Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

New York Regional Association of Grantmakers

Lessons from the Gulf Coast

Contents

2 Introduction

3 Executive Summary Best Practices; Practices to Avoid; Future Investment Opportunities

5 NYRAG Member Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

New York Regional Association of Grantmakers (NYRAG) The New York Regional Association of 10 Snapshots of Innovative Grantmakers (NYRAG) is a nonprofit Grantmaking membership organization of more than As Reported by Nonprofit Organizations, 285 grantmaking foundations and corpo- Governmental Agencies, and Community rations in the New York metropolitan area. Foundations Its members award more than $3.9 billion annually to more than 20,000 charitable organizations in the New York area and around the globe. Its mission is to promote and support the practice of effective 21 Future Investment in the Gulf Coast philanthropy for the public good. Opportunities for Promoting Recovery, Transformation, and Revitalization Acknowledgements NYRAG wishes to thank The Ford Foundation for its financial support of the NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Initiative and Appendices of this report. 26 We also thank all those who responded to requests for information regarding philanthropy’s response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and most importantly, to those who took time out of their busy schedules to talk with the authors of this report. 2 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

Introduction

The Gulf Coast region is an area rich in culture, tradition, telephone and face-to-face interviews, from 86 individuals and resources. It is also an area in which many communities representing community foundations from the hurricane grapple with vast social, racial, and economic inequities. affected areas; local governmental agencies developed to Despite these inequalities, or perhaps because of them, the respond to the hurricanes; nonprofit organizations from community leadership in the Gulf Coast region has a depth Mississippi and Louisiana; members of the NYRAG Gulf and breadth equal to that in any other part of the country. Coast Recovery Task Force; and affinity groups from across Local leaders are passionate, dedicated, and highly skilled the country.1 In addition to this research, a review was community members who are committed to working for undertaken of existing publications and reports regarding the betterment of their neighborhoods, towns, and states— the philanthropic response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but many lack the resources necessary to support their and to other national disasters.2 efforts and to further develop their skills. The primary purpose of this report is to share knowledge While local leaders in the Gulf Coast have long fought the about philanthropic responses to Hurricanes Katrina and systemic injustices in their communities, many people across Rita that were deemed, by both funders and grant recipi- the country, including many in the philanthropic sector, ents, to be “successful,”and to glean recommended practices were unaware of the severity of the inequities until that donors can apply to future disasters. While creating this Hurricanes Katrina and Rita so violently revealed the truth. report, the authors were made aware of a Ghanaian word The news reports and photographs that depicted the loss of that captures perfectly the purpose of this report — life, the desperation, and the isolation of so many communi- Sankofa.3 In the Akan language of Ghana, Sankofa translates ties across the Gulf Coast region underscored the need for to “go back and take” (Sanko:go back, fa:take). The Asante national attention and a national response to the region. of Ghana use a symbol to represent this same idea—that of This report, which highlights the work of the New York phil- a bird with its head turned backwards taking an egg off its anthropic community, presents some of these responses. back. It symbolizes one taking from the past what is good In order to ensure the compilation of a report that recog- and bringing it into the present in order to make positive nizes the many outstanding philanthropic practices that progress through the benevolent use of knowledge. It is were instituted in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, hoped that this report will do just that—provide some of the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers the knowledge necessary to generate positive progress and (NYRAG) gathered information from more than 370 indi- ensure continued investment by the philanthropic commu- viduals—from 287 NYRAG members via survey, and, via nity in the transformative recovery of the Gulf Coast region.

“ Take from the past what is good and bring it into the present in order to make positive progress through the benevolent use of knowledge. ” 3

Executive Summary

BEST PRACTICES: STRATEGIES IDENTIFIED BY NONPROFITS, COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS, AND GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES

Utilize key people in the affected communities. Put staff “on the ground.” Use staff to develop rela- Recognize, respect, and utilize the skills and knowledge of tionships in the affected communities, to garner knowl- key people and local leaders in the affected communities. edge about the ever-changing needs of the communities as they move through the recovery process, and to pro- Utilize existing relationships to gather informa- vide practical, skills-based support to nonprofit organ- tion. Leverage existing relationships with both non- izations in the days immediately following a disaster. profit partners in the local community and philanthropic peers who are funding in the region to Be proactive. Don’t wait for nonprofit organizations learn of needs, opportunities, and potential funding in the affected communities to request assistance— relationships in affected areas. make phone calls and offer support.

Be willing to take risks. Overcome the inherent cau- Create collaborative funding efforts. Work with tiousness of foundations and invest in nonprofit organ- peers to pool funds and maximize financial resources izations that have not previously received significant available to the affected areas. support from the philanthropic community. Strengthen local philanthropy. Use financial Share information with other funders and with resources, and staff expertise and time to invest in and nonprofits. Foster collaborative relationships with develop local philanthropic organizations. Stronger peers, share ideas and funding opportunities, and local philanthropic organizations will yield stronger encourage direct communication with nonprofit nonprofit organizations. organizations in the affected communities. Defer a portion of grant dispersal. Rather than pro- Create a dynamic funder collaborative. Partner viding only short-term funding to the affected commu- with other funders to create a flexible, adaptable infor- nities, wait to see what “gaps” need to be filled and mation-sharing method that has the ability to adapt its provide medium- and long-term funding in those areas. purpose and function to the changing needs of its membership though all stages of the recovery process. Expand funding focus. Recognize the extraordinary circumstances that arise following disasters and look for Create a nationally relevant information opportunities to fund outside traditional funding resource. Collaborate with other funders to develop a guidelines. practical, user-friendly resource that distills information about community needs and grantmaking oppor- Simplify the application process. Modify the grant tunities into a referenced document that encourages application process to minimize demands made on non- communication among funders. profits in the weeks and months following a disaster, and utilize common application forms whenever possible. 4 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

PRACTICES TO AVOID: PROCESSES THAT Forcing nonprofit collaboration. Disaster recovery PROVED DETRIMENTAL TO RECOVERY is not the time for nonprofit organizations to be developing radically new programs. Collaboration between nonprofits must occur organically and should not be Failing to respect time of nonprofit leaders. Many forced. nonprofit leaders reported that foundation representatives expected nonprofit practitioners to arrange tours, participate in meetings, and introduce them to other Failing to respond to requests for funding. If nonprofit providers and then failed to provide funding requests for funding are received from organizations in to the organization. Visits should not be made to a non- disaster-affected areas, foundations should respond in a profit organization unless funding for that organization timely and respectful manner. If funding is not possible, is almost certain. use peer networks to introduce nonprofit organization to other potential funders. Failing to recognize the role of faith-based organizations in the immediate disaster recovery Lacking awareness of federal policies that process. As cornerstones of many communities in the impact disaster recovery. When funding in disaster Gulf Coast, many faith-based organizations had exist- recovery, foundations should have a basic understand- ing structures in place to meet community needs; how- ing of Federal policies that directly impact the recovery ever, they were often overlooked when funding was process (e.g. the Stafford Act). Do not “waste” philan- distributed. thropic funding on actions that should be funded by the federal government. Using a “philanthropic lens” rather than a “community lens” when looking at recovery. FUTURE INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Foundations are often very paternalistic in the wake of STRATEGIES TO CONSIDER disaster. It is imperative that affected communities be allowed to determine what they need for recovery. Trust Support and empower local philanthropy. those on the ground to make the decisions and listen to Increase what they need. the capacity, influence, and power of local philanthropy by developing partnerships and collaborative funding opportunities. Failing to modify application and reporting requirements. Following a disaster, loss of data, lack Affect change in local and state policy. of basic equipment, and decreased staffing may make it Support impossible for nonprofit organizations to submit tradi- nonprofit organizations that are working to change leg- tional applications and collect data typically required islative policies that propagate racial, social, and eco- for reporting. Foundations must recognize these very nomic inequity in the Gulf Coast region. real limitations and adjust expectations accordingly. Develop opportunities for funder cooperation Failing to recognize recovery time required fol- and collaboration. Maximize resources flowing to the lowing a disaster. Funders need to recognize that it Gulf Coast by sharing information and developing may take years, not weeks or months, for communities strategic funding responses. to return to their pre-disaster levels of operation.

