Posted on December 3, 2012

New York State Attorney General Asks Charities to Disclose Sandy Activities

New York State attorney general Eric Schneiderman has asked as many as seventy-five charities that are accepting Sandy relief donations to disclose how much they have raised as well as other information about their storm-related activities, the Associated Press reports.

Organizations of all sizes, from the American Red Cross to Staten Island Strong, are required to e-mail their responses to the attorney general's office by December 11. The responses will then be compiled by the charities bureau within the AG's office. According to the Associated Press, the AG's office plans to send out additional letters to other groups in the coming weeks in which it will request more information about how much the organization has raised and used for storm relief, the types of services it is providing to storm victims, and what, if any, plans it has for directing grants to other organizations, individuals, or families.

Although the AG's office has received only a handful of complaints since Superstorm Sandy struck the Northeast a month ago, it says it wants to compile the information to improve transparency around disaster relief efforts and boost donor confidence going forward.

"In light of the importance of the recovery efforts, and the enormous amount of money raised in such a short period of time, it is critical that donors know where their money is going, and that funds are spent responsibly," Schneiderman told the AP. "In the name of transparency and accountability, we must ensure that funds raised for Hurricane Sandy relief are used for that purpose."