The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008 - (Page 6)

CHARITIES DRY Continued from page 1 everyone’s mind three years later,The Salvation Army wanted to be ready for Hurricane Gustav and started by forwarding $100,000 to some areas in the Gulf Coast to prepare for sheltering and feeding people left without power. For Hurricane Ike, which made landfall in Texas on Sept. 13,The Salvation Army is undertaking its biggest operation of the 2008 hurricane season.The Army has provided throughout the Gulf Coast nearly 1 million meals to people affected by Hurricanes Dolly, Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. “The early indications are that this storm is the worst of the five we have already responded to in the 2008 hurricane season,” said Maj. Marshall Gesner, Greater Houston Area Commander for The Salvation Army, estimating the organization’s response was about twice the size for Ike that it was for Gustav. Since Ike began, The Salvation Army has served nearly 52,000 meals to evacuees, emergency workers and those affected by the storm. More than 100 Salvation Army mobile feeding units responded in Texas. Several convoys of canteens and mobile kitchens moved into the disaster zone to begin serving the millions of people who are without power in the areas around Beaumont, Galveston, Houston and Lufkin. This hurricane season has put a squeeze on disaster organizations since July, according to Maj. Henry Gonzalez, Texas divisional commander for Salvation Army, and the donations haven’t matched up to the storms.The Salvation Army spent an estimated $800,000 to $900,000 in the six weeks after Hurricane Dolly hit southern Texas in July, according to Maj. Gonzalez, but only received $50,000 in donations after the storm.“I hope this is not a trend because if it is, then the Salvation Army dis- online donors, and Maj. Gonzalez hoped that donations would continue to come in after launching a Texas direct mail appeal. “We are being stretched to the max,” he said.“We are stepping out in faith. Because of the scope of Ike, we don’t know if we are going to be providing services, aster services could be in trouble,” he said, who explained he had faith that donors will respond with donations. The Salvation Army served more than 55,000 meals in only three days after Hurricane Ike, with those numbers growing as more evacuated families come back to unlivable conditions in their towns. Three days after Hurricane Ike, Salvation Army received an estimated $45,000 from 250 whether they are emergency services or long-term services, six months from now, a year from now or two or three years from now,” said Maj. Gonzalez. The Salvation Army continued to help Texans affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, he said, spending $53 million in the three years after those disasters. The organization spent more than $1 million in preparation and meals before Gustav hit -- and has received more than $35,000 in online donations after the storm dissipated, according to Maj. George Hood, Salvation Army’s national community relations secretary. “It’s far from where we need it to be. Historically, the American public has always responded generously, and this year it’s coming in very slow, at least for this particular storm,” said Maj. Hood. “The hype for the storm far exceeded what took place. That tends to get people to back off because they don’t sense that the need is that critical.” According to Maj. Gene Hogg, Salvation Army’s divisional secretary for Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi,“Everything that we were listening to told us that we would be facing a Katrina event.” He said that the organization prepared for the worst with Gustav because he “did not want to be at a point where people were standing on rooftops and floating around in bathtubs – hungry, thirsty, and without hope.” Maj. Hogg said that the Alexandria, Va.based organization did not yet know how much was spent mobilizing more than 100 mobile canteens traveling from Maryland and other areas and four mobile kitchens, in addition to operating 15 shelters and setting up other feeding areas. The Salvation Army served more than 200,000 meals before the storm landed, and expected to continue for more than a week as power is restored to hard hit areas. But donations coming from the organization’s national Web site are miniscule compared to the job ahead – including 6 OCTOBER 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com http://www.nptimes.com

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The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008 Near Miss & Direct Hit Donor Intent The Focus Of Suit North Dakota AG Investigating The Grant Institute Contents Who...When...Where...How...What? Calendar Kumbaya Tying The Knot Filing Changes Philanthropy Caucus Big Bucks For Capital Campaigns 5 Things NOT To Do In A Capital Campaign Acquisition: Staying The Course ServiceNation Summit Fundraising Guide NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - October 1, 2008

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