Donations Slow for Memorial at Ground Zero
By Glenn Collins, The New York Times, February 27, 2006
Two years after the designs for a memorial at the World Trade Center were unveiled with great fanfare, the nonprofit group charged with raising $500 million to pay for it is far from its goal, and has announced no significant contributions for the last three months. The memorial fund-raising campaign — born of a drawn-out, emotionally charged design process — appears to have been hindered by a lengthy quest for the group's chief executive, the political battle over a cultural center on the site, a money-raising hiatus in deference to Hurricane Katrina relief, and a long search for a 21-person staff. The group, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, will not permit naming rights — donations made in exchange for the prominent display of a person's or company's name — and this could further impede large gifts, officials acknowledge. The effort also faces recriminations from some victims' family members over the memorial — the sort that stymied other components of the rebuilding plans for Lower Manhattan — which have reached new intensity because construction is scheduled to begin next month. Last week, the memorial foundation said it had raised $102.3 million on its own — the same figure it offered in November. Earlier, it received $200 million in federal money from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The foundation says it hopes to collect the total $500 million by Sept. 11, 2009, when it is scheduled to open the memorial, which will feature twin 176-foot-square pools, a landscaped plaza and galleries honoring the dead. Gretchen Dykstra, the foundation's president and chief executive, said that she was comfortable with the amount of money raised so far, and that the construction start of the memorial "is important to donors, so they will know that the work is actually happening." The foundation is preparing an ambitious worldwide marketing campaign to raise the remaining $197.7 million to cover the costs, at a time when many groups are continuing to solicit donations to aid victims of the Asian tsunami, two Gulf Coast hurricanes, the Pakistani earthquake, the Philippine mudslide and other disasters far more recent than the 2001 terrorist attacks. "I would say this is a challenging goal, because the foundation can't now rely on the shock value of the original tragedy," said Leo P. Arnoult, a fund-raising consultant not connected with the memorial. "But given the magnitude of the event, perhaps the fund-raising could be presented as something very affirming." The difficulties faced by the project recall the uproar that has attended other major components of the site plan. The International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center were forced off the site after protests from victims' relatives and others who complained, among other things, that the centers might be used to present anti-American views of 9/11. And construction of the Freedom Tower, the skyscraper planned as the site's centerpiece, was delayed nine months after New York Police Department's counterterrorism experts rejected its initial design. The memorial plans now also face challenges from a coalition of victims' relatives who question the site's security, and preservationists concerned about construction plans. Some family members argue that the site will be a target for new terrorist attacks, and that its underground location makes it difficult to escape in an emergency. "We know from 1993, and from 2001, that the terrorists love that site, and it will be a very attractive target again," said Debra Burlingame, a memorial foundation board member, whose brother, Charles F. Burlingame, was the captain of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11. "I believe in the memorial and I support the memorial process, but right now I wouldn't go into the memorial," said Monica Iken, another memorial foundation board member, whose husband, Michael, died in the south tower. "Even if you have enough egress and exit points, it's so far below ground. If there is an emergency, most people will just run back the way they came in." Some security officials have said the memorial has passed their inspection. James K. Kallstrom, the state's top antiterror official, has been reviewing ground zero security and said in an interview that "the overall plan is fine; there is nothing in our view that would delay the start of construction." William H. Goldstein, the foundation's executive vice president for construction, said that the memorial and museum would be safe, adding that they would conform to building safety codes of both the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site. According to the development corporation, the memorial will have eight exits — two ramps and six emergency staircases. At the museum there are to be seven emergency exit stairs. But the concerns raised by family members, even if they prove to be unfounded, could create a public relations headache for the memorial officials. A day after the 13th anniversary of the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, whose victims would also be honored in the memorial, family members and others plan to rally at ground zero today to oppose the current design plans. Such protests are unlikely to aid the fund-raising efforts. Some preservationists also are concerned about the possible partial obliteration of historic perimeter-column remnants and concrete footings from the twin towers. Robert J. Kornfeld, an architect on the board of directors of the Historic Districts Council, has estimated that more than 50 percent of those footprints will be affected by