Investing quickly rather than well. If funders do not have existing relationships in a region, they should talk to other funders and learn. Do not give money to the largest institutions in the region in the hope it will trickle down to those that are actually serving the communities in need. 5

NYRAG Member Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

NYRAG GULF COAST RECOVERY TASK FORCE The Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force is staffed by consultants employed by NYRAG and is funded through grants The Mission of the Task Force is to support the individual and from NYRAG member organizations5. collective efforts of foundations, corporations, and individual donors to meet the immediate and long-term needs of dis- ■ Achievements placed persons and survivors, and help ensure an equitable Since the creation of the Gulf Coast Initiative, NYRAG has rebuilding and transformation of all communities affected by worked diligently to focus and maintain national and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. regional attention upon equitable rebuilding and transfor- To advance this Mission, the Task Force gathers and distills mation in the Gulf Coast. To this end, the NYRAG Gulf information to inform existing and effective philanthropic Coast Recovery Task Force created three vehicles for infor- practices and opportunities in the hurricane-affected areas, mation dissemination, learning, and the exchange of ideas: disseminate the information to current and prospective donors, and facilitate cooperative efforts. DONORS’ GUIDE TO GULF COAST RELIEF & RECOVERY ■ History Immediately following the hurricanes, the majority of Task In response to NYRAG’s identified priorities of expanding Force members identified the sheer immensity of the task at donor opportunities, promoting information sharing and hand as the primary obstacle to providing effective philan- collaboration between NYRAG members and key audiences, thropic support to the hurricane-affected area. The hurdles, and building a learning community among its members, both immediate and long-term, appeared insurmountable NYRAG convened a Members Briefing on September 15th, yet the opportunities to invest in the recovery of devastated 2005, to discuss how best to respond to the needs of the com- communities were myriad and, in many cases, unfamiliar. munities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The high In order to address these barriers, Task Force members attendance figures at the briefing—45 in-person attendees determined that the Task Force should focus its attentions and 32 teleconference attendees—demonstrated the interest upon gathering, distilling, and making accessible the of the New York philanthropic community in addressing the immense quantities of information around the relief, recov- devastation caused by the hurricanes and led to the immedi- ery, and rebuilding efforts in the Gulf Coast. As a result of ate creation of the NYRAG Gulf Coast Initiative. The objec- this directive, the Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & tives of the initiative are: to equip foundations, corporations, Recovery was developed. and individual donors with information and resources neces- The first edition of the Donors’ Guide was printed in July sary to most effectively respond to both the immediate and 2006, and was originally designed as an internal document long-term needs of the communities affected by Hurricanes for dissemination among members of the Task Force and the Katrina and Rita; to facilitate collaboration among grant- wider NYRAG membership. However, with the assistance of makers; to share knowledge about the benefits of collabora- “word of mouth” endorsements, and in the absence of other tion; and to glean recommended practices that donors can resources regarding philanthropic responses to the hurri- apply to other natural disasters in the future. canes, it has become a definitive national guide for founda- The driving force behind the NYRAG Gulf Coast tions and nonprofit organizations. Of the 20 organizations Initiative is the 50-plus member NYRAG Gulf Coast interviewed in New Orleans in preparation for this report, Recovery Task Force4. The Task Force, co-chaired by Mary more than 75 percent were aware of the Donors’ Guide, had Jo Mullan of The F.B. Heron Foundation and Erica Hunt of used the guide, or had referred another organization to the The Twenty-First Century Foundation, is comprised of rep- guide. Of the 18 organizations interviewed in Mississippi, resentatives from private, public, and corporate philan- approximately 33 percent were aware of the Donors’ Guide. thropic organizations, as well as representatives from Representatives from two community foundations in the national and local business and philanthropic organizations hurricane-affected region stated that they had received such as the Committee to Encourage Corporate phone calls, emails and grants from a number of funders as Philanthropy, the Council on Foundations, the Foundation a direct result of their inclusion in the Donors’ Guide. Center, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and AmeriCares. NYRAG has also received feedback from businesses, philan- 6 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

thropic organizations, and affinity groups from across the bers of the Task Force while limiting the expenses associated country praising the value and importance of the Guide. with implementing such events. Breakfast meetings, which In an effort to ensure it accurately reflects past and cur- are held at either the NYRAG office or at offices of NYRAG rent hurricane-related grantmaking activity by the New members, have been initiated only when a nonprofit practi- York philanthropic community, a second edition of the tioner from the Gulf Coast region has indicated he/she Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery was printed in would be in New York City and has volunteered to share December 2007. This latest publication provides informa- time, knowledge, and expertise with members of the Task tion on the more than $325 million the New York philan- Force. This model has proved beneficial to both the New thropic community has contributed for rescue, recovery, York philanthropic community and to visiting nonprofit and rebuilding efforts since the landfall of hurricanes leaders—NYRAG is aware of a number of organization, Katrina and Rita. including at least one community foundation, that have According to the data received for the Donors’ Guide, 145 received funding as a direct result of information presented New York area philanthropic organizations have responded at a NYRAG breakfast meeting. to the devastation in the Gulf Coast since September 2005, LEARNING FORUM SERIES providing funding to 950 nonprofit organizations in 196 communities across 38 American states and four countries. In an effort to provide up-to-date, relevant information Grants were distributed to organizations across the pro- about relief, recovery, and rebuilding efforts in the areas dev- grammatic spectrum—from those that work with infants astated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and to broaden the and toddlers, to those that provide services to the elderly; discussion beyond NYRAG member organizations, NYRAG from emergency response organizations that provided food implemented a series of Learning Forums to discuss effective and clothing in the days immediately following the storms, long-term reinvestment strategies in the Gulf Coast.6 to those that are working to promote economic growth in The first in the series—Voices of the Gulf Coast: Strategies long underserved communities; and from those helping to for Hope and Change—was held in July 2006. This event, preserve the region’s rich cultural heritage, to those working which was hosted by UJA-Federation of New York and co- to address the many environmental hazards the region is sponsored by 14 additional organizations,7 was attended by facing. For a breakdown of data according to geographic more than 160 members of the national and local philan- and programmatic distribution, please see Appendix 1 of thropic, business and nonprofit communities and focused this report. upon housing, civic participation, and infrastructure rebuilding in New Orleans and Louisiana. INFORMAL BREAKFAST SERIES In an effort to provide grantmakers with relevant, topical “ information about grassroots activities in the hurricane- 145 New York area philanthropic affected areas, the NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force organizations have responded to the developed a series of informal breakfast meetings with nonprofit leaders from the Gulf Coast region. Through the devastation in the Gulf Coast since September informal presentation and discussion format of these 2005, providing funding to 950 nonprofit meetings, grantmakers have the opportunity to hear first- organizations in 196 communities across 38 hand of the myriad challenges faced by those in the hurri- American states and four countries. cane-affected areas, of the work that has been undertaken, and of the need for a long-term commitment to the region. ” The informal breakfast series—which has featured speakers from ACORN, Contemporary Arts Center (New The second event, held in January 2007, attracted an Orleans), the RAND Gulf Coast Policy Institute, the Greater audience of approximately 65 members of the wider New New Orleans Foundation, marketumbrella.org, Seedco, York philanthropic community and focused upon the men- Times Picayune, Women of the Storm, Institute for tal health needs of individuals and communities affected by Sustainable Communities, United Way for the Greater New Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In response to Task Force Orleans Area, The Fertel and Ruth U. Fertel Foundations, the member requests, presenters for the second Learning Samuel J. Green Charter School, Libraries for the Future, and Forum were drawn from Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives/Land Assistance and represented the mental health, nonprofit, and govern- Fund—is an integral part of NYRAG’s efforts to keep the mental sectors. needs of those affected by the hurricanes at the forefront of In September 2007, days after the second anniversary of the collective “mind” of the philanthropic community. Hurricane Katrina, NYRAG co-sponsored the Funders The opportunistic model used for the breakfast meetings Forum on Sustainable Gulf Coast Transformation. This event, has enabled NYRAG to meet the identified needs of mem- which was organized in collaboration with the Initiative for NYRAG Member Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 7

