Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund came close.

The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund (BCKF) has raised almost $130 million since it was created more than a year ago, but you won't find it on the NPT 100. That's because it runs on a federal fiscal year (Oct. 1-Sept. 30), and it expects to complete disbursement of all the money raised in the coming weeks. It would also have just missed the cut since the buy-in this year is $130.77 million.

The fund's Form 990 wouldn't be due until February, since its fiscal year ended this past September 30. The fund began asking for donations about a year ago and was legally established in December 2005.

The $130 million raised came from approximately 60,000 individual donors, with more than 80 percent of donations made through the Web site, www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org. Most individual donors made gifts ranging from $25 to $500, and at least 90 percent of donations were in amounts less than $1,000. Contributions were received from all 50 states and countries around the world, the largest being $25 million from the government of Kuwait.

Bill Pierce, a spokesman for BCKE said the fund has allocated virtually all of the $130 million and expects that all the money raised will be given away--minus some administrative expenses--by the end of this year. Through August, $76 million had been awarded.

"It's just a matter of getting it into organizations' hands," he said. "We may well give away all of it by November," with only some routine accounting to be completed.

BCKF was among a number of organizations that led to record fundraising levels in response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes last year. Giving to hurricane relief reached $3 billion by early this year, surpassing response to the September 11 terrorist attacks. At the time, that set what was believed to be a new record for U.S. private philanthropic giving for a single disaster, according to The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which tracks charitable giving. Recent estimates of hurricane relief giving peg the figure at more than $5 billion.

Of the total $130 million raised by BCKF, $30 million went to 33 institutions of higher education, including universities, colleges, community colleges and technical training institutions.

Another $40 million was split among three states based on their percentage of total approved FEMA applications submitted by individuals: 61 percent/$24.4 million, Louisiana; 31 percent/$12.4 million, Mississippi, and 8 percent/$3.2 million, Alabama. The recovery funds were set up by the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama to fill unmet needs in their states. Most of these funds already have been distributed.

A fund of $25 million was distributed to local and regional faith-based organizations in the affected areas to assist in rebuilding houses of worship and to cover costs for temporary relocation. More than 1,100 houses of worship from a wide range of faiths applied for funding by the end of July 2006. More than half the applicants were based in Louisiana and a third in Mississippi. Disbursal of these grants started in late September.

There are two levels of funding for houses of worship, $35,000 and $20,000 or less. In determining what levels to fund houses of worship, factors considered were poverty level of the area in which the house of worship is located; gap between total repair costs and insurance received as well as funding from other sources, such as donations; and extent to which $35,000 brings the house of worship's restoration close to completion. A few houses of worship could be funded at less than $20,000 based on the applicant's request for a smaller award amount, or documentation that shows that insurance payments and/or donations cover substantially all of the repair costs or unique considerations.

Finally, another $35 million is slated in direct grants, allocated for projects focused on health, housing, education, community and infrastructure needs. Through September, more than $25 million had been given away, Pierce said.