Are leaner times ahead for charities?

Cancelled events, reduced donations may cut into overall support, but some say donations to post-Sept. 11 relief efforts may mean more money for all.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Nov. 12, 2001.

The annual event had been planned for months. Participants had collected pledges, endured training rides and tuned their bikes -- all to raise money for the New York City chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, a group that funds medical research into the disease and helps pay for services for those who suffer from it.

The $1.5 million usually raised by the yearly bike tour was supposed to be a significant chunk of the chapter's $8 million annual budget. But the event, planned for Sept. 23 and ending at the World Trade Center, obviously had to be rescheduled.

"We took a big hit," said Kathleen Walsh, spokeswoman for the chapter.

Now, the organization is one of many medical-related charities looking to recover from the financial losses incurred because fundraising events had to be rescheduled or cancelled completely.

At the same time, these causes face the impact of the shift in attention to charities providing relief to victims of the Sept. 11 disasters.

Finally, they are also suffering the effects -- either by reduced donations or less valuable investment portfolios -- of an economy that was feeling a pinch even before the national tragedies occurred.

To date, some 180 charities have collected more than $1 billion to fund disaster relief efforts over the short and long term. It is unclear how much of that is money that would have gone to other charities.

Most charities not associated with the relief effort say it is too early to tell what the impact of the charitable money flow in one direction will be on their donations, although some have observed a 20% decrease since Sept. 11. [...]