Regional and Community Transformation, and co-spon- they were overwhelmed by the needs of the region and did sored by eleven other philanthropic organizations8, was not know how to respond most effectively and efficiently. held in New Orleans and was attended by 111 representa- Following this introductory process, Mary Jo Mullan and tives from local, regional, and national philanthropic organ- Erica Hunt, Task Force co-chairs, questioned meeting atten- izations, as well as approximately 80 representatives from dees about what they wanted the Task Force to provide. The the nonprofit community. overwhelming response was that members wanted a practi- The NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force is currently cal, user-friendly resource that distilled information regard- planning the fourth event in the Learning Forum Series. ing Gulf Coast needs and grantmaking opportunities into a This event will be held in New York City in March of 2008 referenced document that encouraged communication and and will focus upon the role of the media in disaster collaboration among Task Force members. As a result of this response and recovery. discussion, work began on the Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery. ■ Challenges Information for the Donors’ Guide was gathered directly As with most long-term collaborative projects, the Task from Task Force members and also, via emailed surveys, Force has faced hurdles at various stages of its existence. As from the wider NYRAG membership. This information was could be expected, these challenges changed with the tenure combined with web-based information on potential funding of the Task Force. opportunities, statistical information regarding the havoc wrought by the hurricanes, and “advocacy points” that could IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES be used when discussing with boards possible long-term In its initial weeks, the primary challenges confronting the funding in the Gulf Coast. A unique feature of the Donors’ Task Force were associated with its purpose and relevance: Guide was the inclusion of contact information for program What did the Task Force hope to achieve? How could the officers responsible for making each grant. The purpose of Task Force help its members reach their goals in the Gulf including such information was to encourage communica- Coast? How could the Task Force best meet the needs of tion and reduce the need for replicated due diligence. At a those affected by the storms? And, finally, how could the time when nonprofit organizations required immediate Task Force encourage a long-term philanthropic commit- funding, enabling program officers to share information ment to the region? about nonprofit organizations, eliminate red tape, and At the first meeting of the Task Force, attendees presented reduce the time needed to process a grant application was information on their funding history in the South, a brief seen as vitally important, and highlights the Task Force’s overview of their foundation’s response to the hurricanes, and commitment to funder collaboration and cooperation. their long-term plans for funding in the Gulf Coast. The vast The Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery was majority of funders in attendance had very little or no history widely praised by members of the Task Force as an essential of funding in the region and were looking for guidance in this tool that informed their philanthropic practices in the Gulf area. Many of those funders who did have pre-existing fund- Coast. In addition, funders from across the country have ing relationships in the hurricane-affected areas were looking used the Donors’ Guide to gather information about fund- at opportunities to fund outside their traditional funding ing opportunities in the Gulf Coast, and to share informa- guidelines, or to expand their funding to include a greater tion with their peers. In response to requests from number or range of nonprofit organizations. grantmakers, NYRAG has created and printed a second edi- While some meeting attendees (primarily those repre- tion of the Donors’ Guide that includes information on the senting corporate foundations) had made grants to the more than $325 million the New York philanthropic com- American Red Cross immediately following the hurricanes, munity has invested in the Gulf Coast for rescue, recovery, many had sought alternative avenues to provide emergency and rebuilding efforts. assistance to the region, or had determined that they would MEETING CHANGING NEEDS not make grants to the region in the immediate aftermath of the storms. Of those who had already committed funds to Approximately twelve months after Hurricane Katrina the region, very few were confident that additional funding made landfall, the Task Force experienced a precipitous would be approved by their Boards of Directors and were decrease in meeting attendance figures. Many Task Force seeking advice and information from their peers to bolster members no longer had funds to commit to the region, their advocacy efforts. media attention had diminished, and the time commitment Most of those who attended this first meeting had expe- that people had previously been willing to make to the Task rienced the aftermath of September 11th and recognized Force became more than they could continue. Additionally, that the recovery process in the Gulf Coast would be long by this time the Task Force had achieved many of its initial and difficult and would require significant funding from the goals: the Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery had philanthropic sector. That said, many funders stated that been printed and distributed widely throughout the philan- 8 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

