Red Cross donations fall as disasters fade

BOISE – Seventy percent of American Red Cross chapters, including in Idaho and Utah, report charitable contributions that trail their budget forecasts. Officials say it’s because donations are returning to normal following the giving frenzy of the 2004 Asian tsunami and 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.

As a result, the Red Cross of Greater Idaho has cut staff by 40 percent since last year. In Idaho, offices in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, Lewiston and Boise now employ 12 paid staff, down from 20 in June 2006, said Dick Rush, Idaho Red Cross director since early this year. In the most recent layoffs, the chapter cut four workers in April, including a spokesman, two health and safety workers and one support employee who assisted the local disaster-response director.

Red Cross officials say fundraising proceeds nationwide have slipped since the organization nationally collected $2.4 billion dedicated solely to helping victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In the fiscal year starting in June 2004, American Red Cross donations totaled $3.1 million. That rose to $6 billion in the following fiscal year, officials said.

The pace has slowed considerably in the current fiscal year, though year-to-date giving totals were not immediately available, said Mark Brinkerhoff, a Red Cross fundraising official in Las Vegas who works with 38 chapters in 10 Western states.

“That’s caused a number of chapters to respond with good business decisions to reduce expenses, and in some cases, staff, to respond to the income levels,” Brinkerhoff said.

Nationally, the Red Cross, whose efforts include helping victims of residential fires, has about 1 million volunteers and 35,000 paid staff. Its officials didn’t give totals for employee cutbacks.

Other nonprofit agencies are experiencing similar fundraising trends, Red Cross officials say.

Nationally, charitable giving in 2004 was about $245 billion, with the numbers rising to $260 billion in 2005. It’ll likely miss the mark in this fiscal year – despite catastrophes such as the twister that destroyed a Kansas town early this month.

“Nonprofits in general across the United States are hurting right now,” said Peter Macias, a Red Cross spokesman in Las Vegas. “It was such a huge outburst of altruism from the American public (following the Asian tsunami and the hurricanes), but I think it’s died off a bit.”

Idaho officials say a quick succession of four leaders since 2005 has also contributed to the Red Cross’ woes, sapping the state’s nonprofit disaster relief organization of management know-how needed to better manage the giving slump.

The annual budget in Idaho is about $1.7 million, short of the $2 million anticipated, officials said.

“We’re trying to look at it like a business,” said Kim Peck, the Idaho chapter’s chairwoman. “While you have to have a certain number of employees, it’s a volunteer organization. We’re very cognizant of the donors. We’re trying to be as efficient as we possibly can.”

In Idaho, which hasn’t been hit by large-scale disasters, Red Cross workers and volunteers commonly provide short-term relief – such as for victims of five recent house fires in southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon that required thousands for emergency hotel rooms. The chapter also provides water safety, baby-sitting and emergency CPR classes.

Since Idaho’s budget woes surfaced, Peck has been working with regional leaders on a plan to boost donations and trim costs. They’re hoping a 2006 law passed by the Idaho Legislature letting residents donate money from their state tax returns to the group will bolster finances. Figures from that program aren’t yet available, Peck said.

In addition, a public relations campaign meant to boost charitable receipts is planned, said Mike Journee, another Idaho board member. Unlike other chapters, Idaho doesn’t have a paid professional fundraiser, so it’s relying on volunteers to spearhead that effort.

Journee is optimistic that steps taken so far will avert future cuts, such as shuttering any of Idaho’s five offices.

“It was the board’s intent that we need to keep the offices open, if at all possible,” Journee said. “We need to do a much better job of coordinating our volunteer base, and making sure the services we provide can be provided.”