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Charitable Contributions for September 11: Protecting against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse.
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
Mrs. Joyce M. Bove
Mr.
Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, Good Afternoon. I am Joyce Bove, Vice President of the New York Community Trust, which with the United Way of New York City created the September 11th Fund. Thank you for holding this hearing on an issue that concerns us all: ensuring that we provide aid and support to the victims of September 11th, their families and affected communities. I would like to report on The Fund's activities to date and plans for the future. I
will start by providing you with some background on who we are.
The September 11th Fund was established by The United Way of
New York City and the New York Community Trust to provide a way for millions to
help meet the immediate and longer-term needs of victims, their families, and
the communities affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11.
Both
of these organizations have a long history of helping people help others.
They do so by finding, choosing and funding nonprofit organizations and
agencies with the expertise and ability to provide whatever help is needed.
Using the expertise and experience of both organizations, the September
11th Fund was able to move quickly, making over 80 emergency grants
to meet the broad array of needs that have arisen and will continue to arise as
a result of the tragedies of September 11th.
The
Fund began immediately to make grants that meet emergency needs.
Thus far, we have made a total of $47 million in grants -- supporting
agencies that provide cash assistance, legal counseling, grief therapy, job
training and placement and other services for victims.
We believe that we've made it possible for over 16,000 people to find
and get the emergency help they need. However,
the Fund must also help meet the longer-term needs of victims, their families
and affected communities, and we are working with others to do just that. At the core, what every one of us wants is to help people and
communities rebuild their lives. To
date, more than a million people and many corporations and foundations have
pledged a total of $337 million to the September 11th Fund[1].
More than $250 million has already been collected.
Administrative costs of the Fund have been raised separately by The New
York Community Trust and The United Way of NYC -- therefore 100% of donations to
the September 11th Fund will go directly to grants to help victims,
their families and affected communities. There
are three points about the work that we are doing that I would like to make: First,
immediate needs are being met in the fastest way possible, by experienced
disaster relief agencies. Since the
first tragic days of the attack, the September 11th Fund has been
providing emergency grants to organizations directly serving immediate needs of
victims and their families. We have
made it possible for thousands of people to receive cash support, legal advice,
grief counseling and other emergency needs. Second,
to address longer-term needs, the efforts of the September 11th Fund
must be coordinated with other funders and service providers.
Even though $300 million is a great deal of money, it is far from enough
to meet all the needs of all of the victims of September 11th.
In order to make sure that no one is left behind, we are working and will
continue to work closely with the many government and private organizations: to
understand the needs of the many different kinds of victims, to understand which
institutions will provide help, and to see where we must move to "fill in the
gaps". Third,
every dollar raised by The September 11th Fund goes directly to
grants to meet the needs of victims, their families and affected communities.
We have raised all of the Fund's administrative costs separately.
In addition, the Fund relies heavily on the knowledge and expertise of
the United Way & The New York Community Trust, as well as other experts on
loan from foundations and businesses. Now,
please allow me to detail the relief efforts of the September 11th
Fund to date. Meeting Emergency NeedsOn
September 11th, the United Way of New York City and the New York
Community Trust created The September 11th Fund as a joint response
to the terrorist attacks on America. That
very day, a web site was created to accept online donations and describe the
Fund's purpose and goals. Over
the next three days, the Fund organizers hosted a series of meetings with
disaster relief and other nonprofit agencies to anticipate emergency needs and
coordinate efforts. We received our
first grant proposal on September 19th (even before we had published
a formal "Notice of Available Funds").
On September 22, eleven days after the tragedies occurred, Safe Horizon
began distributing checks to victims using funding from The September 11th
Fund. In
its first eight weeks, The September 11th Fund has reviewed and
awarded 80 grants totaling $47 million to meet a range of emergency needs
through established relief agencies.