thropic community; Voices of the Gulf Coast: Strategies for speakers, creating resource materials, implementing all Hope and Change, the first in the Learning Forum series, components of the Learning Forum series, creating the had been presented; and Task Force meetings were continu- Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery, and writing ing to be held every six weeks. proposals for funding to support the activities of the Task While attendance at meetings was waning, a core group of Force. While the NYRAG president has worked diligently to Task Force members identified the need to continue the advance the mission of the Task Force and NYRAG staff activities of the Task Force and investigated ways to adapt the has fully supported the Task Force’s activities, it has been Task Force model to the changing needs of its membership. the consultants who have been responsible for the bulk of To address the issue of decreased attendance at meetings, the work. the Task Force co-chairs revisited one of the guiding princi- The consultants, who have worked an average of approxi- ples of the Task Force—that members wished to learn from mately 50 hours per week since their employment began in experts in the hurricane-affected region. To this end, the October 2005, have extensive experience in the New York nature of the Task Force meetings was refocused upon top- philanthropic community, a thorough knowledge of local ical content rather than process, and Task Force staff redou- and national philanthropic practices, and exceptional organi- bled their efforts to identify nonprofit leaders from the Gulf zational, writing, and technical skills. These skills, combined Coast who were visiting New York and who would be inter- with a deep familiarity of NYRAG and its members, have ested in presenting to NYRAG members. Through this ensured that Task Force staff is able to respond to the needs action, there was something of a merging of the informal and demands of both Task Force members and the wider breakfast meetings and the traditional Task Force meetings. NYRAG community. Additionally, the use of consultant staff Meetings were now used principally for the purpose of pre- has allowed a more intensive use of staff time than had senting guest speakers to meeting attendees, with only a NYRAG staff time been utilized. Whereas the man-hours portion of the meeting time used for process-related issues. NYRAG staff could commit to the project would have been In addition to ensuring the Task Force returned more fully constrained by their existing duties and responsibilities to the to its original purpose of providing relevant, topical informa- organization’s membership, consultant staff has greater flexi- tion to current and prospective donors, Task Force meetings bility in managing their workloads. While this operating were now promoted not just among Task Force members, but model has been extremely successful and beneficial to both to the wider NYRAG membership. This action resulted from NYRAG and the Task Force members, it has resulted in the recognition that the Task Force was no longer relevant to greater expense than would have been incurred had NYRAG some of its original membership. Many early members no staff assumed the duties related to the Task Force. longer had funding to contribute to the Gulf Coast recovery As more disasters—both natural and man-made—occur and rebuilding process and, as a result, could no longer justify throughout the nation and the world, and as national inter- continued attendance at meetings. At the same time, however, est in Gulf Coast recovery wanes, funding to support this other NYRAG members were only just beginning their foray project is becoming more challenging to access. Fewer foun- into Gulf Coast funding and were looking for venues to access dations have the ability to allocate Gulf Coast-focused resources and information. As a result of promoting Task resources to non-programmatic activities such as the Task Force meetings to the wider NYRAG audience, attendance is Force, and many foundations have discontinued all grant- now at a level comparable to attendance figures in early 2006, making activity in the area. In the coming months, as fund- with approximately 33 percent of recent meeting participants ing becomes an increasingly challenging hurdle to overcome, being first-time attendees at a Task Force meeting. the NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force must determine if its concentrated focus of maintaining national and regional ONGOING CHALLENGES attention upon equitable rebuilding and transformation in Since its inception in September 2005, the NYRAG Gulf the Gulf Coast should be continued, or if the activities of the Coast Recovery Task Force has been staffed by a team of Task Force should be broadened to address additional issues. three consultants contracted by NYRAG to assume all func- tions associated with the Task Force. This staffing model ■ Lessons Learned was originally utilized due to the overwhelming workload FOCUS already assumed by senior NYRAG staff, and the uncertainty surrounding the expected lifespan of the Task Force. A vitally important component of the success of the The use of this model has continued due both to its success, NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force was the very early and to the transition in NYRAG leadership that occurred creation and adoption of a statement of “core values”—or between September 2006 and September 2007. Mission statement—by the Task Force. The Task Force consultants have been responsible for The NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force Mission organizing and implementing all aspects of the Task Force’s statement9 was developed by Task Force members through activities—planning and staffing meetings, identifying group discussion and debate at three meetings, with modifi- NYRAG Member Response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 9 cations, editing, and rewrites being completed by Task Force has ceased, leaving a core group of public, private, and fam- staff between meetings. When developing the statement, ily foundations that are committed to long-term transfor- Task Force co-chairs, who characterized the development mative reconstruction of the area. In addition to this “core process as “tough, but well worth the effort,”encouraged the group,”a new group of funders has joined the Task Force— members to look beyond the immediate function and activ- those who have not previously funded in Gulf Coast, but ities of the group and to consider the long-term implications who now recognize the need for long-term philanthropic of the Mission statement—an action that has been essential investment in the region. The recognition by the Task Force in ensuring the Task Force has maintained its focus and that a flexibility of meeting type is necessary to respond to remained true to its original goal. The long-term success of the changing composition of its membership has enabled this strategy has been recognized by many members of the the Task Force to successfully continue its advocacy on Task Force, including one who stated, “time and again when behalf of those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita far decisions regarding the direction of the Task Force needed to beyond its initial expectations. be made, we returned to the Mission statement for guid- FUNDING ance.” For a group with a revolving membership comprised of representatives from a variety of sectors and with a vari- The cost of staffing the NYRAG Gulf Coast Initiative has, ety of expectations, the early creation of a statement of core since its implementation, been covered by grants from values has been essential to its success. NYRAG member organizations. Seed funding for Task Force operations were initially secured from five member FLEXIBILITY foundations that were active in the Gulf Coast and who rec- While adherence to a Mission statement has been indispen- ognized the need for a forum that promoted the sharing of sable in ensuring the Task Force maintains its focus, the information and ideas. In the early months of the Initiative, flexibility of meeting type presented by the group has also however, additional funding streams to cover costs other been vital to its continued success. than staffing were not aggressively pursued. Due to initial uncertainty regarding the lifespan and “ direction of the Gulf Coast Initiative, funding to cover the A vitally important component of the cost of activities such as producing resource materials, success of the NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery implementing conference type meetings, or bringing practitioners from the Gulf Coast to New York, were not pursued. Task Force was the very early creation and As a result, a premium was placed on utilizing in-kind con- adoption of a statement of “core values” — tributions from Task Force members wherever possible. This or Mission statement — by the Task Force. practice, while successful from a budgeting perspective, was detrimental to the escalation of the activities of the Task ” Force and caused a significant delay in the production one of the Task Force’s most widely recognized resource materials The three distinct, but complementary, meeting struc- —the Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery. tures provided by the Task Force—the opportunistic infor- While it is acknowledged that the use of in-kind contribu- mal breakfast meetings that address issues of relevance to tions to produce this resource would have resulted in signif- small, but passionately interested, groups of funders; the icant savings, the reliance upon an in-kind contribution as Task Force meetings devoted to topical issues that are of the sole source of funding for this project was unwise. In the immediate importance to a wider range of funders; and the early months of the Task Force, it was important for its Learning Forums that allow a deeper and more thorough members, and the wider philanthropic community, to investigation of a single issue of fundamental importance— observe concrete examples of the work being undertaken by has enabled the Task Force to continue to attract the inter- the Task Force, and a delay in the production of this valuable est and attention of members of the philanthropic commu- resource could have severely impacted its ongoing success. nity long after the needs of those in the Gulf Coast have In recognition of this funding oversight, in mid-2006 the begun to fade from the public conscience. Task Force became more aggressive and focused in its pur- Over the past two years, the Task Force has seen the ros- suit of funding for ongoing activities—an approach which, ter of philanthropic organizations funding in the Gulf Coast while requiring more structured planning, has enabled an change dramatically. Initial involvement by a wide variety of exponential increase in the scope of activities that can be funding groups during the “rescue” and “recovery” phases undertaken by the Task Force. 10 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

Snapshots of Innovative Grantmaking As Reported by Nonprofit Organizations, Governmental Agencies, and Community Foundations

