A hastily arranged conference call on Monday helped Robert Nelkin, president and chief executive of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, figure out how charities in Pittsburgh could best respond to the mass shooting two days early at the Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
On the call were chief executives from United Way affiliates in other places where tragic incidents — including the Boston Marathon bombing and shootings at a Parkland, Fla., high school, as well as at Columbine High School and a movie theater near Denver, Colo. — galvanized donors to support families and victims.
“I figured if people experienced this awfulness before, they’ve got some dos and don’ts,” said Mr. Nelkin.
The local United Way quickly joined forces with the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh to provide matching dollars for the federation’s Our Victims of Terror Fund. Those funds will be used for medical and funeral bills, counseling, psychological services, building reconstruction and security measures at synagogues throughout the community.
Donations to funds and Jewish organizations have surged in the aftermath of the Tree of Life tragedy in which 11 people were killed and six injured.
Charity Navigator, a Glen Rock, N.J., nonprofit that rates charitable organizations, said contributions to approximately 30 Jewish faith-related groups in its database jumped by more than 1,000 percent from Saturday through Monday compared with the prior week.
The top recipient of donations during that time was the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the organization that suspected shooter Robert Bowers mentioned in his social media posts prior to the killings at Tree of Life.
Larry Lieberman, chief operating officer at Charity Navigator, said the outpouring of donations wasn’t totally unexpected.
“The news drives giving in American and Americans are generous, generous people.”
Though breaking news events like the Squirrel Hill shooting and natural disasters such as hurricanes typically cause a spike in giving, Mr. Lieberman believes the killings at Tree of Life may have spurred people to donate more quickly to HIAS and Jewish groups.
“What’s different this time is that love is not just being shown to the community but also to all people who are at risk,” he said. “Americans are showing their love for the Pittsburgh community and the Jewish community and the entire community of all religions in this country by taking action to support an organization singled out by the perpetrator.”
Mr. Nelkin at United Way said it will be weeks before officials know how much money was generated for local groups assisting victims and families.
The donations are being driven by “people in Pittsburgh and throughout the country and the world who want to stand up for good and against evil,” he said.
“One natural way to do that is to open their pocketbooks … It’s all a part of wanting to right the wrong.”
On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Foundation launched an online giving event to benefit eight organizations that are helping victims of the mass shooting at Tree of Life synagogue in Squirrel Hill.
The crowdfunding appeal, #LoveIsStronger, runs through midnight Sunday and can be accessed at the website, www.pittsburghgives.org.
The foundation will match donations dollar for dollar up to $150,000.
Organizations that will benefit from the funds raised are the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Family and Community Services, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #1, HIAS, and the three congregations housed at the Tree of Life synagogue: Tree of Life/Or L’Simcha, Dor Hadash, and New Light.
“None of us at the foundation ever imagined we would have to respond in the aftermath of a hate-fueled mass shooting at a synagogue in a Pittsburgh neighborhood,” said Maxwell King, the foundation’s president and chief executive.
“But now we are facing this and we’re determined that this foundation will help the community recover and heal. The #LoveIsStronger campaign is our first step.”
Joyce Gannon: jgannon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1580.
Updated at 5:29 p.m. Nov. 1, 2018.
First Published: November 1, 2018, 3:22 p.m.