As a result:
In
order to make sure people know what is available to them:
As
with all established grant-making institutions, grant recipients must provide
regular reports on the use of their funds, the results of their services, and
financial accounting of their expenditures. And
while our staff -- composed of individuals from the United Way of New York City
and the New York Community Trust, as well as the Ford Foundation and others -
responds to hundreds of proposals and meets with countless service providers and
government agencies, we are simultaneously assessing longer-term needs. Meeting Longer-Term NeedsWhich
brings me to my second point: longer-term assistance must be coordinated in
order to determine fairly and accurately the needs of victims, their families
and communities, and available sources of support. To
coordinate assistance efforts, The September 11th Fund was among the
first supporters of a central database that would both make it easier for those
in need to apply for assistance, and for charitable organizations to assess
those needs and limit the duplication of efforts. Because we are mindful of the privacy rights of individuals,
we are working closely with New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and
the front line providers of support to victims, the Red Cross, Safe Horizon, the
Salvation Army, and others. Even without a database, there is a remarkable amount of coordination taking place. Government agencies from the Federal, State and City work every day with the front line charities, such as the Red Cross, Safe Horizon and Salvation Army. They meet frequently to coordinate their programs and unplug bottlenecks. As an organization that helps fund these efforts, we are encouraging even greater coordination. One
of our major tasks in developing a program is to understand the range of people
and institutions affected by this tragedy and their needs.
None would argue that the family of someone who died, or someone who was
severely injured shouldn't receive aid, but many of our donors also recognize
the needs of those who lost their jobs, who lost their homes, or who have been
traumatized as a result of helping out at Ground Zero or the Pentagon.
Others have pointed out that September 11th also destroyed the
homes of hundreds of nonprofits and small businesses.
Many
of the needs of these victims can and will be provided for by others - by
government programs or special purpose charities. Nonetheless, a traditional role for philanthropy is to help
those who "fall through the cracks". For
example, what about the second families of victims who are not eligible for
government aid? And elderly parents
who are not technically dependents, but who were receiving help with rent or
mortgage payments? Should we not
make sure that all victims receive help? Equally
important, we must recognize that victims have a range of needs.
Clearly financial security is important, but so, too, is counseling and
grief therapy, legal and financial advice, and help with new jobs and restored
homes. Some
of these needs may not be apparent for quite some time.
It may be months, sometimes even years, before a family realizes that
they need counseling. We need to ensure that we provide adequate resources for
these needs as they arise. We
are already beginning the work necessary to develop this long-term program.
We have already established a Board of Directors, drawing from the United
Way, the New York Community Trust, the entertainment industry and others from
business and civic life. That Board
is chaired by Franklin Thomas, former president of the Ford Foundation.
We have hired a small staff, and will continue to rely on the expertise
of some of the best grantmakers in the country from the New York Community
Trust, United Way, the Ford Foundation and others. Over
the next weeks and months we will make critical decisions about funding
priorities, analyze the needs of those who are affected by the September 11th
tragedy, and seek to meet those needs that are not being met by others.
We will do so, as with the emergency grant program, by providing grants
to organizations with the expertise and ability to do so, as quickly,
efficiently, and fairly as possible. Since
developing this program necessarily involves working with government agencies
and other charities, and since some of these have not yet decided how they can
and will help, the process will take some time. This is another reason we consider it so important to meet
the emergency needs immediately. Our
emergency grants are helping do so. Now,
for my third and final point. The
September 11th Fund is a lean organization that relies heavily on
resources donated by The United Way of New York City, the New York Community
Trust, and others. None of our
administration costs come out of The Fund.
Instead, several foundations contributed funds specifically for this
purpose. The September 11th
Fund currently operates with a (tireless) staff of four.
Thanks to the experts at the NY Community Trust, the United Way of New
York City and others who are donating their time and expertise, grants that
normally would take 4-6 months for approvals are being researched and awarded
much more quickly, sometimes within one week.
This is only possible because these staff members have years of
experience in the nonprofit community, specifically funding emergency assistance
and community needs. Our
distinguished board chairman, Franklin Thomas, and our board of directors, made
up of leaders from the philanthropic, business and social service communities,
are also contributing their time, as well as resources from their institutions. We
are proud of the work that we have done to date, and are working energetically
with others to develop a fair and effective response to the September 11th
tragedies. We know that it is important that our program be accountable, both to
the public and the millions of donors who have put their trust in us.
We invite the committee and the public to follow the decisions we make
and the results that they generate through our web site, www.september11fund.org,
where we post information regularly. In summary, the September 11th Fund is focusing on the needs of the victims, their families and the affected communities by providing funds to experienced front-line agencies for emergency needs. We will continue to support coordination efforts, and are working hard with others to develop programs for long-term needs that are effective, fair and leave no one behind. [1] The Fund is made up of two funds - a general fund formed by the United Way and the New York Community Trust, and a fund from the national telethon, "Tribute to Heroes", that was broadcast on the major television networks. Both funds are intended to aid victims and their families; the general fund also is intended to support the communities affected by the September 11th attacks.
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