Charities suffer tsunami effect

The charity dollar is being stretched by tsunami relief, with the first big charity out of the blocks this year taking less money than it hoped.

Money raised by IHC's 27-year-old nationwide appeal last week was "certainly down", said fundraising manager Greg Millar.

The organisation had prepared to take a fundraising hit as attention shifted to tsunami victims and had cut back on staff needed to run the appeal as a result. But it kept the same number of door-to-door collectors as previous years - 13,000.

Concern over money being diverted to the high-profile tsunami campaign prompted the relief agency Oxfam yesterday to slam as "stingy" the response of the world's richest nations to other tragedies.

New Zealand executive director Barry Coates said "the aid agenda should be set according to need and not media coverage".

He contrasted the $700 raised for every tsunami victim worldwide with the response to other global disasters including a United Nations appeal for victims of the humanitarian crisis in Dafur in Sudan which had so far raised just $22 per person.

Another UN appeal for West Africa, where 400,000 people were starving after a plague of locusts, had so far received nothing, he said.

"Oxfam is encouraging the public to remember the forgotten crises in the world," Mr Coates said.

Mr Millar said IHC's core donors had given as generously as ever and he understood people wanting to give to tsunami relief, but there was nothing the organisation could do to change the timing of its appeal.

Cancer Society spokeswoman Cath Chittenden said having the annual Daffodil Appeal in late August could be an advantage.

"I know there is concern among charities, particularly those who need to fundraise in the first quarter of this year," she said.

Salvation Army public relations secretary Dave Bennett said that with its annual appeal looming in May, the organisation was concerned. "I can't see it not having some effect."

But the Malaghan Institute, which raises money for asthma, cancer, arthritis and multiple sclerosis, said support for its appeal last week was "still high".

NZ tsunami aid

$3 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs appeal.
$7 million to the UN Development Programme.
$5 million to the UN World Food Programme.
$3 million to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
$1 million to the United Nations Population Fund.
$1 million to the UN Development Fund for Women.