Some Charities Hurting Because of Terror Relief Effort

Some charities not playing a direct role in the half-billion-dollar-plus Sept. 11 relief efforts have delayed fundraising, stopped direct-mail programs and told their fundraisers to keep a low profile. They have done so out of respect for the victims of the terror attack and out of fear of angering would-be donors. "At this point, we consider our needs to be incidental to theirs," said Marshall McNott, president of the Los Angeles Mission, an agency that helps the homeless.

Almost simultaneously, a plunging stock market has reduced the reserves of many charities, threatening the viability of their operations. The Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has had to lay off eight of its 55 employees and close two adoption centers. "The donations have essentially dried up. Since the attack, there's almost no mail coming into the organization," President Madeline Bernstein said.

Many organizations have been hard hit. One regular donor to the San Francisco chapter of the Salvation Army asked that his $1.7 million donation be diverted to New York. And chapter officials might not have enough money to buy toys for 33,000 families in December or fill 2,000 food bags.

The Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation has postponed several events, including a Malibu triathlon, pushed back two weeks from its original Sept. 15 date, and a Washington gala set for November that now will be held sometime next year. Fund raising for even something as urgent as pediatric AIDS is hard right now, "when there's so much tragedy going on," said Janis Spire, the foundation's executive director.

Across the board, many organizations are increasingly fearful that in the next few months when they do go to corporate funders, they will encounter difficulties in meeting charitable budgets. Some organizations, however, including the American Diabetes Association, have scheduled their events as usual and found the response equal or higher than last year's results.

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