Charities Seek Help From BP to Meet Increasing Need for Services

Some nonprofit organizations on the Gulf Coast are seeking to force the oil company BP to compensate them for money problems caused by the giant oil spill. They say they now face increased demand for their services and a loss of donations because supporters can’t afford to make gifts.

In June, BP agreed to create a $20-billion fund to pay claims for economic damages resulting from the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Among the organizations that have sought a share of that money, or that may soon do so: a nonprofit health clinic, an animal shelter, and an environmental organization.

Mobile Baykeeper, an Alabama charity that works to preserve the Mobile Bay watershed, has trained more than 250 people to document the state of shorelines before the oil arrives, and also to act as oil spotters along the beaches. Each volunteer is responsible for a mile-long stretch.

The charity expects to seek $20,000 or more from BP to cover the costs of a new database and phone systems and staff time to oversee the volunteer program.

“The more we thought about what we were doing, the more we realized that we were doing it for BP in so many ways,” says Casi Callaway, the charity’s executive director.

Robert Wine, a BP spokesman, says charities and churches can file claims through the same process that individuals and business are using—by going to http://www.bp.com/claims or calling (800) 440-0858. He says he is not aware of any filings yet by charities.

Darryl Willis, head of claims for BP, did not respond to an interview request, but he told the Associated Press that churches and charities should submit a claim if they think they have an economic loss as a result of the spill.

“I would test the system and let us work through that process,” he said.

Financial Stress

Some charity officials say they believe charities should not pursue money through the BP fund, but rather apply for grants from the company.

The Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans has received a $1-million grant from BP, and is leading a request by the Greater New Orleans Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster Collaborative for a $12-million grant from BP. Both grants cover case-management and counseling services, as well as direct assistance.

Corinne Levy, a spokeswoman for New Orleans Catholic Charities, says the organization will not file a claim for economic damages with BP.

“I really think the money should go to those who are suffering, the people who are not able to fish, or the oyster shuckers who are not able to perform their jobs,” she says.

But some charities say they are under financial stress because of increasing demand for their services, without a simultaneous increase in revenues.

Debra Miesch, executive director of the Bayou Clinic, a nonprofit health clinic in Bayou La Batre, says that since the spill, a larger percentage of patients—mostly out-of-work fishermen and their families—are asking for discounts based on economic hardship.

“Most of the people, if they got a job tomorrow, they would come in and pay their bill,” she says. “They just don’t have the money.”

The charity has not decided whether it will seek money from BP.

Plaquemines Animal Welfare Society, a no-kill shelter in Plaquemines Parish, La., is expecting unemployment to rise, and a greater number of people to give up their pets to save money as a result.

So far, the number turning in their pets has been modest, but the nonprofit organization recently filed a claim with BP nonetheless.

“Mostly we’re just bracing ourselves for what we expect in the future,” says Jacob Stroman, the charity’s shelter director.