While some nonprofit organizations are worried that the unprecedented charitable response to the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami may result in fewer donations at home, others are hopeful that an increase in new donors will result in more charitable giving over the long term.

Like many of his colleagues in the human services field, Keith Kuenning, executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition to End Homelessness, is worried that donations for tsunami relief may actually drain money from existing domestic needs. "I think it's great that we're concentrating on the millions of people the tsunami has left homeless," Kuenning told the Manchester Union Leader, "but I think it's important we don't forget the millions of people in the United States that are homeless every year."

But where many see the possibility of adverse short-term consequences, others see opportunity. While local chapters of the American Red Cross may experience a short-term drop in contributions, said James O'Brien, development director at the organization's Concord (NH) chapter, the attention given to tsunami relief will enhance local fundraising efforts in the long run. O'Brien told the Union Leader he is meeting new donors every day "who were touched and moved by this disaster and want to give. They're seeing the Red Cross for the first time, and that's great for us in the long term because [it allows us to develop] a relationship with people who will be long-term donors."

The experience of 9/11 has led many New York nonprofit executives to adopt an equally optimistic view. Philip Coltoff, CEO of the Children's Aid Society, told the New York Times that as the initial shock of the 9/11 attacks faded and time passed, "There was no compassion fatigue. As a matter of fact, there was a compassion enhancement."

Some experts even suggest that once the outpouring of support for victims of the tsunami subsides, overall charitable giving will fall back to a level that is higher than the pre-tsunami level. Research by the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University suggests that while there may be a momentary dip in donations to other charitable causes after major disasters, in the end giving tends to rebound.

Perhaps that's because charitable giving is not a zero-sum game, in which one cause gains at the expense of another. "Giving is not just about having extra money," G. Douglass Alexander, a fundraising consultant in Atlanta, told the Christian Science Monitor. "In most cases...it's just that no one asked...for it. And, in this case, the tsunami relief is the ultimate 'ask.'"