Businesses give more than $35M for Haiti; individuals donate $10M by text messages

US companies pledge more than $35M to Haiti relief

SAN FRANCISCO — Businesses and business charities have pledged more than $48 million to the earthquake relief effort in Haiti, including more than $10 million from two investment banks.

The donations include cash, promises to match employee gifts and contributions of medicine, food, water and other supplies and services.

Of the $35.2 million in cash that businesses and their charities have given, two of the largest gifts were from brokerage houses. Jefferies & Co. donated $1 million plus all $5 million it earned in commissions Friday. Deutsche Bank AG is giving $4 million, the sum it earned equity trades, and it will match employees’ contributions.

A health industry charity, Partnership for Quality Medical Donations, said 10 members have pledged a total of $7.3 million in product donations and $4.6 million in cash.

Other large business donations include $2.5 million from General Electric Co. and $2 million from drugmaker Amgen Inc.

Most of the cash businesses are giving is going to the American Red Cross and the International Red Cross.

Business also are donating products — food, television air time, shipping services, medical supplies and bottled drinks — worth at least $9.3 million.

Many companies plan to match their employees’ donations to the effort. Together, they have pledged more than $3 million so far.

Other businesses have made it easier for customers and employees to donate to Haiti relief by creating links on their Web sites and cutting fees. For a list of well-regarded charities providing earthquake relief in Haiti and advice on giving, visit www.charitynavigator.com.

Cell phone carriers have covered the cost of donating to the American Red Cross and several other charities by text message, for example.

By Friday afternoon, individuals donating $10 at a time to the Red Cross by text message had given more than $10 million, and the contributions were still arriving, sometimes at a rate of more than $300,000 an hour.

Some financial companies are reducing or eliminating fees for making donations electronically to groups working on the relief effort and fees for sending money electronically to individuals the ravaged area.

They did not put a value on those fees.