Without exception, the 86 representatives of the nonprofit and regional efforts that engage, empower, and benefit dis- organizations, governmental agencies, and community placed and returning residents, and that promote the sustain- foundations interviewed for this report recognized the gen- able and just rebuilding of neighborhoods, cities, and erosity, efficacy, and commitment of philanthropic organi- ecosystems throughout the Gulf Coast. The majority of fund zations from across the country following the devastation grantees are organizations led by people of color and/or his- caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Foundations were torically disenfranchised constituencies that reflect and are recognized for their flexibility in funding, for their ability to grounded in the communities in which they work.11 “fill in the gaps” left by governmental funding sources, and The Gulf Coast Fund, which supports organizations for their commitment to long-term recovery and transfor- throughout Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, was mation in the region. While philanthropic organizations created specifically to respond to the wider environmental, from all across America responded to the disasters, and con- economic, and social justice issues that contributed to the tinue their response to this day, it is the purpose of this severity of the damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and report to focus upon the efforts of New York area funders Rita. For many years, the Gulf Coast region has experienced that demonstrated grantmaking strategies and practices political disenfranchisement, has been exposed to destruc- that were most beneficial in the aftermath of the hurricanes. tive environmental practices, and has suffered from signifi- For this reason, only New York area organizations are listed cant economic disinvestment—all of which have prevented in the section below. many communities from protecting their rights and their For ease of reporting, the following section has been land. All too often it has been low-income communities and arranged into five categories: funders that responded to the communities of color that have borne the brunt of these hurricanes by developing peer collaborations/collectives; pub- issues. In order to ensure that the Gulf Coast has the neces- lic foundations; private foundations; corporate foundations; sary protections in place to cultivate economic, social, and and disaster relief organizations. Within each of these cate- cultural revitalization in the region and to assure the sur- gories, the organizations most regularly cited as demonstrat- vival of sustainable communities, the Gulf Coast Fund ing the best examples of innovative grantmaking are listed. believes support of coastal restoration, environmental protection, and social and economic justice programs is vital. COLLABORATIVE/COLLECTIVE RESPONSES EFFECTIVE PRACTICES Over half of the nonprofit organizations interviewed for ■ Gulf Coast Fund for Community this report cited The Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal & Ecological Health Renewal & Ecological Health as a philanthropic organiza- The Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal & Ecological tion that responded most effectively to the needs of hurri- Health (“The Gulf Coast Fund”) is a collaborative grant- cane-affected communities following Hurricanes Katrina making fund housed at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Rita. The primary reasons given for the perceived suc- and supported by more than 25 public and private founda- cess of the Gulf Coast Fund were: its identification and uti- tions10. The Gulf Coast Fund was established by a core lization of key people in the region; its utilization of, and group of 13 funders with histories of investing in environ- expansion upon, existing relationships in the hurricane- mental, social, and economic justice programs, and is affected areas; and its willingness to “take risks” in its grant- staffed by one full-time staff member who is responsible for making activities. all aspects of the fund’s administration and grant dispersal. Identification of Key People The Gulf Coast Fund supports projects that address the underlying causes that contributed to the severity of the dis- The Gulf Coast Fund is committed to an open and trans- asters in the Gulf Coast, and that strengthen and amplify local parent decision-making process that is led by the commu- organizing, social justice concerns, and movement-building, nities most affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. To with an emphasis on communities that have been historically achieve this, the fund operates in partnership with an disenfranchised due to race, class, gender, and/or immigra- Advisory Group,12 which informs the grantmaking process tion status. The Gulf Coast Fund supports community, state, of the Gulf Coast Fund and identifies needs on an ongoing Snapshots of Innovative Grantmaking 11 basis. The Advisory Group is comprised of community times of disaster recovery, funders should use tools other leaders from across the Gulf Coast—people with their “ears than traditional “site visits” to meet these goals. to the ground” who are aware of local grassroots organiza- Due to its collaborative nature, the Gulf Coast Fund was tions working in innovative, creative, and effective ways. able to develop other such “tools.” By drawing on the insti- Members of the Advisory Group represent a variety of fields tutional intelligence of its members and by utilizing the —from workers rights to healthcare, from the environment knowledge of the “key” community people that comprise to housing—and were invited to serve on the Advisory the Advisory Group, the Gulf Coast Fund was able to Group because of their knowledge, experience, and influ- bypass, or at least defer, the need for traditional site visits. ence in their local communities. This use of “on the ground The collaborative nature of the fund enabled grantmakers experts” who are aware of the ever-changing landscape of to share knowledge about effective nonprofit practitioners the recovery and rebuilding process has not only garnered in the region and use local networks established by their the appreciation of many members of the Gulf Coast com- philanthropic peers to gain awareness of organizations in munity but has ensured that the fund’s investment dollars the area. This sharing of information and resources reduced are reaching effective, efficient nonprofit organizations that the need for multiple visits to nonprofit organizations, and are grounded in, and supported by, communities through- reduced the time demands placed on potential grantees—a out the Gulf Coast region. practice that received overwhelming support and gratitude from nonprofit organizations in the region. Utilization of Existing Relationships In the weeks immediately following the landfall of the hur- Willingness to “Take Risks” ricanes, funding efforts of many philanthropic organiza- The final practice undertaken by the Gulf Coast Fund that tions were hindered by a lack of knowledge about effective was widely lauded by nonprofit organizations, governmen- nonprofit organizations in the region. tal agencies, and community foundations, was the fund’s Anecdotal evidence suggests that prior to 2005, philan- willingness to trust those who were on the ground deliver- thropic investment in Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama ing services in the aftermath of the hurricanes. by New York area grantmakers had been in decline for many years. This decrease in involvement in the Gulf Coast region “ led to a decrease in relationships with, and knowledge At a time when people were struggling to about, nonprofit organizations working in the area. As many funders were not familiar with organizations in the rebuild all aspects of their personal and region and did not have established networks from which to professional lives, when leaders in the request information, some funders undertook lengthy nonprofit community were working twelve investigations before making recovery and rebuilding hours a day, six or seven days a week, the grants. need to again stop work to show yet another During interviews conducted in preparation for this report, the primary criticism expressed regarding philan- potential funder the damage caused by thropy’s response to the storms was the time nonprofit the hurricanes led to feelings of frustration leaders were required to devote to meetings, “disaster and resentment. tours,” and information sharing sessions with potential funders. Almost 100 percent of nonprofit practitioners ” interviewed reported that the time spent meeting with grantmakers, showing them the damage caused by the The acceptance by the Gulf Coast Fund that it was the hurricanes, and introducing them to members of the com- people from the hurricane-affected area who best knew munity, was detrimental to the health of the nonprofit their communities’ needs was a significant factor in their organization, and indeed to the nonprofit leader him/her- success. Their willingness to ask communities and non- self. At a time when people were struggling to rebuild all profit organizations, “What do you need?” rather than stat- aspects of their personal and professional lives, when leading, “These are our guidelines and here’s what we can do,” ers in the nonprofit community were working twelve led the fund to provide financial support to organizations hours a day, six or seven days a week, the need to again that traditionally have not received significant support from stop work to show yet another potential funder the dam- the philanthropic community. An example of such a prac- age caused by the hurricanes led to feelings of frustration tice is the Gulf Coast Fund’s support of faith-based organi- and resentment. While members of the nonprofit commu- zations. It is widely acknowledged that faith-based nity recognized the need for funders to diligently and organizations were instrumental in providing food, shelter, thoroughly investigate the activities of nonprofit organiza- and emergency services to many non-urban communities tions prior to making an investment, it was believed that in and communities of color in the immediate aftermath of 12 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

the storms. These faith-based organizations, primarily local Gulf Coast, and for its utilization of existing networks and churches, have for many years been the cornerstones of faith-based organizations. The primary cause for the their communities and have worked diligently on social, acclaim for GCFE, however, was its willingness and ability economic, and racial justice issues on behalf of their con- to share and disseminate information among both its mem- gregations. They have not, however, traditionally been the bership and nonprofit organizations in the hurricane- recipients of funding from national and out-of-region phil- affected areas. anthropic organizations. The Gulf Coast Fund’s willingness Information Sharing Between to “take the risk” in investing with such organizations, and Funders and Nonprofits its willingness to overcome the inherent cautiousness of foundations and pursue investment opportunities that do Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, The Twenty-First not fit the traditional mold of grantmaking, resulted in the Century Foundation and Southern Partners Fund, two pub- discovery and support of many grassroots organizations lic foundations with significant experience funding in the that are now leading the recovery process. Gulf Coast region and in communities of color, began receiving phone calls and requests for advice from foundations ■ Gulf Coast Funders for Equity from across the country. Many funders wishing to make Gulf Coast Funders for Equity (GCFE) is a coalition of effective, responsive contributions to the immediate relief institutional and individual funders that, over the past two and recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast lacked the necessary years, has involved more than 100 members. Formed within information about nonprofit organizations in the region and days of landfall by Hurricane Katrina and originally con- sought assistance from more experienced funders. ceived by The Twenty-First Century Foundation and the To address this influx of requests, weekly conference calls Southern Partners Fund as an ad hoc information-sharing were established within days of Hurricane Katrina, during resource, GCFE is now co-chaired by Bernadette Orr of which funders discussed information and funding opportu- Oxfam America and the Rev. John Vaughn of The Twenty- nities in the Gulf Coast. It soon became apparent, however, First Century Foundation, and has developed into a highly- that there was more information than could be shared in valued collaborative effort that provides a platform for weekly phone calls. While the weekly conference calls con- strategically focused advocacy and policy work in the Gulf tinued, a website was also developed where grantee lists Coast Region. could be posted, events occurring in the Gulf Coast region GCFE’s mission is to promote a just, equitable, and sus- could be highlighted, and information could be requested tainable rebuilding of the Gulf Coast communities ravaged from fellow funders. Members used both the phone conver- by hurricanes, with a special emphasis on those impacted by sations and the website to secure information about possible Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Its goal is to ensure that all res- funding prospects, to introduce previous grantees to poten- idents (particularly those with the least access to resources), tial funders in the group, and to help nonprofits in the their allies, and others from the impacted areas, are central region develop new relationship with each other. Essentially, to the decision-making and implementation of the rebuild- GCFE helped philanthropy and nonprofits “connect.” ing efforts. Towards this goal, GCFE participants share information, identify opportunities for cooperative funding “ across issues and strategies, and encourage other funders to Many funders wishing to make effective, prioritize support for systemic change and advocacy efforts responsive contributions to the immediate in the affected regions. relief and recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast After operating as a wholly volunteer-driven collaborative for more than 18 months, GCFE hired its first staff per- lacked the necessary information about son (a consultant) in April 2007. The employment of a staff nonprofit organizations in the region and person to undertake the primary operations of GCFE has sought assistance from more experienced enabled the collaborative to develop a small grants and funders. technical assistance fund, participate in building regional capacity to advocate nationally, and to further concentrate ” its efforts on building collaborative and cooperative strategies between funders and grantees to support equitable By relying on information gathered by trusted peers and transformation in the Gulf Coast region. grantees who were equally committed to equitable transformation in the Gulf Coast, members of GCFE were able to EFFECTIVE PRACTICES reduce the number of “hoops” through which nonprofits As with the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal & were required to jump in order to secure funding at a time Ecological Health, GCFE was highly praised for it post- when their ability to cope with such demands was extremely Katrina activities by the majority of those interviewed in the low. Time and again, nonprofit organizations relayed stories Snapshots of Innovative Grantmaking 13 of how, immediately following the storms, they were a flexible and adaptable resource to Task Force members, required to provide only two-page proposals in order to has resulted in an initiative that has the ability to respond request funding from GCFE members—site visits had been rapidly to fluctuations in the often unpredictable recovery conducted by other GCFE members and the information process and to keep Task Force members, who are geo- had been shared, or a formal proposal had been submitted graphically removed from the hurricane-affected areas, to one organization and passed onto other potential funders abreast of important changes, developments, and legislative within GCFE, or the nonprofit organization had an existing and political decisions that affect the region. relationship with another GCFE funder and their recom- The flexibility of the Task Force in responding to the mendation had been sufficient to secure funding for the needs of its members is complemented by the flexibility of nonprofit organization. While, over time, the collaborative its information delivery systems. As discussed in the first and information sharing role of GCFE has moved away section of this report, the Task Force utilizes three distinct from ensuring the immediacy of funding, this practice was but complementary systems for disseminating information essential in the days and weeks of immediate disaster relief to its members: opportunistic informal breakfast meetings and recovery. that address issues of relevance to small, but passionately interested, groups of funders; Task Force meetings devoted ■ NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force to topical issues that are of immediate importance to a wider range of funders; and Learning Forums that allow a The NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force is comprised of deeper and more thorough investigation of a single issue of 50-plus members representing private, public and corporate fundamental importance. The dynamic nature of the Task philanthropic organizations, as well as national and local busi- Force and its information delivery systems, combined with ness organizations. The Task Force was formed in September the monthly e-newsletter distributed by the Task Force and 2005, specifically to respond to the devastation wrought by the printed resource materials that have been developed, has Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. For more information on the ensured the Task Force has continued to attract the interest Task Force, please see the first section of this report. and attention of members of the national philanthropic EFFECTIVE PRACTICES community long after the needs of those in the Gulf Coast have begun to fade from the public conscience. The work of the NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force has been cited by philanthropic organizations, business groups, Creation of a Nationally Relevant Resource and nonprofit organizations across the country as an exem- One of the most widely acclaimed achievements of the Task plary model of a collaborative philanthropic response to a Force has been the creation and distribution (to philan- specific issue or need. While many issue-related collabora- thropic and nonprofit organizations across the country) of tions tend to “wind down” once initial enthusiasm has the Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery—the sec- waned, the Task Force is still relevant, active and widely sup- ond edition of which was printed in December 2007. This ported more than two and a half years after its creation. document, which provides information regarding the more Some of the reasons for the success, efficacy, and longevity of than $325 million the New York area philanthropic commu- the Task Force are related to the efforts of individual Task nity has contributed for rescue, recovery, and rebuilding Force members. However, the dynamic nature of the Task efforts since the landfall of hurricanes Katrina and Rita as Force and the resources created by the group have also been well as information on the nonprofit organizations that have vital to its success. been the recipients of this investment, has become a definite Creation of a Dynamic Funder Collaborative national resource on philanthropic investment in the Gulf Coast and has provided the wider philanthropic community Throughout the two and a half years the Task Force has with an authoritative guide to nonprofit organizations that existed, it has made a concerted effort to adapt its purpose are leading the recovery process in the Gulf Coast. and function to the changing needs of its membership and The Donors’ Guide was originally created by the NYRAG to the ever changing landscape in the hurricane-affected Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force as an internal text to be areas. At each meeting, Task Force members are asked to used to guide the investment activities of Task Force mem- nominate specific areas of interest or concern they wish the bers who had little grantmaking experience in the Gulf Task Force to address in future meetings; feedback—both Coast region. In the meetings of the Task Force immediately formal and informal—is actively solicited from Task Force following the hurricanes, members expressed the desire for members and from nonprofit and philanthropic organiza- a document that distilled the overwhelming amount of tions in the Gulf Coast; and information regarding trends information regarding Gulf Coast needs and grantmaking and funding opportunities in the region is gathered from a opportunities into a referenced document that encouraged wide range of sources. This effort to gather and assemble communication and collaboration among Task Force mem- data, glean expertise from a variety of sources, and provide bers. In response to this expressed need, and seeking to 14 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