construction. The footprints are a powerful symbol to many families, since remains of 42 percent of the victims have not been identified. But, officials argue, the public process is long over, and now is not the time to revisit design issues: more than 100 people have been working for a year and a half to prepare the intricate plans for the construction of the $330 million memorial and the $160 million underground museum. "The jury made a selection years ago, and now we begin to build," Ms. Dykstra said. "I hate to think anyone will not be happy with it, but I think we will move ahead." Officials expect that potential donors will draw a patriotic distinction between natural disasters and the horrors of the terrorist attack. A Zogby poll taken 10 days before Hurricane Katrina found that 87 percent of Americans believed 9/11 was the most significant historical event in their lifetime. So far, donations have come primarily from foundations, corporations and deep-pocket private donors. Ms. Dykstra declined to say what percentage had come from smaller contributors and members of the general public, or to estimate the average donation size, but the foundation has publicly reported a $25 million gift from the Starr Foundation, $15 million from Deutsche Bank and $10 million from the Bank of New York. In the future, a majority of contributions is expected to come from similar large corporate, foundation and private donors, which the memorial foundation has continued to solicit in recent months. Mr. Arnoult, the fund-raising consultant, who has no knowledge of the internal workings of the foundation, said it was likely that the foundation staff had recently been focusing on the preparation of its national public advertising campaign, which is to be rolled out in late March or April. "They will have to hit it hard now," he said, adding that to begin the public phase of a campaign, "you want to have 60 to 70 percent committed, and they're close to that." To Ms. Burlingame, the board member, the public campaign is crucial. "If everyone in the country donated just a dollar, we'd be there," she said. For the first time this year, New York State residents will be able to check off a memorial donation of any size on their tax returns. Beyond this, the foundation is planning a cornucopia of special events, direct marketing, and Internet advertising campaigns, and is planning to take aim at 75,000 donors on its e-mail list by the end of March. Ms. Dykstra will visit victims' family groups in England as part of an outreach effort to the 92 home countries of Sept. 11 victims. The urgent push to build the memorial by the 2009 target date is the key, officials say, to future construction and development at ground zero. "The debates are over," said Gov. George E. Pataki in an interview earlier this month. "Now it's time to build. It is a moral obligation."
Two years after the designs for a memorial at the World Trade Center were unveiled with great fanfare, the nonprofit group charged with raising $500 million to pay for it is far from its goal, and has announced no significant contributions for the last three months. The memorial fund-raising campaign — born of a drawn-out, emotionally charged design process — appears to have been hindered by a lengthy quest for the group's chief executive, the political battle over a cultural center on the site, a money-raising hiatus in deference to Hurricane Katrina relief, and a long search for a 21-person staff. The group, the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, will not permit naming rights — donations made in exchange for the prominent display of a person's or company's name — and this could further impede large gifts, officials acknowledge. The effort also faces recriminations from some victims' family members over the memorial — the sort that stymied other components of the rebuilding plans for Lower Manhattan — which have reached new intensity because construction is scheduled to begin next month. Last week, the memorial foundation said it had raised $102.3 million on its own — the same figure it offered in November. Earlier, it received $200 million in federal money from the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation. The foundation says it hopes to collect the total $500 million by Sept. 11, 2009, when it is scheduled to open the memorial, which will feature twin 176-foot-square pools, a landscaped plaza and galleries honoring the dead. Gretchen Dykstra, the foundation's president and chief executive, said that she was comfortable with the amount of money raised so far, and that the construction start of the memorial "is important to donors, so they will know that the work is actually happening." The foundation is preparing an ambitious worldwide marketing campaign to raise the remaining $197.7 million to cover the costs, at a time when many groups are continuing to solicit donations to aid victims of the Asian tsunami, two Gulf Coast hurricanes, the Pakistani earthquake, the Philippine mudslide and other disasters far more recent than the 2001 terrorist attacks. "I would say this is a challenging goal, because the foundation can't now rely on the shock value of the original tragedy," said Leo P. Arnoult, a fund-raising consultant not connected with the memorial. "But given the magnitude of the event, perhaps the fund-raising could be presented as something very affirming." The difficulties faced by the project recall the uproar that has attended other major components of the site plan. The International Freedom Center and the Drawing Center were forced off the site after protests from victims' relatives and others who complained, among other things, that the centers might