Relief Funds Growing

Challenge now becomes dispersing aid fairly

By Robert Polner | STAFF WRITER

September 22, 2001

As millions in donations pour in for those affected by the World Trade Center attack, officials involved in relief efforts said Friday that they face challenges in giving it away.

Based on the torrential giving so far, contributions to a growing gamut of private and nonprofit relief funds are expected to amount to hundreds of millions, and government assistance is also available.

"The challenge is getting all the money distributed fairly, thoughtfully and knowledgeably so each organization knows what the other is doing and so they don't leave gaps," said Jon Small, president of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York, a group that helps charitable and social service organizations work together.

There are so many victims, and there is so much money, that the New York Community Trust and the United Way have already begun distributing some of the $104 million raised by their joint Sept. 11th Fund to the American Red Cross and other disaster-relief organizations, said Ani Hurwitz, a spokeswoman for the trust.

The larger and more complex issue involves "carving out real areas of long-term needs" that might otherwise go unaddressed. People affected by the tragedy face cash crunches, have housing and child care bills, and need psychological counseling, among other things.

Organizations will also be looking to limit or absorb administrative overhead and "bend over backward to make sure everything is squeaky clean," said Small, noting the importance that large organizations and companies are attaching to their charitable campaigns.

One example of coordination can be seen in a decision by The Sept. 11th Fund to give a $700,000 grant to Safe Horizon, a nonprofit organization that distributes up to $1,500 in state funds to crime victims in the city. The grant allowed Safe Horizon to provide help to gay and unmarried dependents as well. "We're right now the only organization that's able to provide immediate financial assistance, known as bridge funding," said chief executive officer Gordon Campbell.

In looking to not leave anyone behind, officials said they recognize that there is a well-established net of government benefits for the families of police and fire workers and, to a lesser extent, emergency medical technicians. The Giuliani administration is planning to supplement such aid through its Twin Towers Fund, which is aimed at helping the families of lost or injured members of the uniformed services. A person working on the fund said more than $50 million had been pledged so far.

But Small noted that well-established nets rarely exist for families of maintenance workers, security guards and bond traders killed or injured in the attack.

Overall, checks are arriving in sums as small as $10 or as huge as $30 million - the latter from the Eli Lilly Foundation. A Web site, libertyunites.org, lists large organizations to which contributions can be directed.

Not all the relief is in the form of cash. Food for Survival, a food bank servicing the 1,200 soup kitchens and food pantries in the city, said it has received food donations averaging about 12 tractor-trailers a day.