BLACKSBURG -- Three months after the April 16 shootings, Kenneth Feinberg, the man who helped regulate compensation to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, will do the same with the more than $7.1 million in donations amassed in the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund.

As special master to the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001, Feinberg spent 33 months talking with victims and their families and creating regulations to ensure that donations and federal money allocated to the cause were handled properly.

In the next few weeks, he'll do the same for those affected by the Virginia Tech shootings. He will work for free again.

"I wish I weren't here," Feinberg said Thursday during a news conference at Virginia Tech. "I wish we weren't here talking about this."

Donors have contributed more than $7.1 million across the 34 funds under the umbrella of the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund. It includes 32 named funds, one for each victim; a general scholarship fund; and the memorial fund. About $1 million of the total donations have been designated by donors toward specific uses, leaving the balance for general use, including distributions. Payouts would come from undesignated funds.

Some victims' relatives have said they deserve more control over the money, and with Feinberg taking the reins, that could happen.

The school says there's not an adversarial relationship. No families will be required to sign documents binding them not to sue, as was the case with the Sept. 11 victims.

"I am not here to save the university money," Feinberg said.

After meeting with victims and their relatives to find out what they want, Feinberg's task is to come up with ideas of how to distribute the money and hand them to the university.

The Virginia Tech Foundation, which has had control of the fund since its inception, has used about $100,000 to pay for families' travel and immediate needs. However, the foundation legally cannot give all the money to victims or families because of its classification as an educational foundation and not a benevolent one, Tech President Charles Steger said.

"We now realize that we are not in a position to presuppose what is best for victims or their families," Steger said. "With no experience in dealing with crime victims, we felt it best to seek expert advice in disbursements of these monies."

After Feinberg makes his recommendations, Tech administrators will have the final say as to how the money is used. Feinberg said he would expect all money to be handed out before Thanksgiving.

The Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund will be closed Aug. 1. However, because officials said they understand more donations will roll in, any money given in August will be allocated to families.

The university has been working with Feinberg for a few weeks and finalized the plans Wednesday, Tech spokesman Larry Hincker said.

Feinberg, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., said Mary Ware, head of the state's Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund, originally asked him to get involved with the spirit fund. Steger said he met with some victims' families throughout last week and discussed the idea with them. He said he received no complaints. The university also sent letters mentioning the plans to other victims.

Feinberg said he also wants to find the best way to divide the money so that no one family or person is saddled with a heavy income tax burden after the distribution. With the Sept. 11 money, Congress passed a law keeping families from being taxed on the donations. That has not happened for Virginia Tech families.

Families and direct victims will get first dibs on the money to help with immediate needs, but Feinberg said he will meet with anyone -- physically or mentally injured -- who thinks they need help.

The Sept. 11 fund, however, only gave money to people with physical injuries, he said.

The university has no plans to give money to the family of shooter Seung-Hui Cho, Hincker said.

Steger said some families balked at the plan to endow 32 separate scholarships through the 32 named funds. "I thought I had a good idea when I had it," he said. Instead, families will also have control over how that money is spent, he said.