Charities struggle to get aid for oil spill victims

By Bob Keefe

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

It may be one of the nation's worst disasters in recent years, but so far, many charities are having a tough time getting donations to help the human victims of the Gulf Coast oil spill.

In the weeks following Hurricane Katrina, Catholic Charities USA received more than $160 million in donations to help the needy of Louisiana and neighboring states.

In the weeks since the BP oil spill, the group has received a mere $37,000 to help out-of-work fishermen, oil industry workers and others, according to President Larry Snyder. That's despite working just as hard to solicit donations for oil spill victims as the group did for hurricane victims, he added.

"That's unreal," U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta said at a congressional hearing earlier this week that focused on charitable giving in the Gulf Coast region. "That's unbelievable."

Lewis, a Democrat who chairs the House Ways and Means Oversight subcommittee, said he's concerned philanthropic groups that enjoy tax-exempt status aren't giving enough to charities like Snyder's. Lewis threatened that Congress might get involved, too, if tax-exempt nonprofits don't start doing more.

"I am somewhat shocked and dismayed that the foundations do not appear to be doing their part, " he said. "People are suffering. They're hurting."

At some charity locations, out-of-work fishermen line up at 3 a.m. for food vouchers to feed their families, Snyder said. Many get turned away because there aren't enough vouchers to go around.

Charity leaders say there are a numbers of reason why big philanthropic organizations as well as everyday Americans apparently aren't giving much to help their neighbors along the Gulf Coast.

First is the lousy economy, which has charitable giving down everywhere.

But many Americans may also believe the government and BP are fully taking care of those in need and that a $20 billion escrow fund for aid that BP and the Obama administration established are already covering all the needs of fishermen, hospitality industry workers and others who lost their livelihoods because of the spill's consequences.

That's just not the case, charity leaders say.

"It's going to be quite a while before anybody sees any of that money," Snyder said.

Some charities -- mainly those that deal with wildlife and habitat restoration -- say they've doing better than others. Jeff Trandahl, executive director of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, said that his group has received million in donations.

But leaders of other groups that serve people, not animals, say their experience is more like that of Catholic Charities.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has raised $250,000 for out-of-work Gulf Coast residents since the April 20 oil spill. That's about a fifth of what it raised in the same amount of time after Hurricane Katrina, despite a major marketing campaign.

"The national response has just not been that enthusiastic," Josephine Everly, development officer for the nonprofit group, said in a telephone interview from New Orleans.

Some charity groups are lobbying the Obama administration to declare the Gulf region a disaster area to help get more federal funds and to help raise awareness.

In Congress, "we're going to be watching closely to see that the organizations and groups that enjoy tax-exempt status are doing their part," Lewis said.