Renewal and Reckoning

The legacy and lessons of charity’s response to September 11: A Special Report:

John Harrington, for The Chronicle

PAYING TRIBUTE Building memorials to events as traumatic as the September 11, 2001, attacks presents special challenges to fund raisers. James J. Laychak, chairman of the Pentagon Memorial Fund, says that donors are responding well to pitches made from family members of people who were killed.

THE NONPROFIT WORLD is still reeling from the after-effects of September 11. The tragedy prompted an outpouring of volunteerism, but has also triggered a lingering cynicism of charities among Americans.

NEARLY ALL THE MONEY raised in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11 — $2.2-billion — has been spent. The exception: money for college scholarships and health care.

VOLUNTEERING in the wake of the 2001 attacks has been on the rise, especially among young people, but has the event given rise to a new culture of civic engagement?

BEYOND ANGER AND GRIEF, responses to the tragedy included the creation of some 300 new charities, which have met with varying success: profiles of six nonprofit groups attempting to ease the aftermath of September 11.

BANDING TOGETHER for marketing and fund raising proved the ticket to recovery for 15 museums in Lower Manhattan whose attendance had slumped following the terrorist attacks.

GRANT MAKERS have been slow to support efforts aimed at increasing understanding of the Muslim world, hampered by government rules and a lack of knowledge, among other obstacles.

THE FIRST RESPONSE COALITION is pushing hard for improvements in the way emergency workers at the scene of a disaster communicate with one another.

THE ABRAHAM FUND works to build bridges between Israel’s Arab and Jewish citizens, but could see its progress stalled by Israel’s fighting with Hezbollah.