Local charitable organizations were already noticing the trickle-down effects of Hawai'i's continuing economic malaise when natural disasters in Samoa and the Philippines produced new calls for Hawai'i's famously generous community of givers to once again dig deep to help those in need.

Factoring in additional pleas for private donations to keep public libraries, high school sports and other programs afloat amid crippling government budget cuts, Hawai'i residents are being asked to give with greater frequency and urgency than perhaps at any point in recent memory — even as their own economic fortunes have taken a hit with layoffs, furloughs or diving investment portfolios.

"It's hard to gauge whether people are reaching their limit," said Toy Arre, president of the Filipino Community Center, which is spearheading a fundraising effort for Philippine disaster relief. "I think people have different interests that determine which relief effort they give to. Other people will divide what they have a little more."

And some, Arre said, are just trying to stay afloat themselves.

"A lot of people have lost their jobs and I know that some are holding back (on what they give) just to sustain their own livelihood," he said. "That's understandable."

Still, Arre said, support from local businesses is helping ensure that Hawai'i's contribution to the Philippine disaster relief is significant.

The Golden Coin chain of restaurants is collecting donations and will match customer contributions up to $50,000. Hawaiian Airlines is contributing $5 for every ticket to the Philippines in October. And Central Pacific Bank is accepting donations at each of its branches.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we raise $100,000," Arre said. "That's roughly 5 million pesos, which will help a lot of people affected in the Philippines."

As of Thursday night, the center had collected $5,600, mostly through walk-in donations.

In 2006, Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy ranked Hawai'i No. 9 in the nation in charitable giving.

Arre and others say such studies tell only part of the story, as Filipinos and members of other recent immigrant groups often send contributions to family members or causes in their or their neighbors' countries directly, rather than going through a charity or other agency.

The Hawai'i Community Foundation is finalizing its latest report on charitable giving in Hawai'i.

Spokeswoman Kalowena Komeiji said it will be worth tracking how the recent disaster relief efforts impact the local charitable giving environment and how far the ripples may travel.

"My guess is that we'll see a big impact," she said.

Komeiji said she expects that much charitable giving will be directed out of state to relief efforts like those in American Samoa, Samoa and the Philippines. She said people will continue to contribute to local charities, "but perhaps not as much."

"Given the results of our study, and the two natural disasters, and the government cutbacks — what is the real cost? I suspect a lot of nonprofits will feel this."

Dick Grimm, president of the Hawaii Foodbank, said he doesn't anticipate that the recent disaster relief drives will significantly affect the flow of donations to his organization. For the Foodbank, the larger issue has been the continued "softening" of donations due to the economy.

Last year, the Foodbank's CANstruction drive, in which architectural and engineering firms build structures out of canned goods, drew participation from some 14 firms, with contributions totaling about 45,000 pounds of food. This year's drive had just nine participants, and contributions of some 35,000 pounds of food.

Similarly, this year's letter carriers' drive, in which postal workers collect food donations left at residential mailboxes, took in 13 percent less than last year.

"Unfortunately, the worse the economy gets, the more people have a need," Grimm said. "Our service isn't a want or a desire — you have to have food, water and shelter — so we can't afford to tighten any belts. We can only work twice as hard to get money and food for people in need.

"Fortunately, Hawai'i is an extremely giving state and folks go out of their way here to help each other," he said.

Grimm said such generosity means that local charities may not take as hard a hit as their counterparts in other areas of the country.

"There is some softening but it has not impacted us to a really great extent," he said. "We will see more softening as we go along.

"I hear of problems in other nonprofit areas," he said. "The major cutbacks have been with the large foundations. Their investment portfolios are down 25 percent to 35 percent, which means that the amount of money that gets spread out to the community is shortened. I don't expect this as much in Hawai'i because our foundations have been more conservative in their investments."

Grimm said solid financial planning has allowed the Foodbank to dip into its reserves to purchase food when donations come up short. Last year, the organization spent about $1 million to purchase food for distribution. It will likely spend twice that much this year to counterbalance the declining donations and rising need.

Experienced fundraisers have found it necessary to carefully strategize their approaches to be heard amid the cacophony of competing pleas.

The Friends of the Library of Hawai'i has raised nearly $73,000 in its campaign to help public libraries keep their doors open.

While that figure was significantly boosted by a $25,000 donation from musician Jack Johnson, the bulk of the money came from individual donors making modest but important contributions.

The Friends' strategy emphasizes breadth over depth, reasoning that if each resident contributes as little as $3, the drive could raise $3 million for public libraries in the state.

"The thought was that we had to make it doable to get the buy-in from the community and from people who frequent the library," said Byrde Cestare, the organization's executive director. "If I went up to 10 people on the street and asked them if they would give $3 to help keep our library system open, they'd probably all give — and not just $3, but $10, $15 or $20.

"Hawai'i is one of the most giving states, and we're experiencing that," she said.