Oxford High School shooting: Here's how donations will be distributed to victims

Miriam Marini, Detroit Free Press
·4 min read

In the nearly three months after the Oxford High School shooting, almost $2 million of donations have poured in for the victims of the incident that left four dead and seven injured.

Now, officials are drafting a plan to figure out who out of hundreds of affected community members will receive a portion of the funds and just how much each recipient will receive.

A draft protocol released Tuesday proposes a distribution plan for the $1.7 million fund that has been collected in donations for survivors and families of the Oxford High School shooting.

The distribution plan is not yet final and defines criteria for eligible applicants based on proximity to the incident and subsequent trauma and physical injuries endured. The fund is being managed by the National Compassion Fund, a nonprofit that facilitates donations to victims of mass crimes.

"The guiding principles are how do we identify the people most directly impacted while recognizing the resources we have," said Jeff Dion, executive director of the National Compassion Fund and manager of the Oxford fund. "It's not practical to think that we can help everybody because then if everybody at the school was eligible, then some people would get like $35.26, and that sort of adds insult to injury."

Four criteria

The proposal outlines four eligibility criteria: legal heirs of those who were killed as a direct result of the shooting, those who were physically injured by gunshot or shrapnel wounds, those who suffered another type of physical injury during the shooting, and those who meet the eligibility requirements designated for psychological trauma.

Individuals in the categories are required to have been physically present in an area of the high school designated by the National Compassion Fund's Steering Committee. The area is comprised of the hallway where the Nov. 30 shooting occurred, including two restrooms and a classroom.

The highlighted portion shows the designated area where applicants are required to be deemed physically present to be eligible to receive funds. A drafted protocol released Feb. 15, 2022 proposes a distribution plan for the nearly $2 million that has been collected in donations for survivors of the Oxford High School shooting.
The highlighted portion shows the designated area where applicants are required to be deemed physically present to be eligible to receive funds. A drafted protocol released Feb. 15, 2022 proposes a distribution plan for the nearly $2 million that has been collected in donations for survivors of the Oxford High School shooting.

"No one is standing in judgment about whether or not someone is traumatized, it is just defining who we are able to help with this fund," Dion said. "Everybody who was at the school is a victim and I'm sure they were traumatized and what they've experienced is real, but we have to make the difficult decision: With the amount of funds we have, who are we able to help?"

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The proposed distribution protocol is subject to public feedback, with the first public meeting scheduled for March 21 at the high school's auditorium.

The organization's steering committee has 10 members including:

  • Joe Farrell, who is serving as the committee's chair and whose son was inside the high school during the shooting

  • Sandra Bouckley, a former executive with the Southfield-based Society of Manufacturing Engineering

  • Patricia Duke, executive director of LOVE Inc. of Oakland County

  • Michelle Kasinec, a trauma expert with Oxford-based GLIO Counseling Group

  • Barbara Massie, a community volunteer

  • Tiara Parker, a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub shooting

  • Heather Pizzala, vice president of marketing for Genisys Credit Union

  • Heather Raitz, trauma expert

  • Christine Stephens, family law attorney at Oxford-based Stephens Family Law

  • Alaina Sullivan, trusts and estates attorney at Oxford-based Sullivan Law Office

After collecting public feedback, the steering committee will then produce a finalized distribution plan to parse out donations. Once the final plan has been released, an online application to receive funds will be available April 4 and remain open until April 29.

Fund closes May 20

The amount gifted to individuals will be determined based on how much money is collected through May 20 — when the fund is set to close for donations — and a review of all applications. Funds gifted to recipients can be used however they desire.

While the awards have yet to be set, as the fund is still accepting donations, the legal heirs of those killed in the shooting and those who were hospitalized overnight can request advance payments of $25,000 and $10,000, respectively. This advance will then be deducted from the final amount the applicant is approved for.

A finalized protocol is predicted to be published March 29, followed by the posting of the application April 4. Funds are expected to be distributed in mid-June.

For more information on the distribution process, go to the National Compassion Fund's website. To donate to the fund, go to the fundraiser's GoFundMe page.

Contact Miriam Marini: mmarini@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Oxford school shooting: How donations will be distributed to victims