June 23, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
Observations that donors are not giving much money to provide relief for efforts to clean up the gulf oil spill appear to be borne out by the meager amount given in response to a telethon aired on CNN this week.
The two-hour star-studded broadcast featuring talk-show host Larry King on Monday night generated $1.8-million. By contrast, a similar broadcast with Mr. King raised $10-million following the Haiti earthquake in January.
Fund-raising experts and charity leaders have speculated that the sluggish pace of donations is because Americans expect BP, as the company responsible for the spill, to pay for the damage it has caused.
Donations in response to this week’s telethon are going to the National Wildlife Federation, Nature Conservancy, and United Way Worldwide. CNN says it selected those groups as a way to highlight three areas of need: saving animals, restoring natural habitats, and helping people whose livelihoods are being ravaged by the historic disaster.
Donations are still trickling in, but officials say that the National Wildlife Federation has raised the most so far from the telethon — more than $835,000. United Way Worldwide has raised $475,000, while the Nature Conservancy has raised more than $400,000.
