Americans' charitable donations to victims of last month's earthquake in Pakistan are a tiny fraction of the $1.5 billion they gave after December's Asian tsunami, but charity officials say it is more a matter of timing than a lack of compassion.
So far, donations to earthquake victims totalled $43 million, according to figures compiled by the Centre on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
But officials said the response by Americans to the October 8 earthquake, coming so soon after hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September, was even a little better than might have been expected.
The tsunami, they said, was a unique event. It happened during the Christmas season and dominated the airwaves for days with dramatic video and compelling stories of loss and survival, including the accounts of many Western tourists.
"In disasters, unfortunately, timing is everything," said Bill Strathmann, chief executive of Network for Good, an Internet service that lets donors' direct online gifts to the charity of their choice.
"The tsunami hit Americans during the holiday season, just as they had finished opening their presents and when they were feeling grateful for everything they had," he said.
"The earthquake came immediately on the heels of Katrina and Rita. Had Katrina not happened, I think donations would have been higher to Pakistan," he added.
AMERICAN CONCERN That does not mean Americans are not concerned about those devastated by the earthquake. In a poll this week by Ipsos Public Affairs, 49 percent said the United States should increase aid to the victims, with 41 percent disagreeing.
When informed the disaster left almost 80,000 dead and 3 million homeless, the number saying the United States should increase its aid rose to 55 percent.
"The $43 million Americans have given to the earthquake victims so far is probably more generous than historic precedents would suggest," said Patrick Rooney, research director for the philanthropy centre.
He said that most foreign disasters prompted the US private donations of $10 million to $25 million. Before the tsunami, the most the American Red Cross had ever collected for a foreign disaster was $50 million for Central American victims of Hurricane Mitch in 1998.
"Americans are relatively very generous after most disasters, but the tsunami was extraordinary," Rooney said. "The phrase "donor fatigue" comes up every time there's a major crisis, but it's hard to see the evidence for it."
Charity is big business in the United States. Last year, the 400 largest US charities saw donations rise 11.6 percent over 2003 to reach $248.5 billion, according to the figures published last month by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
So far, the American Red Cross has collected $4.2 million for earthquake victims, roughly in line with its expectations, said Lauri Rhinehart, director of disaster fund-raising.
That's almost double the amount it raised for the 2003 earthquake in Bam, Iran, which killed 26,000 people.
"The amount we raise for any given disaster depends on many factors - the amount of media attention, where it is, what else is going on in the news and the state of the economy," Rhinehart said.
The size in the United States of an expatriate community with links to the affected area can also affect the response. Pakistani-Americans, for example, seem to be making most of the donations for the Pakistan earthquake, said Mike Kiernan of Save The Children.
His group expects to have raised $3 million for earthquake victims by the end of next week. In the first month after the Bam earthquake, it raised $300,000.
A major change in recent years has been the Internet. Online giving in 2004 reached $3 billion, up 58 percent over 2003, and it has more than tripled in three years, according to a study by Kintera Inc, a company that provides software for non-profit organisations, and Luth Research, a market research firm.
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