Stop: Don't Give Money!

Stanford Social Innovation Review's blog caught my attention with this title: "Don't Give Money to Haiti Now" http://www.ssireview.org/opinion/entry/dont_give_money_to_haiti_now/#comments
The argument is fair.
The tragedy of Haiti requires long term strategies, not quick, gut wrenching responses. Plus, the money that is pouring in now is much more than the immediate need.
The challenge for charities working in Haiti is NOW is the right time to raise money. There is a two to three week window when all eyes are focused on Haiti. Cameras, journalists and executive directors are there now, assessing the situation, snapping photos, getting national coverage.
So they live with the ever present challenge of raising funds. Donors are generous in response to emergencies. In situations like Haiti -- where the natural disaster is beyond imagination -- donors are quick to respond.
In 2006 -- just after the Tsunami -- Keith Epstein published an excellent article on the psychology of crisis giving http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/crisis_mentality/
He says: "The deluge of generosity following headline calamities, as well as the underwhelming response to quieter sufferings, have their roots in human evolution and the kind of mind that it produced."
Humans carry out a complex dance between the heart and the mind. I have read a myriad of articles in the last week that have reiterated the idea that now is not the right time to send money to Haiti. I agree. The long term sustainability of the funding going to Haiti -- to truly make an impact -- needs to be used with deliberation.
BUT I respond to the child who has lost everything.
And so do hundreds of thousands of donors. In the case of Haiti, mega millions. They see the images in the news. They read about it in the paper. They hear the stories on the radio. Everyone is talking about Haiti. Many families have been affected personally. In my own community, a nurse who was on a two week volunteer trip was killed in the quake. In a real way the earthquake touched Kitchener/Waterloo.
The response to the quake shows our humanity. We give because we are moved by the horrific and sudden turn of events. In just 30 seconds the world changed.
While the giving will be most intensive in the first month, we are undermining the strength of human compassion to assume it will disappear. In the first month the gifts flow quickly and freely. Donors who rarely give to charities will give generously. Donors who give to charities frequently will give just a little more.
We are also undermining the strategic thinking and planning of our charitable sector when we assume they will simply waste our money on the immediate need. They will do exactly what donors expect them to do.... they will use the gifts given to ensure that children are fed, the sick receive medical care and immediate measures are taken to provide a safe place to live and safe drinking water. They will continue working in Haiti, working together to help rebuild the city and the surrounding communities.
While the burst of generosity follows quickly on the heels of the disaster, organizations in the midst of the response are already building strategies for long term assistance and effective rebuilding.
Give generously!