Hurricane Katrina

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THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS As the American Red Cross mounts the biggest disaster-relief effort in its history, international relief groups, health charities, education organizations, and many other charities are pitching in to help Katrina’s survivors.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WERE DISPLACED by the hurricane, and now nonprofit groups across the country are scrambling to get them settled.

BATON ROUGE’S POPULATION has nearly doubled with the influx of people from New Orleans, stretching the resources of local charities.

THE CHALLENGES TO CHARITIES posed by Katrina are exacerbated by the region’s poverty and the fact that so many charities themselves were victims of the storm.

GIVING TO THE HURRICANE-RELIEF EFFORTS has been unprecedented, outpacing donations following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

NONPROFIT GROUPS NOT INVOLVED IN THE RELIEF EFFORTS worry that their fund raising could take a hit, especially if the destruction wreaked by Katrina causes an economic slump nationwide.

BIG GIFTS AND GRANTS: A sampling of the largest commitments that corporations, foundations, and individuals have made to relief causes.

THE HURRICANE forced the delay of a key vote in the Senate on the repeal of the estate tax (Tax Watch).

HOW CHARITABLE GIVING fared after national crisis.

OPINION: Leslie Lenkowsky expects that raising money for relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina will be easier than spending it effectively.