Because the funds are sent electronically, UNICEF has access to the money within 72 hours, versus several weeks when the money comes through direct mail, the largest donation channel for the organization, Ledwith said.
"Once funds are available, they can be transferred to UNICEF for programs in the field," Ledwith said. "It's a very quick process. It can only increase the amount of assistance that will be available for emergency supplies and the speed at which they can be transported."
As to the reason for the big jump in online donations, Ledwith believes extensive media coverage of the disaster has helped, along with the unusual number of countries affected.
"Once people sense the scale of the disaster, they want to make an immediate impact (on relief efforts), and going online enables them to do that," Ledwith said.
In addition, UNICEF has placed an ad-link with giant search engine Google Inc., and the U.S. branch has sent alerts to its 80,000 email subscribers, which have donated more than $200,000, Ledwith said.
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