maximize the resources available to its members, the Task Several nonprofit practitioners and community founda- Force created a document that not only provided information representatives interviewed for this report stated that tion on nonprofit organizations working with hurricane- they had found telling their hurricane survival stories again affected communities, but also the names and contact and again to be an incredibly traumatic experience. Having information of New York area program officers who had to relive the events that so nearly destroyed their homes, previous experience in the region. This strategy of maximiz- places of work, and neighborhoods, caused significant ing the opportunity for information sharing among Task anguish and distress at a time when they were trying to heal Force members resulted in a document of national rele- both themselves and their communities. To help reduce the vance that has had a significant impact in informing philan- need for this repeated recounting of events, the Ms. thropic activity in the Gulf Coast region and has Foundation placed on their website the stories of several of encouraged cooperation, networking, and collaborative the organizations they had funded with details of the devas- grantmaking activity between members of the wider, tation they faced in the aftermath of the hurricanes. As a national philanthropic community. result of this action, representatives from nonprofit organizations were able to avoid some of the many requests for information by referring those curious about the impact of PUBLIC FOUNDATIONS the storms to the Ms. Foundation website. While anecdotal Ms. Foundation for Women — evidence suggests that this method of information sharing Katrina Women’s Response Fund resulted in significant amounts of additional funding reaching the featured nonprofits, the gratitude expressed by As the country’s first national, multi-issue women’s fund, the many nonprofit practitioners indicated that these actions Ms. Foundation directs resources of all kinds to cutting-edge were also enormously beneficial in many other ways. projects that nurture girls’ leadership skills, protect the health Another practice for which the Ms. Foundation was and safety of women, and provide low-income women with widely recognized was its decision to put staff “on the the tools to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. ground” in the hurricane-affected areas in the days and As a public foundation, the Ms. Foundation for Women relies weeks immediately following the storms. upon contributions from individuals, companies, founda- Putting Staff “On the Ground” tions and other entities for its grantmaking capital. Formed in the immediate aftermath of Hurricanes In the days and weeks immediately following the hurri- Katrina and Rita, the Katrina Women’s Response Fund pro- canes, the Ms. Foundation for Women sent staff to the Gulf vides strategic support to meet the immediate needs of Coast region to acquire first-hand knowledge about what women of color and low-income women in the Gulf Coast was happening on the ground and where resources could region and ensure that their leadership and priorities are best be invested. The personal contacts made, and the central in both short and long-term recovery and rebuilding resulting conversations held with those working to rebuild efforts. By making grants to organizations throughout the their communities, were the basis of the Ms. Foundation’s region, the Katrina Women’s Response Fund invests in the information gathering process for their grantmaking activ- crucial infrastructure that promotes the health, safety, and ities in the immediate aftermath of the storms. economic well-being of women, their families, and commu- Many nonprofit organizations in the areas worst hit by nities. The goal of the fund has been to offer critical, ongo- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita were physically unable to gen- ing support for women’s grassroots leadership and to erate traditional requests for funding in the weeks following increase the participation of low-income women and the hurricanes. As an executive director of a nonprofit women of color in policy-making decisions—all to ensure a organization in New Orleans explained, “When you no truly equitable transformation of people’s lives in the region longer have an office, a desk, or a computer, let alone finan- across the spectrum of gender, race, and class.13 cial records, writing a grant application can be an impossible task.” While requesting funding in the traditional EFFECTIVE PRACTICES manner was not feasible, the need for funding to help As with Gulf Cost Funders for Equity, the Ms. Foundation rebuild facilities and services was extreme. for Women was recognized by those in the Gulf Coast for its Many staff members from nonprofit organizations in the use of existing networks and relationships to facilitate its Gulf Coast reported receiving both visits and phone calls from grantmaking activities in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina Ms. Foundation staff asking, “What do you need?” and “How and Rita, and for its sharing of information with other fun- can we help?” From these seemingly informal conversations ders. The method used by the Ms. Foundation for informa- that made minimal demands on the time and resources of tion-sharing was, however, significantly different from that those trying to rebuild their lives and organizations, Ms. used by GCFE. Foundation staff crafted simple grant applications on behalf of the nonprofit practitioners. As a result of this extremely Snapshots of Innovative Grantmaking 15 atypical grant application process, the Ms. Foundation was Proactive Grantmaking able to provide timely funds to nonprofit organizations that Many of the nonprofit organizations and community foun- were in desperate need of financial support, but lacked the dations interviewed for this report stated that prior to resources to hew to the traditional application process. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita they believed their organiza- While all of the interviewed nonprofit organizations and tions and programs were not of significant merit to warrant community foundations recognized that a process such as attention from philanthropic organizations outside their the one utilized by the Ms. Foundation would be untenable immediate geographical location. Few nonprofit organiza- under normal grantmaking situations, the use of on-the- tions, especially in Mississippi, had existing relationships ground staff who simplified the grant application process in with the philanthropic community and reported that they the immediate aftermath of the hurricanes was perceived as relied primarily upon contributions from local government an excellent example of how philanthropic organizations and small, community fundraising activities to support can best respond to the needs of nonprofits in the aftermath their programmatic goals. Consequently, following the hur- of a disaster. ricanes, many nonprofit practitioners reported that they did The Twenty-First Century Foundation not know how to go about contacting potential national and out-of-region funders to assist them in their recovery The mission of The Twenty-First Century Foundation and rebuilding efforts. (21CF) is to facilitate strategic giving for black community As a funder with a significant history in the Gulf Coast change. Specifically, 21CF works with donors to invest in region, 21CF was in an optimal position following the hur- institutions and leaders that solve problems within black ricanes to utilize existing networks to immediately impact communities nationally. recovery efforts. The nonprofit leaders and community Formed within days of the disaster, The Twenty-First organizations with whom the foundation had relationships Century Foundation’s Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund pro- knew who to contact to request funding—however, more vides targeted support to help rebuild the lives of black and often than not, it was 21CF that attempted the first commu- low-income people and communities directly impacted by the nications following the storms. hurricanes. Due to the widespread devastation and immediate need for relief, the fund’s initial efforts were focused on meet- “ ing the basic needs of those affected while also supporting ...following the hurricanes, many nonprofit community change organizations seeking long-term solutions practitioners reported that they did not know to the many challenges communities encountered. The priority of the fund was, and continues to be, making strategic how to go about contacting potential national grants for relief, recovery, and advocacy efforts that provide a and out-of-region funders to assist them in voice for all people in the rebuilding plans for the region, and their recovery and rebuilding efforts. that promote long-term equitable solutions.14 ” EFFECTIVE PRACTICES The Twenty-First Century Foundation employed many of Time and again, the actions of Rev. John Vaughn, the effective grantmaking practices already cited in this Program Director at The Twenty-First Century Foundation, report when dispersing funds from its Hurricane Katrina were raised by members of the nonprofit community as an Recovery Fund, including: example of an optimal post-disaster response from a phil- • Utilizing existing relationships with nonprofit organiza- anthropic professional. The day after Hurricane Katrina tions in the Gulf Coast; made landfall, Rev. Vaughn attempted to contact grantees via phone and email to gauge their safety and to assure them Sharing information with other funders; • that, when they were ready to assess the needs of their • Bypassing traditional grant application procedures to organization, 21CF would be there to help support their reduce demands on nonprofit practitioners in the imme- efforts. Within two or three days of landfall, his phone calls diate aftermath of the storms; were reaching nonprofit leaders who did not have a rela- • Dispatching staff to the hurricane-affected areas to gather tionship with the foundation. One practitioner, whose information; organization had not previously received funding from • Funding the faith-based organizations that were so vital 21CF, recounted the story of receiving a phone call from in the period of relief after the disasters. Rev. Vaughn while she was standing in Wal-Mart shopping for underwear three days after having evacuated her home The primary practice, however, that set 21CF apart from in New Orleans. The gratitude and appreciation expressed the actions of its funding peers was its active solicitation of by nonprofit practitioners for such proactive offers of sup- funding opportunities immediately following the storms. 16 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

