Average family gave $50 to charities after terrorist attacks

Though Sept. 11 fund-raising totals eclipsed any previous U.S. campaign, the funds amount to only a fraction of the total charitable donations for last year.\nSince Sept. 11, Americans contributed a hefty $1.88 billion to relief funds, according to Giving USA, an annual report for 2001.\nBut how much is that really?\n"It turns out that the amount donated to Sept. 11 relief funds amounts to less than 1 percent of the year's total donations for 2001," said director of research for the IU Center on Philanthropy Patrick Rooney. Rooney has headed several studies on the relation between giving and Sept. 11.\nThe amount given in 2001 was a 0.5 percent increase from 2000.\nIn the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy, 74 percent of U.S. households responded by donating to the cause. In the meantime, other charities across the nation seemed to falter slightly as most Americans directed their money toward the calamity that took place.\nWhen the IU Center of Philanthropy surveyed non-profit organizations, asking them if Sept. 11 had affected their giving, 60 percent responded it had; however, only 5.5 percent surveyed said it would continue to affect other charities this fall.\n"Giving is very closely related to the conditions of the economy and the stock market," said IU Center of Philanthropy Communications Manager Adriene Davis. Davis said this could be why the effect of Sept. 11 on other charities is lessening as time progresses.\n"We have to keep in mind that this survey was taken before the wilder stock market swings, and results may be slightly different now," Davis said.\nThe amount donated in 2001 fits what has been seen in previous recession years, said Leo P. Arnoult, chair of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel Trust for Philanthropy.\nAccording to this research, it cannot be assumed that the increase in charitable giving from 2000 to 2001 is a result of Sept. 11, and the economy may even have had a greater effect on giving, Rooney said.\nThere are many factors that determine who gives how much, including the economy and new causes that arise, Arnoult said.\nThe average amount donated per household was about $50, and three-fourths of the gifts were less than $100. \n"These gifts were symbolic to those families who gave," Rooney said. "It was their way of showing support for the families who were victims of Sept. 11. It was the largest single outpouring of support than any other disaster in history on U.S. soil"