One week after the earthquake in Haiti, donations to the relief effort have surged past $210 million, according to the latest tally by the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Crisis in Haiti
That puts the pace of giving well ahead of the effort following the 2004 Asian Tsunami, but behind the $457 million raised in the week following Hurricane Katrina.
Much of the assistance is coming from the business world, and particularly from Wall Street. Jefferies and Co. , which donated all of last Friday’s global trading commissions to the relief, added a $1 million corporate donation and another $1 million in employee contributions for a total of $7.5 million. The firm says it wired the funds today to a variety of organizations including the American Red Cross, UNICEF and the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund.
Deutsche Bank also donated Friday’s commissions, contributing $4 million.
Citigroup said on Friday it was donating $2 million; Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have sent $1 million apiece.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that by the end of the day Monday, corporate-driven aid had topped $69 million.
The largest recipient of aid is the American Red Cross, which has reportedly raised $112 million, $22 million of that through a text messaging campaign.
Other major recipients include the U.S. fund for UNICEF at more than $18 million, and Catholic Relief Services at $13 million.
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The relief effort is spotlighting the power of the Internet and social media, with much of the funds donated online. Visa , MasterCard and American Express have all waived transaction fees on donations by credit card.
Source: Chrysler
And Chrysler said it was auctioning a 300C sedan, signed by dozens of celebrities at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards, on eBay, with the proceeds going to earthquake relief.
The eBay website on Tuesday showed more than 30,000 items up for bid to benefit the relief effort.