port was still palpable more than twelve months after the Foundation (GNOF) and who helped guide this con- phone calls were made. tentious project to a successful outcome, has also taken a The acts of proactive philanthropic support demon- leading role in another of the Rockefeller Foundation’s strated by The Twenty-First Century Foundation were not commitments to the region — the establishment of a only greatly appreciated by those in the hurricane-affected Community Revitalization Fund at GNOF. The communities, but were also enormously effective in ensur- Community Revitalization Fund is a collaborative funding ing immediate relief grants were reaching those who needs effort that will provide money to a wide range of rebuild- were unmet by relief organizations in the area. Through ing projects in New Orleans over the next five years. such actions, 21CF was able to provide vital support to Collaborative Funding Efforts many non-urban communities, low-income communities, and communities of color in the days immediately follow- GNOF’s Community Revitalization Fund is a funding col- ing the hurricane when such services for these communities laboration between ten local, national, and community were scarce. foundations17 which aims to raise a total of $25 million over five years. It is designed to support revitalization activities in New Orleans that generate housing and community PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS development through the creation of housing units; Rockefeller Foundation improve the capacity of the local housing production systems; and promote government accountability and citizen The Rockefeller Foundation was established to “promote engagement. While the Rockefeller Foundation played a the well-being” of humanity by addressing the root causes leading role in the conception and development of the of serious problems. The foundation supports work around Fund, it has contributed only approximately ten percent of the world to expand opportunities for poor or vulnerable fund’s total dollar amount. By utilizing non-monetary people and to help ensure that globalization’s benefits are resources that are at its disposal (i.e., the skills and experi- more widely shared15. ence of its staff, its reputational capital, and its relationships with its philanthropic peers) the Rockefeller Foundation EFFECTIVE PRACTICES has ensured that financial resources that exceed its own Within days of Hurricane Katrina, the Rockefeller capacity have flowed to the region to aid recovery and revi- Foundation announced that it would provide financial sup- talization. By relocating a senior program officer to the port to leading nonprofit organizations working to address region, developing close ties with a local community foun- both immediate human service needs and the longer-term dation, and encouraging its philanthropic peers to invest in rebuilding of housing and economic development infra- the recovery of New Orleans, the Rockefeller Foundation structure in New Orleans and the region. In the summer of has brought more to the Gulf Coast region than it could 2006, the Rockefeller Foundation further demonstrated its with funding alone. In addition, it has created a laudable commitment to the redevelopment of New Orleans through prototype of a funding collaborative that is working to its placement of a senior program officer in New Orleans to maximize its impact in the region. help galvanize and accelerate planning and rebuilding efforts in the region. “ The Unified New Orleans Plan, or UNOP as it quickly By relocating a senior program officer to the became known, was developed to addresses specific actions region, developing close ties with a local necessary to facilitate the recovery and rebuilding of New community foundation, and encouraging its Orleans16. An earlier plan developed for the Mayor’s office was widely criticized for its treatment of some low-lying philanthropic peers to invest in the recovery neighborhoods, and throughout the city there was little or of New Orleans, the Rockefeller Foundation no agreement about how such a comprehensive recovery has brought more to the Gulf Coast region plan could satisfy all constituencies. In an effort to defeat than it could with funding alone. this stalemate and to deliver a recovery plan that unified the city, the Louisiana Recovery Authority, the body estab- ” lished by the state to oversee the distribution of federal rebuilding funds, requested the involvement of the While some other foundations have contributed greater Rockefeller Foundation. The foundation was able to con- sums of money to recovery and rebuilding efforts in the tribute to the UNOP process the services of a Senior Gulf Coast region, the Rockefeller Foundation has led by Program Officer, Carey Shea, who had more than two example—using its grantmaking dollars to invest in the decades of experience in housing and community develop- region, and its name, the skills of its staff, and its reputation ment. Shea, who was housed at the Greater New Orleans to encourage others to do the same. Snapshots of Innovative Grantmaking 17

