Half of $2-Billion Raised for September 11 Given Away; Other Recovery Updates

Charities collecting money for September 11 recovery efforts have distributed half of the more than

$2-billion they raised, according to a new Chronicle survey. The Chronicle gathered figures for 30 of the most prominent organizations raising money to deal with the aftermath of the terrorist attacks.

The September 11th Fund, an organization created by the New York Community Trust and the United Way of New York that has raised the second largest amount in cash, behind the American Red Cross, said that charities do not need to collect any more money for the relief effort. Using studies of New York nonprofit groups and of the long-term needs of people affected by the Oklahoma City bombing, the group estimated that major charities have raised enough money to fulfill their missions, said Jeanine Moss, spokeswoman for the September 11th Fund.

“We don’t believe there’s too much money, but we believe there’s enough money,” she said.

The fund has asked donors to send contributions to other charities helping needy people not directly affected by the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Other charities supporting September 11 recovery activities have issued similar requests.

The high level of giving has left at least one nonprofit group unable to donate the money it raised to help the families of attack victims. The Stars and Stripes Relief Fund, formed by a group of Chicago business executives 15 days after the attacks, raised $25,000 by selling reflecting flag decals, said the group’s president, Brian H. Marron.

But the money remains in the hands of Stars and Stripes, he said. The group has contacted September 11 recovery charities in hopes of donating the money to them, “but many of them told us they had closed the taking of more donations specific to 9/11,” Mr. Marron said.

“The board is leaning toward giving it to a group at the Pentagon,” Mr. Marron said. “The problem has been finding a group to give it to.”

The Twin Towers Fund, run by the City of New York to raise money for families of uniformed victims of the attack on the World Trade Center, has suspended cash payments to families as it waits for a decision from New York State Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer on whether the $100-million the fund has collected can be transferred to a private charity of the same name controlled by former New York Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.

Families of police officers who died in the attack last week stopped threatening legal action to halt the plan after Mr. Giuliani promised to distribute the $100-million within 60 days of its transfer. However, some objections remain to the $1.2-million in annual salaries that the fund would pay its employees if it were to convert from a city-run entity to a private philanthropy.

While Mr. Giuliani and other board members of the Twin Towers Fund said they would not be paid, its president and 11 staff members would receive compensation. Currently, the city provides the salaries for employees who operate the fund.

Mr. Spitzer has asked that city representatives be appointed to the fund’s board and that the New York City comptroller audit the charity’s finances. Mr. Giuliani has already raised $15-million for the private Twin Towers Fund, which was set up in December.

The American Red Cross, which received intense criticism for the management of its fund for September 11 recovery efforts, is being scrutinized by the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, in Arlington, Va. The watchdog group wants to determine whether the organization continues to meet the alliance’s standards, which include requirements on fund raising, management, and governance.

The alliance has asked the American Red Cross to respond by the end of the month to 50 questions about its work. About 35 questions are directly related to the relief organization’s September 11 activities, including fund raising, blood collection, and its handling of the more than $921-million it has raised in response to the terrorist attacks. Both the Red Cross and the alliance have refused to reveal the questions.

The Wise Giving Alliance angered the American Red Cross when it removed a favorable report about the aid organization from the alliance’s Web site while the review is under way. The report, from two years ago, said the Red Cross met the group’s standards.

The situation was resolved when the alliance explained the removal on its Web site, said a Red Cross spokesman, Darren Irby. The site now says the watchdog group has “requested updated materials from the American Red Cross in order to complete a more current report.”

“We are not saying they meet or do not meet the standards,” said H. Art Taylor, president of the Wise Giving Alliance, who noted that removing a report about a charity under review is standard procedure. “Hopefully, they will meet all the standards,” he said.

The Wise Giving Alliance decided to investigate the Red Cross because of the post–September 11 criticism and complaints from donors, and because the organization’s evaluation was overdue for review, Mr. Taylor said. “We see it as the responsible thing to do for the donors,” he said.

Mr. Taylor said he expected to make a decision about the Red Cross’s status within six weeks after the Red Cross submits the responses to the questions.

The new report will be available on the Wise Giving Alliance’s Web site at http://www.give.org.