be used to present anti-American views of 9/11. And construction of the Freedom Tower, the skyscraper planned as the site's centerpiece, was delayed nine months after New York Police Department's counterterrorism experts rejected its initial design. The memorial plans now also face challenges from a coalition of victims' relatives who question the site's security, and preservationists concerned about construction plans. Some family members argue that the site will be a target for new terrorist attacks, and that its underground location makes it difficult to escape in an emergency. "We know from 1993, and from 2001, that the terrorists love that site, and it will be a very attractive target again," said Debra Burlingame, a memorial foundation board member, whose brother, Charles F. Burlingame, was the captain of the plane that crashed into the Pentagon on Sept. 11. "I believe in the memorial and I support the memorial process, but right now I wouldn't go into the memorial," said Monica Iken, another memorial foundation board member, whose husband, Michael, died in the south tower. "Even if you have enough egress and exit points, it's so far below ground. If there is an emergency, most people will just run back the way they came in." Some security officials have said the memorial has passed their inspection. James K. Kallstrom, the state's top antiterror official, has been reviewing ground zero security and said in an interview that "the overall plan is fine; there is nothing in our view that would delay the start of construction." William H. Goldstein, the foundation's executive vice president for construction, said that the memorial and museum would be safe, adding that they would conform to building safety codes of both the city and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site. According to the development corporation, the memorial will have eight exits — two ramps and six emergency staircases. At the museum there are to be seven emergency exit stairs. But the concerns raised by family members, even if they prove to be unfounded, could create a public relations headache for the memorial officials. A day after the 13th anniversary of the first terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, whose victims would also be honored in the memorial, family members and others plan to rally at ground zero today to oppose the current design plans. Such protests are unlikely to aid the fund-raising efforts. Some preservationists also are concerned about the possible partial obliteration of historic perimeter-column remnants and concrete footings from the twin towers. Robert J. Kornfeld, an architect on the board of directors of the Historic Districts Council, has estimated that more than 50 percent of those footprints will be affected by construction. The footprints are a powerful symbol to many families, since remains of 42 percent of the victims have not been identified. But, officials argue, the public process is long over, and now is not the time to revisit design issues: more than 100 people have been working for a year and a half to prepare the intricate plans for the construction of the $330 million memorial and the $160 million underground museum. "The jury made a selection years ago, and now we begin to build," Ms. Dykstra said. "I hate to think anyone will not be happy with it, but I think we will move ahead." Officials expect that potential donors will draw a patriotic distinction between natural disasters and the horrors of the terrorist attack. A Zogby poll taken 10 days before Hurricane Katrina found that 87 percent of Americans believed 9/11 was the most significant historical event in their lifetime. So far, donations have come primarily from foundations, corporations and deep-pocket private donors. Ms. Dykstra declined to say what percentage had come from smaller contributors and members of the general public, or to estimate the average donation size, but the foundation has publicly reported a $25 million gift from the Starr Foundation, $15 million from Deutsche Bank and $10 million from the Bank of New York. In the future, a majority of contributions is expected to come from similar large corporate, foundation and private donors, which the memorial foundation has continued to solicit in recent months. Mr. Arnoult, the fund-raising consultant, who has no knowledge of the internal workings of the foundation, said it was likely that the foundation staff had recently been focusing on the preparation of its national public advertising campaign, which is to be rolled out in late March or April. "They will have to hit it hard now," he said, adding that to begin the public phase of a campaign, "you want to have 60 to 70 percent committed, and they're close to that." To Ms. Burlingame, the board member, the public campaign is crucial. "If everyone in the country donated just a dollar, we'd be there," she said. For the first time this year, New York State residents will be able to check off a memorial donation of any size on their tax returns. Beyond this, the foundation is planning a cornucopia of special events, direct marketing, and Internet advertising campaigns, and is planning to take aim at 75,000 donors on its e-mail list by the end of March. Ms. Dykstra will visit victims' family groups in England as part of an outreach effort to the 92 home countries of Sept. 11 victims. The urgent push to build the memorial by the 2009 target date is the key, officials say, to future construction and development at ground zero. "The debates are over," said Gov. George E. Pataki in an interview earlier this month. "Now it's time to build. It is a moral obligation."
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