinating the whopping amount in donations before they made peace and agreed to share the task. None of the major private charities, such as the American Red Cross and the United Way, has made a bid to assume a coordinating role. Ani Hurwitz of the New York Community Trust doesn't see a need for one. "I guarantee you, in New York City, somebody is thinking about everybody affected here." Her group, she says, is in constant contact with nonprofits "who work in every single area of the city"--the arts, education, hunger programs, homeless shelters; and with all kinds of people--children, immigrants, the mentally retarded, developmentally disabled. "This is the benefit of private philanthropy. It looks to see what other people are doing--what the feds are doing, what the state is doing, what the city is doing," Hurwitz says. "I think there are lots of very smart, creative people involved in this effort who are worrying about that. My question is, would you appoint a philanthropy czar?" Daniel Borochoff, president of the American Institute of Philanthropy, worries that a lack of coordination could lead to the family members of victims falling through the cracks or, conversely, being able to double-dip, or even triple-dip, into monies collected. Borochoff says that although private, nonprofit aid pales in comparison to the $40 billion in emergency assistance pledged by Congress and the $6 billion in impending payments by insurance companies, it is large enough for all kinds of problems to result. He especially fears that numerous charities, including many newly formed groups operating without oversight and clear coordination, could allow "scammers" to manipulate the system and prevent donated dollars from getting to the appropriate destination. "It's really important that the charities meet the needs not being met by the government and insurance companies," he said. Two people who managed the response to the Oklahoma City bombing have been in close contact with Spitzer's office. Their recommendations include establishing charity and recipient databases, naming case managers for each family affected, and forming an unmet-needs committee. "This is not about distributing money; it's about trying to help people restore their lives," advised Nancy Anthony of the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. "And 'long term' isn't two years, it's 10."