Businesses Donating in Great Numbers

Corporate America has opened its wallet to help Hurricane Katrina victims, donating cash, satellite radios and even massages, in what experts said could be a historic outpouring of aid.

Large companies led the giving. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. boosted its contribution Friday to $17 million. General Electric Co. pledged at least $6 million in cash and $10 million in medical devices.

UnitedHealth Group Inc., which set aside $10 million for hurricane victims, sent one of its first checks to Houston after the mayor’s office asked it to underwrite transportation of refugees.

Contributions came from a broad range of companies. Toyota Motor Corp. and its subsidiaries were among the biggest givers with a combined donation of $5 million. Oil companies, including Occidental Petroleum Corp. in Westwood, pumped in millions in cash, equipment and supplies. Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. and biotech firm Amgen Inc. each gave $2.5 million, and healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente pledged $2 million, leading a long list of California-based corporate benefactors.

Charity experts said corporations were moving faster than in earlier disasters and, together with individuals and foundations, were setting a pace that could top the estimated $1 billion that flowed in in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Estimates of the overall amount donated so far this week vary widely. The Chronicle of Philanthropy put the tab Friday night at $287 million. By comparison, it said, Americans gave $239 million in the 10 days after the Sept. 11 attacks, and relief groups raised $30 million within three days of last year’s tsunami.

“At this point, the best estimates are we’ve raised around $400 million, including individuals, corporations and foundations, and that’s before the concerts and organized drives,” said Trent Stamp, executive director of Charity Navigator, a New Jersey-based watchdog. “If you reached for your checkbook in September of 2001, I certainly expect you will reach for your checkbook in September 2005.”

Unlike previous disasters, experts said, the vast majority of donations have been directed to one group, the American Red Cross. The Washington-based nonprofit relief agency said it had received nearly $197 million, an increase of more than $125 million since Wednesday. Red Cross was benefiting from multimillion-dollar donations from big companies, including $3 million from San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron Corp.

Beyond cash, companies found other ways, from the vital to the offbeat, to help. Cisco Systems Inc., SBC Communications Inc., Yahoo Inc. and other high-tech and telecommunications firms sent equipment and experts to set up telephone and Internet service in the disaster zone for rescue and relief workers as well as refugees.

El Segundo-based DirecTV Group Inc. launched the Hurricane Katrina Information channel, which beams road closures, shelter locations and other information 24 hours a day on Channel 100. It also allows viewers to send text messages, which are scrolled across the bottom of the television screen, to family and friends separated by the hurricane and its aftermath.

A Bellevue, Wash.-based Internet search engine said it would conduct free criminal background checks for people offering to open their homes and for the refugees they would take in. Intelius Inc. said it was working with a matching service, Homes for Katrina, to conduct authorized criminal searches “to keep the process safe from criminals, sex offenders, etc.,” said Intelius spokesman Ashley Wolfe.

Banks and finance companies said they would allow customers to skip mortgage payments for three months without incurring late fees. Some credit card and auto finance companies were extending similar courtesies to borrowers affected by the hurricane.

As director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Corporate Citizenship, Stephen Jordan spent the last couple of days cataloging offers of free goods and services, including water pumps, job placement services and hotel rooms for fundraisers.

“It really runs the spectrum,” Jordan said. “It is from A to Z.”