American relief organizations have raised $745 million to help the victims of the tsunami in South Asia, and many aid groups continue to receive donations despite the fact they have stopped actively soliciting contributions, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reports.

Among them, the American Red Cross, which has raised nearly $309 million for the relief effort to date, announced on January 26 that it was no longer accepting donations; since then, its tsunami-relief fund has received an additional $73 million. Meanwhile, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF has raised an additional $10.3 million since it stopped actively soliciting donations four weeks ago, bringing its total raised for tsunami relief to $78.3 million.

Many charities continue to solicit funds for the relief effort, however. CARE USA, for example, says it has raised $30 million for tsunami relief to date, about 60 percent of its goal of $50 million. Other organizations still accepting donations include Save the Children, which has raised $47 million; World Vision USA, which has received gifts totaling $43.3 million; and Lutheran World Relief, which has raised $11.4 million.

Several organizations say they have benefited from the decision of organizations like the Red Cross to close their tsunami relief appeals. The Brother's Brother Foundation, which has raised $1.5 million to date, reports that it has had several new donors who said they had wanted to give to the Red Cross but decided to redirect their giving after that organization ceased fundraising, said foundation president Luke Hingson. "We've seen some money come our way because of that," added Hingson.