September 11th Fund

The September 11th Fund was established by the New York Community Trust and the United Way of New York City to meet the immediate and long-term needs of victims, families, and communities affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. Almost immediately after the attacks, both corporations and outside individuals began receiving donations intended to aid victims.

Lorie Slutsky, President of the New York Community Trust, and United Way's CEO, Ralph Dickerson met on the afternoon of September 11th and agreed to launch a joint venture that would utilize the skills of both organizations to manage the donations. Slutsky and Dickerson agreed that the September 11th Fund would operate in complete independence from the New York Community Trust and the United Way, with its own board and staff. The Fund would not solicit donations on an ongoing basis, would grant all of its resources to charities and agencies within a limited period of time, and then cease to operate. The Fund was initially led by executive director Joshua Gotbaum, then Carol Kellerman, and staffed with a team of 20 project directors, consultants, and assistants who shared ideas as well as the workload.

On September 21st, the telethon "America: A Tribute to Heroes" was broadcast simultaneously on ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC. Actor George Clooney organized celebrities to perform and man the telephone banks to accept donations. The telecast raised $129 million for the Fund, all of which went to direct cash assistance to victims. This, combined with the money raised by individual and corporate donors from September 11th through January of 2002, gave the Fund $525 million to distribute. Between beginning operations and closing its doors in December 2004, the Fund granted the entirety of this money to various charities, agencies, and aid programs.

As the Fund's mission was to be carried out entirely though grants to nonprofit organizations and agencies, the immediate concern was to define priorities for giving. Initial grants were made swiftly to established emergency assistance agencies, such as Safe Horizon, New York City's leading victim assistance organization. The Fund then identified several major areas of need on which to focus. These included, but were not limited to, cash assistance to victims; health care services for the wounded; mental health services, including a city-wide crisis counseling hotline; and an Employment Assistance Program which provided information on new jobs, referrals, and training for displaced workers. The Fund referred to each of these designations internally as "programs." Each program was headed by one or more project directors. Project directors worked to identify gaps in services and evolving needs, guided the grant selection process and helped grant-receiving organizations that already fell within each designation to expand or focus their activities. The bulk of the money donated to the September 11th Fund was granted to various non-profits handing out cash assistance. These groups distributed money to those who were injured, lost a loved one, or were displaced from their homes or jobs as a result of the attacks. Additionally, the Fund approved grants to provide food and other supplies to childcare centers and incentives to help small businesses and non-profits in lower Manhattan.

Potential non-profit grantees were required to submit a grant proposal which would state the amount of money needed, the specific project the money would support, a financial report of the non-profit, and other supporting documents as necessary. The case would then be considered by staff members within one of the programs, and an approval or denial recommendation would be made. Grants falling outside these specific programs were also considered (such as grants for confronting bias and intolerance) if the project directors felt that the non-profit could achieve the goals presented and that the project fell within the general scope of the Fund.

Within the first months of operation, the need for charitable collaboration became apparent. The Fund was in a prime position to address this issue, as the staff had access to detailed information about the charitable response of so many organizations, and could see where increased communication and information sharing between the individual groups could expedite service. Along with the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and Safe Horizon, the Fund was involved in launching a collaborative charitable response. The 9/11 United Services Group was formed in December 2001 to facilitate, expedite and enhance coordination of services among various charities and agencies in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. USG was composed of a small core staff, whose efforts were aided by representatives from member organizations. They provided service coordination through the already existent Safe Horizons hotline to direct individuals to the proper agencies. USG also created and maintained a confidential electronic victims database with up-to-date information on individuals applying for assistance as well as an interactive information portal for victims and service coordinators. Most of the 40 agencies and charities participating in USG were September 11th Fund grant recipients.