It’s been five days since the 7.7 earthquake left Port-au-Prince in ruins, and governments, individuals and corporations have pledged what they can to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.

Based on press releases, here’s a quick rundown of which corporations have pledged cash, services and people. Also, here’s who’s letting the public know they are giving without coming off like it’s a marketing campaign:

• Crocs: They are donating thousands of pairs of Crocs to Haiti, and they’re using its headquarters as a drop-off point for those who want to donate supplies. But the headline of its press release makes it look like corporate giving is a competition, and that Crocs is in first place. Boasting to the world about being “a leading” anything in a press release is probably also not a good idea.




• Walgreens: $100,000, plus they will match employee contributions up to $50,000. On top of that, is providing non-perishable food, water and medical supplies to the University of Miami Global Institute for Community Health and Development which has set up clinics and triage units on the streets of Port-au-Prince. The Miami-area stores are also taking donations to support American Red Cross.


• Kohl’s: $250,000. They aren’t matching employee contributions, but recommended American Red Cross as a place they could make donations to.


• Dollar General: $100,000. They are taking the same approach as Kohl’s: Advising employees about the American Red Cross, but not forcing or matching contributions.


• Burger King: The Have It Your Way Foundation is giving $50,000 and collecting supplies from its employees. Whopper sales must be down.


• Spirit Airlines: Okay, follow this donation of up to $10 million, which will go to Yéle, the Wyclef Jean-founded charity that has come under scrutiny about how its funds are appropriated.
  
  

  Spirit will give $75 USD to Yéle for every qualified person who applies for and uses a FREE SPIRIT MasterCard, up to $10 million USD. Customers simply open an account by Monday, January 25, 2010, use it once by March 31, 2010, and Spirit gives $75 USD to Yéle.

  
  

  “It’s a win-win for everyone,” adds (Spirit Airlines CEO and President Ben) Baldanza. “We are providing up to $10 million USD to Yéle, our customers receive up to three free flights, and since we’ve waived the annual fee for the first year, the only cost to help us reach our goal of raising $10 million USD is using the card for one of your everyday purchases to activate the card.”

  
  

  Sounds like a public relations nightmare to me. I’ll cut them some slack, they are giving away 5,000 free miles to anyone who donates to Red Cross, UNICEF or Yéle. That’s enough for a free flight, the airline says, with an asterisk to indicate donors must jump through hoops to receive their free miles.



• Dell: And you thought Burger King was stingy. Dell is donating $500,000, split between Unicef and International Red Cross. And they’ll match up to $250,000 in employee donations. Dell, by the way, again topped the annual MCM 100 ranking of print and online merchants by sales. Surely giving a total of $750,000 is like the average guy giving a homeless man on a street corner $1.


• Oshkosh: $50,000, split between Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. The company makes and markets heavy duty trucks. Equipment to help with the rescue and recovery effort may have been a nicer gesture.


• Cintas: This is an interesting one, especially since most relief workers are heading to Haiti with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Cintas has partnered with Cincinnati-based Matthew 25: Ministries to provide essential humanitarian aid to the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. On Friday, Matthew 25: Ministries picked up the first of over 43,000 garments, nearly half of which are medical scrubs. The total value of the donation exceeds $330,000.

It’s been five days since the 7.7 earthquake left Port-au-Prince in ruins, and governments, individuals and corporations have pledged what they can to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.

Based on press releases, here’s a quick rundown of which corporations have pledged cash, services and people. Also, here’s who’s letting the public know they are giving without coming off like it’s a marketing campaign:

• Crocs: They are donating thousands of pairs of Crocs to Haiti, and they’re using its headquarters as a drop-off point for those who want to donate supplies. But the headline of its press release makes it look like corporate giving is a competition, and that Crocs is in first place. Boasting to the world about being “a leading” anything in a press release is probably also not a good idea.




• Walgreens: $100,000, plus they will match employee contributions up to $50,000. On top of that, is providing non-perishable food, water and medical supplies to the University of Miami Global Institute for Community Health and Development which has set up clinics and triage units on the streets of Port-au-Prince. The Miami-area stores are also taking donations to support American Red Cross.


• Kohl’s: $250,000. They aren’t matching employee contributions, but recommended American Red Cross as a place they could make donations to.


• Dollar General: $100,000. They are taking the same approach as Kohl’s: Advising employees about the American Red Cross, but not forcing or matching contributions.


• Burger King: The Have It Your Way Foundation is giving $50,000 and collecting supplies from its employees. Whopper sales must be down.


• Spirit Airlines: Okay, follow this donation of up to $10 million, which will go to Yéle, the Wyclef Jean-founded charity that has come under scrutiny about how its funds are appropriated.
  
  

  Spirit will give $75 USD to Yéle for every qualified person who applies for and uses a FREE SPIRIT MasterCard, up to $10 million USD. Customers simply open an account by Monday, January 25, 2010, use it once by March 31, 2010, and Spirit gives $75 USD to Yéle.

  
  

  “It’s a win-win for everyone,” adds (Spirit Airlines CEO and President Ben) Baldanza. “We are providing up to $10 million USD to Yéle, our customers receive up to three free flights, and since we’ve waived the annual fee for the first year, the only cost to help us reach our goal of raising $10 million USD is using the card for one of your everyday purchases to activate the card.”

  
  

  Sounds like a public relations nightmare to me. I’ll cut them some slack, they are giving away 5,000 free miles to anyone who donates to Red Cross, UNICEF or Yéle. That’s enough for a free flight, the airline says, with an asterisk to indicate donors must jump through hoops to receive their free miles.



• Dell: And you thought Burger King was stingy. Dell is donating $500,000, split between Unicef and International Red Cross. And they’ll match up to $250,000 in employee donations. Dell, by the way, again topped the annual MCM 100 ranking of print and online merchants by sales. Surely giving a total of $750,000 is like the average guy giving a homeless man on a street corner $1.


• Oshkosh: $50,000, split between Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders. The company makes and markets heavy duty trucks. Equipment to help with the rescue and recovery effort may have been a nicer gesture.


• Cintas: This is an interesting one, especially since most relief workers are heading to Haiti with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Cintas has partnered with Cincinnati-based Matthew 25: Ministries to provide essential humanitarian aid to the victims of the recent earthquake in Haiti. On Friday, Matthew 25: Ministries picked up the first of over 43,000 garments, nearly half of which are medical scrubs. The total value of the donation exceeds $330,000.