Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Haiti ... more than $ 1 billion mobilized! Accountability near zero!

Dear Colleagues

The Chronicle of Philanthropy has just published an essay that lists the donations that have been received by various organizations in connection with the Haiti earthquake emergency. It is reproduced below. In response to their posting I commented as follows:
Dear Colleagues

This is an impressive performance. It speaks highly of the well-wishers who have chosen to commit their money to Haiti because of the terrible horror of the earthquake in January.

As an accountant with a long history of being associated with various aspects of relief and development over a period of more than 30 years, I am bothered by the unwillingness of those that have been recipients of donations to address the deep question of accountability. This is more than merely having the right "paperwork" ... and more than merely having a collection of stories and associated images. Accountability requires some elements of good accounting ... some elements of value reporting ... and especially the ability to validate the data and the stories. This is what Community Analytics (CA) has been developed to do ... and will be used as much as possible in Haiti as we go forward.

More than $1 billion is impressive ... too much not to have excellence in accountability

Peter Burgess
http://communityanalyticsca.blogspot.com/
The list was prepared by Caroline Preston and Nicole Wallace ... and I commend them for their work. It is worth noting however that some of the data are old.

I would love to see the next step! We have some idea of how much money has come in, but we really have no idea how much money has gone out and what these moneys have been used for! This is a very serious matter ... and I am reasonably convinced that the financial future of many of these organizations has been made quite comfortable based on the donation for Haiti fund flows. I am not sure that this is what the donors expected. I am also convinced that many of the expenditures have facilitated a level of profiteering by suppliers that most would consider obnoxious if they knew more.
May 11, 2010
$1.1-Billion Donated for Haiti Relief:
Updated Tally (May 11)

Nearly four months after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, donors have contributed more than $1.1-billion to support relief efforts.

Donors gave approximately $66-million of that total in response to a star-studded telethon that was broadcast on major television networks in January. Organizers awarded $35-million in grants on February 5.

Among the results:

• ActionAid has raised more than $419,000 as of March 2.

•Action Against Hunger International has raised more than $7-million globally as of May 10.

• Adventist Development and Relief Agency had raised $6.9-million as of May 11.

• The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee had raised more than $6.1-million as of March 16.

• American Jewish World Service had raised more than $5.7-million as of May 10 for its Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.

• American Red Cross had raised approximately $444-million as of May 6, including $6-million from the Hope for Haiti telethon. More than $32-million was pledged to the Red Cross via text message.

• AmeriCares had raised more than $15-million as of May 10.

• Brother’s Brother Foundation had raised $725,000, and secured a pledge of $100,000, as of May 10.

• CARE USA had raised approximately $17.75-million as of May 7.

• Catholic Medical Mission Board had raised $1.92-million in cash as of May 10. The organization has also received donations of medicines and medical supplies worth $19.6-million.

• Catholic Relief Services had raised $135.7-million as of May 10.

• ChildFund International had raised $450,767 as of February 16.

• Church World Service had raised $3.2-million as of May 10.

• The Clinton Bush Haiti Fund had raised more than $37-million as of March 16.

• The William J. Clinton Foundation had received more than $14.5-million as of March 16.

• Concern Worldwide US had raised $3.2-million as of May 10.

• Cross International had raised $4.6-million as of March 16.

• Direct Relief International had raised $6.1-million in cash through the end of April.

• The Doctors Without Borders U.S. operations had raised $61.1-million for work in Haiti through April. Globally, the group and its international affiliates have raised $124-million and spent about $50-million to treat 100,000 people and provide other assistance.

• Feed the Children had raised $1-million as of May 7.

• Fonkoze USA had raised $1.26-million as of May 10.

• Friends of the World Food Program had raised $13.1-million, including $6-million from the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, as of May 10.

• Habitat for Humanity had raised $11.5-million as of May 10.

• Handicap International’s U.S. operations had raised $431,000 as of May 10.

• Heifer International had raised $1.4-million as of May 10.

• The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International has raised more than $1-million. The group has stopped soliciting money for Haiti relief.

• IMA World Health has raised more than $291,000 as of May 7. It has sent $730,000 in supplies.

• International Medical Corps had raised more than $6-million as of May 7.

• The International Rescue Committee had raised $6.6-million as of May 10.

• Internews Network, a nonprofit group that promotes journalism abroad, received $200,000 from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to help the news media in Haiti recover from the disaster and broadcast critical information about the relief efforts.

• Islamic Relief USA had raised more than $2.1-million as of March 2.

• The Lions Clubs International Foundation had raised $2.4-million as of March 16.

• Lutheran World Relief had raised nearly $6.5-million as of May 7.

• Medical Teams International had raised $4.5-million as of May 10.

• Mennonite Central Committee had raised $5.18-million from donors in the United States as of May 10. The group had raised another $8.1-million in Canada.

• Mercy Corps had received $14.6-million as of May 7.

• Operation USA had raised $1.4 in cash as of May 7. It has also received $5.7-million in donations of products.

• Oxfam America had received $23.2-million as of May 10, $8-million of which came from the Hope for Haiti Now telethon. Internationally, Oxfam has raised more than $100-million.

• The Pan American Development Foundation had raised more than $1.61-million as of February 23.

• Partners in Health had received donations totaling $66-million as of March 16, including $8-million from the Hope for Haiti Now telethon.

• Plan USA had raised more than $2-million as of May 10. The group’s international affiliates had raised $32.6-million.

• Population Services International had raised more than $174,000 as of May 10.

• Project HOPE had raised $1.7-million in cash and pledges as of May 10. It has distributed $35-million in medical supplies.

• Relief International had raised more than $533,000 as of May 10.

• The Salvation Army had raised $20.5-million as of May 10.

• Save the Children USA had raised $23-million as of May 10 from individuals and corporations. As of March, the organization’s international affiliates had raised an additional $35.1-million.

• The U.N. Foundation had raised more than $3.9-million as of May 11.

• The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee had raised more than $1.84-million as of the end of April for four grassroots charities in Haiti.

• The United Methodist Committee on Relief had raised $14.5-million as of March 11.

• The University of Miami had received $4.4-million as of March 2 for its relief efforts in Haiti. The university runs a community health program and other projects in Haiti, and more than 100 of its doctors, nurses, and other staff members have traveled to Haiti since the earthquake.

• The U.S. Fund for Unicef had received $65.4-million in cash and pledges as of May 10. That figure includes $6-million contributed as part of the Hope for Haiti Now telethon.

• World Vision’s U.S. operations had received more than $41-million as of May 7. Internationally, the organization has raised more than $103-million.

• Yele Haiti Foundation has received more than $16-million, which includes $1-million from the Hope for Haiti Now telethon, as of May 11.

Food for the Poor and Operation Blessing declined to share information on their fund-raising results.

Caroline Preston and Nicole Wallace compiled this list.
The issue of accounting and accountability in connection with the international relief operations is a serious matter. I am more than a little surprised that the UN Special Envoy for Haiti ... former President Bill Clinton ... has not been more vocal on this subject. Hopefully this will change quite soon. I am also concerned that the UN in general, especially OCHA, seems to have almost no accountability focus ... though to their credit, the Financial Tracking Service (FTS)of OCHA is compiling money in data better than in the past. Money out and how used information is still an area of little or no accountability information.

Peter Burgess

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