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A new survey sponsored by California Cares, a coalition of philanthropic organizations in the Golden State, finds that California nonprofits providing safety-net services to the needy, including food and medical care, may have lost as much as $300 million in donations since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, even as demand for their services has increased significantly, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 413 organizations surveyed reported an estimated $25.5 million drop in donations, or about $62,000 apiece, with more than half (53.5 percent) of the respondents reporting an increase in demand for services since the September 11 attacks. The survey predicts that an additional 750,000 to 1.1 million people in the state will need assistance with basic necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter from California's 3,939 safety-net organizations in the coming year. "When terrorists attacked New York and Washington, they attacked everyone -- including California's working poor," said Joe Haggerty, president of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles (http://www.unitedwayla.org), a California Cares member. "More than 100,000 Californians have lost their jobs since September 11, so our nonprofit organizations and the people they serve need immediate relief." The coalition, which also includes the California Endowment (http://www.calendow.org) and the League of California Community Foundations (http://www.lccf.org), has launched a public awareness campaign to encourage giving through the holiday season, a time when nonprofits usually receive a significant portion of their annual donations. The campaign includes television and radio ads publicizing information from the survey and featuring music with socially conscious lyrics by the likes of John Lennon and Stevie Wonder. "We're trying to let people know Californians are hurting now," said Robert Ross, president of the California Endowment. "The events of September 11 demonstrated how Americans can respond to a crisis. We're facing a less dramatic crisis, and we're hoping that Californians and Americans will respond. We're asking citizens and corporate leaders to dig, and dig deep, to give now." The Endowment, which last month announced that it would contribute close to $1 million for emergency housing and cash assistance, medical bill payments, and health-care insurance benefits for displaced tourism workers in California, has set aside an additional $10 million for safety-net relief providers and mental health programs. O'Connor, Anne-Marie. "'Safety Net' Nonprofits Seek Donors." Los Angeles Times 12/05/01. "New Survey Reveals Multimillion Dollar Losses in Donations at California Nonprofit Organizations, Major Upsurge in Demand for Services." California Endowment Press Release 12/04/01.
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