Since the eathquake hit Haiti in January of this year, Fordham has raised $51,787 to be divided between both organizations. Nearly $26,000 of the total amount was given to CRS by Fordham in late May, the rest going to JRS. Since May, an additional $2,692 has been raised and will be sent to both relief services at an undetermined time in the future.

When presented with the statistic of CRS’s release of funds, Tom Dunne, vice president of government relations and urban planning at Fordham, reached out to CRS, who confirmed the accuracy of the statistic.

He was not surprised by the figure, and said he understood all along that CRS would be spending the money gradually.

“That’s the pace in which relief organizations generally spend their money,” Dunne said. “I’m confident that the money we sent them is being well spent, and will continue to be well spent. “

John Rivera, director of communications at CRS, said that the rate of spending is accounted for as part of a long-term plan the organization devised in response to the earthquake.

“We have a five-year plan of rehabilitation and reconstruction,” Rivera said. “We’re spending the money as fast as we reasonably can.”

The three stages in CRS’s five-year plan are relief, recovery and rebuilding, according to Rivera. The recovery and rebuilding facets are geared to address intermediate and long-term issues, like creating jobs for the Haitian people and constructing permanent shelter. Rivera said the initial relief stage has ended within the past month.

“During the first month after the earthquake, we focused on providing food, emergency shelter, water and adequate healthcare,” he said. “Going forward, we are looking to build transitional shelters, to clear property of rubble and looking to start businesses in Haiti that will assist in removing debris.”

After eight and a half months, CRS has spent $63 million of the $196 million donation total it received, compared to $42 million of the $190 million it received for Asian tsunami relief within the same time frame.

On the Nov. 12 episode of “60 Minutes,” Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive estimated that his country has only received 15 to 20 percent of the five billion dollars raised for relief efforts.