AMERICUS, Ga. (AP) – The devastating tsunami and hurricanes of the past year have led to increased visibility for Habitat for Humanity International, resulting in more donations and volunteers.

President Bush, other leaders and countless celebrities – from singer Barbra Streisand to author John Grisham to dozens of professional sports teams – have thrown their high-profile support behind Habitat’s efforts to build low-income housing for those left homeless by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“That’s visibility that all organizations would like to have,” said Tim Seiler, director of the fundraising school at Indiana University’s Center for Philanthropy in Indianapolis. “Of all the nonprofits that are out there, when your name is mentioned at a high level, it’s helpful.”

Habitat has raised more than $111 million for hurricane and tsunami relief efforts, signed up thousands of new volunteers, and formed new partnerships with various corporations and groups.

“This is an incredible time for Habitat,” spokesman Joedy Isert said. “We’re working with partners, corporations, churches, leadership that we’ve never had an opportunity to work with before.”

To speed up the recovery, Habitat volunteers around the country have been building house frames that are being shipped to the Gulf Coast, where they’ll eventually become homes for hurricane survivors in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

In partnership with NBC’s “Today” show and Warner Music Group, volunteers in September worked around the clock to frame 65 homes at New York’s Rockefeller Plaza. The effort was nationally televised each morning and featured dozens of celebrities.

Similar house-framing drives have occurred in Jackson, Miss., and Burbank, Calif. A partnership with Major League Baseball also resulted in more homes being framed in Houston during the World Series.

Habitat’s latest build took volunteers to the Washington Mall last week, where they planned to assemble another 51 house frames in partnership with Freddie Mac, which assists institutions that grant home mortgages.

Habitat also has raised $50 million to assist victims of the tsunami that struck 11 Asian countries last December. Habitat plans to build 35,000 houses for tsunami survivors, but it has not set a housing goal for the Gulf Coast, Isert said.

“We’ve said from the beginning that our plan is to build as many homes as we can fund,” he said. “So this isn’t a short-term project for Habitat. We will be building homes in the Gulf-affected areas for years to come.”

So far, donors have contributed more than $61 million for Habitat’s hurricane relief work.

Musicians Harry Connick Jr. and Branford Marsalis, both New Orleans natives, are honorary chairmen of Habitat’s fundraising response to Hurricane Katrina, and both have donated concert proceeds.

Pearl Jam and Robert Plant also have held concerts for Habitat, and others – Streisand, Elton John, John Mayer, James Brown and Celine Dion – have contributed to a compilation album that will benefit the charity and others assisting hurricane victims.

Habitat’s leadership resisted suggestions that the group give, rather than sell, homes to hurricane victims. Providing free houses would have been a radical departure from the method used since Habitat was founded by Millard and Linda Fuller in 1976. Habitat recipients must have a genuine need, be able to handle a no-interest mortgage, and be willing to invest “sweat equity” by working on their homes or other Habitat homes.

“We know that people need homes, but there’s … something about owning a home and buying something that increases your chances for success,” Isert said.

Habitat’s success with the tsunami and hurricane responses comes after Millard Fuller was fired by the charity’s board in January amid allegations that he inappropriately touched a female staff member. He denied the accusation, and the board found no evidence to substantiate the charge. The Fullers have since begun a new home-building charity, the Fuller Center for Housing.

Despite the focus on the recent disasters, Habitat affiliates have been able to maintain their normal home-building pace elsewhere in the past year, Isert said. Worldwide, Habitat volunteers build about 20,000 homes a year, including 5,000 in the United States.

“It took us 26 years to build 100,000 homes, but only five years to build the second 100,000. So … there’s a real opportunity to grow beyond a dream,” Isert said.

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On The Net:

Habitat for Humanity International: http://www.habitat.org