American Red Cross

Blackbaud has entered into a Strategic Partnership agreement with the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the largest community of fundraising professionals in the world. As a strategic partner, Blackbaud will continue its work with AFP supporting educational opportunities for fundraising professionals.

With an estimated 440,000 people living in shelters following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck northeastern Japan on Friday, contributions from corporations have outpaced those from individuals and are on track to surpass corporate support for disaster relief efforts in Haiti after that country was struck by a devastating earthquake in 2010, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center reports.

Disasters are a fast way to get donors to give. But wealthy Japan is not impoverished Haiti, and many groups are raising money without really knowing how it will be spent or even if it's needed. The Japanese Red Cross has said repeatedly since the day after the earthquake that it does not want or need outside assistance. But that has not stopped the American Red Cross from raising $34 million through Tuesday afternoon in the name of Japan’s disaster victims.

JPMorgan Chase is extending a helping hand to Japan in the aftermath of the country’s worst earthquake on record.

The financial services company is committing $5 million to near-term relief and recovery efforts in Japan.

The company’s contribution to the relief efforts will be divided into employee and company donations. JPMorgan Chase Japan already has pledged $1.1 million to relief efforts and the company will match $1 million in employee contributions to The American Red Cross and World Vision. The remaining funds will be donated to charitable and relief organizations.

The Twitter stream, which last month proved to be a vital link for anti-government protesters in the Middle East, quickly turned into a worldwide forum for comfort, heartbreak and hope for Japan's quake-stricken residents.

Social-networking powerhouses Twitter and Facebook once again became important communications tools in a natural disaster.

Early donation totals are starting to come in from charities raising money to aid victims of the earthquake and tsunamis in Japan. Among them:

• The American Red Cross had raised $7.75-million as of Sunday afternoon.
• International Medical Corps so far has raised $11,830 via text message.
• Mercy Corps had received more than $500,000 as of Monday morning.
• The Salvation Army has received $62,000 in cellphone donations.
• Save the Children had raised $2.5-million in the U.S. as of Monday morning.
• World Vision U.S. had received $848,000 as of Monday morning.

mGive will provide the technology platform behind several mobile donation campaigns raising funds for the Japan earthquake and Pacific tsunami relief efforts, including:

• The American Red Cross – Text REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10
• Convoy of Hope – Text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10
• GlobalGiving – Text JAPAN to 50555 to donate $10
• World ReliefCorp of National Association of Evangelicals – Text WAVE to 50555 to donate $10

The strongest-ever earthquake to hit Japan triggered a tsunami that moved across the Pacific Ocean. The Associated Press reports that at least 300 people have already died.

Here are early responses from large international-aid charities, grant makers, and other groups:

Blackbaud today announced the release of two groundbreaking research studies at the Run Walk Ride 2011 Fundraising Conference at the Intercontinental Buckhead Hotel in Atlanta. The first studyrevealed the results of their first annual “Peer-to-Peer Event Fundraising Consumer Survey.” 

The second study reported on the findings of Blackbaud’s first annual “donorCentrics Event Benchmarking Summary,” a study based on in-depth analysis of fundraising performance data from six top nonprofit organizations from 2007 through 2009. 

The American Red Cross, the world-renowned, disaster relief, volunteer-led organization with a Sacramento chapter since 1898, is about to celebrate a special anniversary.

It was on May 21, 1881, thus nearly 130 years ago, that the ARC was founded by Clara Barton.

Furthermore, on a national level, this is currently a very notable time for the organization.

This month is Red Cross Month, a recognition that has been a tradition since President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was serving as the honorary chairman of the organization, first declared March as a special month for the organization in 1943.