The worst of nature’s fury often brings out the best in people’s generosity toward those affected by disasters. For example, according to national headquarters of the American Red Cross, the organization received more than $2.12 billion from September to December 2005 to help victims of Hurricane Katrina in the south-central United States, with much of the money contributed through local American Red Cross chapters around the country.
What many people may not realize is that 100 percent of those dedicated donations went straight to the national Red Cross organization, creating some unintended fund-raising challenges for local chapters in their ongoing mission to serve the needs of people closer to home.
“Americans were very generous in giving to major national and international relief campaigns throughout the past year,” said Rick Hankins, director of administrative services and information technology for the Greater Cleveland Chapter of the American Red Cross.
“At the same time, events like Hurricane Katrina lead to what we call ‘donor fatigue’; people feel like they’ve already given all they can,” he...