WASHINGTON, March 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the days since the worst earthquake and tsunami in Japan's history, more than 21,000 individual donors have contributed nearly $1,500,000 to GlobalGiving's "Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund."  Today, GlobalGiving disbursed the first portion of those funds to seven of its partner organizations already mobilizing in the most impacted areas of Japan.  "We strongly believe we hold enormous responsibility to the people of Japan and our donors to allocate the funds in a responsible and transparent manner," says John Hecklinger, Chief Program Officer at GlobalGiving.  Below is information about the initial recipients of funds.

Japan Platform - Japan Platform is an emergency humanitarian aid organization working with Japanese NGOs, the Japanese business community, and the Japanese government. Funds granted by GlobalGiving will be used to provide disaster coordination and financial support to the 18 Japan Platform partner NGOs that are responding to the emergency by providing short-term food aid, medical assistance, and tents, while planning a long-term response.

Peace Winds - Peace Winds is a Japanese organization that has focused on emergency humanitarian relief for the past 15 years. GlobalGiving funds will help Peace Winds distribute emergency disaster relief supplies - including food, cooking supplies, and blankets - to people at shelters in Kesennuma City and Miyagi Prefecture.  They will also provide free satellite telephone services and mobile phone charging so survivors can ensure family members of their safety and to check on family members in other affected areas.

Save the Children - Children are always among the most vulnerable during emergencies. Save the Children is working with children and caregivers to provide psycho-social support and materials and to establish Child-Friendly Spaces in affected communities in Miyagi, Fukushima, Iwata, and Ibaraki Prefectures.

Architecture for Humanity - Architecture for Humanity and its teams of professionals in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto are partnering with other organizations to mobilize around the long-term reconstruction effort. GlobalGiving funds will support communities and design professionals in the safe and sustainable rebuilding of community structures, health clinics, schools, hospitals and civic structures.

International Medical Corps - International Medical Corps has an emergency response team of doctors on the ground in Sendai and is coordinating with local officials to fill critical gaps in the response efforts. These funds will help the group focus on reaching isolated coastal communities that were devastated by the tsunami and have yet to receive aid.

Lifeline Energy - Lifeline Energy is working with local partners to distribute wind-up and solar radios and specialized programming to non-Japanese-speaking survivors, who are lacking access to critical information following the disaster. These radios are also equipped with flashlights and cell phone chargers and are designed for especially complex emergency situations.

Mercy Corps, which posted a specific project on GlobalGiving.org, will receive $35,500, representing donations made directly to their project.  Mercy Corps is working in collaboration with its long-time partner Peace Winds to deliver relief supplies, including tents, tarps, blankets and food, to evacuated families in the tsunami-devastated city of Kesennuma.  Funds will also support their long-term recovery work in Japan.

In addition to donations coming directly to its website and via text, GlobalGiving is facilitating matching programs, online fundraising and corporate giving for a number of companies, including eBay Giving Works, Dell, Gap Inc. and the Gap Foundation, Discovery Communications, Yahoo!, Network for Good, and Living Social.  GlobalGiving expects these partnerships to contribute at least another $1 million to the relief effort.  

GlobalGiving is committed to transparency and will continue to post updates on its partners' progress and the further allocation of funds.  To learn more about the GlobalGiving community's efforts, or to support Japan's rebuilding, please visit www.globalgiving.org.

GlobalGiving (www.globalgiving.org) enables individuals and organizations to find and direct funds to high-impact, grassroots projects. By aggregating many donors, GlobalGiving is creating a new source of funding for people with innovative solutions to challenging world issues. Corporate partners include Pepsi, Discovery Communications, Gap, Inc., Ford Motor Company, and Nike, among others. In addition, major funding partners include Omidyar Network, the Hewlett Foundation, and Sall Family Foundation. To date the GlobalGiving community has made over $40 million in contributions to more than 3,800 projects around the world.

For more information please contact Donna Callejon:  dcallejon@globalgiving.org or 202.232.5784

SOURCE GlobalGiving