The Board of Trustees and staff at the Community Foundation of Northern Colorado join the rest of our country in mourning the loss of life in Haiti due to the recent earthquake. As we all know from the many reports shared by the media, those who survived the quake and its aftershocks are in need of assistance.  

Due to their experience with Hurricane Katrina, our colleagues at the Baton Rouge Community Foundation have seen first-hand that the immediate need during such disasters is search and rescue, food, shelter and health care.

The Baton Rouge Community Foundation team is pointing to three trusted organizations that have proven their ability to provide these services well:

• International Rescue Committee
• MercyCorps
• Partners in Health

The Baton Rouge Community Foundation team personally witnessed the work of these organizations during Hurricane Katrina. And while each of these organizations also has experience with other disasters, the Baton Rouge Community Foundation team suggests that you personally research the work of these entities prior to making a donation designated for Haiti relief efforts.

We are grateful to the Baton Rouge Community Foundation for sharing this information, and we hope that it is of help to Northern Colorado residents who wish to provide support to victims of the Haiti disaster.

In addition to the organizations mentioned above, Haiti relief donations may be made directly to the national Red Cross office. (NOTE: Our staff has been in touch with the local Red Cross office and learned that donation processing time will be descreased by at least 3 days if donatons are sent to the national office rather than to the local office. However, the local office still receives "credit" for the donations, as gifts made to the national office are tracked by zip code of the donor.)

Another local agency involved in Haiti relief efforts is Trees, Water & People. Since 2007, TWP has been working in Haiti building healthier, fuel-efficient Rocket Stoves for cooking and boiling water (purification) and supporting community tree nurseries for critical reforestation efforts. After the devastating earthquake in January, the organization established a Haiti Emergency Relief Fund and raised more than $25,000 that was wired directly to its local partner, AMURT (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team) to provide immediate water, food, and medical supplies. TWP is currently raising funds to provide Rocket Stoves to Internally Displaced Persons camp. To learn more, contact Heather Herrell, development director, at 970-484-3678.

On January 22, 2010 President Obama signed a bill into law that makes it easier to give. This legislation allows taxpayers to receive the tax benefit from donations made to the Haiti effort in this tax season, rather than waiting until they file their 2010 tax returns next year. Specifically, cash donations to charities for the Haitian relief effort given after January 11 and before March 1, 2010 may be treated as if the contribution was made on December 31, 2009 so that the contribution can be deducted from 2009 income. This measure applies to monetary donations, not goods or services. Read on...