Ford Foundation The mission of the LDRF is to promote strategies that result in a better, more equitable Louisiana that offers all For more than fifty years, the Ford Foundation has sup- people—regardless of race, economic status, and gender— ported innovative efforts by individuals and organizations the opportunity for full participation in its economy and in every state, and around the world, to find solutions to the society.21 While the work of LDRF itself is exemplary, it is most challenging problems facing communities today. Ford’s strategy of supporting the development and growth Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Ford of a local philanthropic organization that utilizes the skills, Foundation made an immediate grant to a national disaster knowledge, and commitment of local community leaders relief organization and committed significant additional that should be recognized. funding to support long-term recovery, with particular As has been stated previously in this report, prior to the focus on the most disadvantaged communities. Ford con- summer of 2005, philanthropic investment in the Gulf tinues to be active in the Gulf Coast region, making grants Coast had been dwindling for many years. And, while there designed to help ensure that low-income families are is a significant local philanthropic presence in the Gulf empowered to be active participants in the rebuilding of Coast, the focus of many of these organizations’ grantmak- their homes, small businesses, and neighborhoods.18 ing strategies precludes the funding of issues surrounding EFFECTIVE PRACTICES social, racial, and economic justice. As Hurricane Katrina so graphically demonstrated to the nation and the world, these The Ford Foundation has been actively involved in the Gulf are issues that desperately require attention in the Gulf Coast for many years and substantially increased its invest- Coast, and they are issues that can and should be addressed ment in the region following the hurricanes. While Ford has by a robust local philanthropic community. The Ford contributed significant grant monies to many nonprofit Foundation’s assistance in the creation of LDRF, in addition organizations in the region, Ford’s peers, as well as commu- to its historical support of community foundations in the nity foundations and governmental agencies in the Gulf region, is helping develop such a community—a philan- Coast, provide Ford with its greatest accolades for its work thropic network that can provide resources for the better- in strengthening, transforming, and revitalizing the philan- ment of all, and help revitalize and transform the entire thropic community in the region. Gulf Coast region. Strengthening Local Philanthropy Even prior to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Ford CORPORATE FOUNDATIONS Foundation had identified as a priority the need to assist local foundations in the Gulf Coast region strengthen, transform, Toshiba America Foundation and redirect their activities in their local communities. For many years, the Ford Foundation has supported community Toshiba America Foundation is a private foundation created leaders in their efforts to develop strategies for increasing the with support from Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba America power of philanthropy in the Gulf Coast, and for increasing Inc., and the six Toshiba America group companies operating the pool of philanthropic dollars that could be used to pro- in the United States. The foundation’s mission is to promote quality science and mathematics education in U.S. schools, mote racial, social, and economic equity in the region.19 In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the need to support such which it does by providing grants for science and mathemat- 22 transformative practices became even more evident. ics programs and activities for grades K–12. Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, the Ford EFFECTIVE PRACTICES Foundation was instrumental in the creation of the Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Toshiba, along Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) — a with numerous other corporations throughout the country, wholly independent, Baton Rouge-based foundation estab- recognized the need to support relief, recovery, and rebuild- lished to “provide resources for the relief, recovery, and bet- ing efforts in the region. While many corporations and pri- terment of Louisiana’s people and communities…. (and) vate and family foundations elected to make immediate, support (to) nonprofit organizations engaged in economic one-time gifts to large national organizations that provide development, housing, land use planning, education, and emergency relief operations, Toshiba enlisted the skills and healthcare.”20 LDRF, which was originally created as an knowledge of its foundation staff and made a decision atyp- agent for the collection and distribution of funds donated ical for a corporation—to make an immediate pledge of to the Louisiana state government from individuals, compa- support to the region, but to defer the disbursement of nies, and philanthropic organizations across the country grant monies until foundation staff had the opportunity to and throughout the world, is supported by the Ford review the needs and opportunities in the region. This deci- Foundation, both through grants and through the presence sion, which was highly unusual in the world of corporate of a senior Ford staff member on its Board of Directors. 18 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

philanthropy, resulted in Toshiba making grant allocations As a result of the decision to make an immediate pledge, to nonprofit organizations in the Gulf Coast region at a but to delay funding to the region, the Toshiba America time when the influx of philanthropic dollars was in decline. Foundation was able to “fill in the gaps” left by other philanthropic and governmental programs and direct its fund- Deferring Grant Dispersal ing efforts towards assisting displaced students attending It is human nature to reach out to those in need in times of Houston public schools and organizations in the Gulf Coast disaster. It is therefore common for foundations with fund- working to rebuild schools and youth organizations— ing guidelines that precisely focus their grantmaking activi- needs and opportunities that would not have been apparent ties to respond to disasters by making significant, one-time in the immediate aftermath of the storms. contributions to disaster response organizations. While such grants are essential to relief efforts following disasters, “ the medium and long-term needs of affected communities . . . they also recognized the need for the flow should not be forgotten. of funding to the Gulf Coast to continue long The timing of grant assistance to nonprofit organizations recovering from disaster was a topic of much debate and some after organizations such as the American contention among those interviewed in preparation for this Red Cross had departed, and after many report. Many organizations involved in immediate disaster private, family, and public foundations had relief efforts (e.g., those providing food, clothing and shelter to ceased their activity in the region. displaced persons) believed funding should be provided in the immediate aftermath of the disaster; those whose services are ” called into play in the weeks and months following the disaster (e.g., those who provide services around housing or education) New York Life Foundation advocated for funding to be delayed until “the dust has settled” and unmet needs became more obvious; and those whose pri- The New York Life Foundation is dedicated to helping mary function is to focus upon the longer-term needs of com- young people fulfill their potential and grow into produc- munities (e.g., community development, advocacy) stressed tive adults. To achieve these goals, the foundation estab- the need for a long-term view to be taken when considering lished the Nurturing the Children initiative which provides funding opportunities. When considering its response to the resources to organizations and programs that offer educa- disasters in the Gulf Coast, the Toshiba America Foundation tional enhancement and mentoring, and provide children took all these points of view into account. with safe places to learn and grow.23 Based on the post-disaster contribution patterns typically demonstrated by corporate foundations, and through dis- EFFECTIVE PRACTICES cussion with their corporate foundation peers following Following Hurricane Katrina, the New York Life Hurricane Katrina, staff at the Toshiba America Foundation Foundation was another corporate foundation that determined that the majority of New York-based corporate employed a grantmaking approach that was atypical among foundations responding to the disasters would be making its peers. Recognizing the need for funding to support both an immediate, one-time contribution to a national disaster- emergency relief activities and programs that promote response organization. While the Toshiba America longer-term recovery, the New York Life Foundation made Foundation recognized the merit of such action, they also the innovative decision to make grants to the region recognized the need for the flow of funding to the Gulf throughout the rebuilding process—immediately follow- Coast to continue long after organizations such as the ing the hurricanes when funding was desperately needed to American Red Cross had departed, and after many private, support displaced residents, and later in the recovery family, and public foundations had ceased their activity in process when the influx of philanthropic dollars was in the region. Based on this awareness, the Toshiba America decline. By extending its grantmaking activity beyond the Foundation took the unusual step of making an immediate immediate-response timeframe typically employed by cor- pledge of financial support to the hurricane affected areas, porate foundations, the New York Life Foundation was able but announced that funds would not be dispersed for up to to not only support the work of national emergency relief twelve months. Staff used this twelve-month period to organizations, but also provide more specific, targeted develop relationships with nonprofit organizations in the grants for recovery and rebuilding programs in the region Gulf Coast region, to discuss “funding gaps” with their — a practice that has resulted in the New York Life funding peers, and to investigate ways in which the founda- Foundation continuing its involvement in the Gulf Coast tion’s grantmaking dollars could have the greatest impact region long after the vast majority of its peers have ceased on those communities affected by the storms. their hurricane-related grantmaking. Snapshots of Innovative Grantmaking 19

While the practice of extending grantmaking across all are, whenever they need it.24 Immediately after Hurricane phases of disaster recovery sets the New York Life Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast in 2005, AmeriCares deliv- Foundation apart from many of its corporate foundation ered in-kind aid such as medicines, hospital supplies and peers, its willingness to expand its funding focus beyond its other materials to Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and traditional boundaries was what truly made it unique. Alabama. Recognizing the ongoing needs of the region, AmeriCares has continued to work with local partners to Expansion of Funding Focus support primary healthcare and mental health needs, and As with many other corporate foundations, the New York help communities deal with other pressing recovery issues Life Foundation has a precise funding strategy that incorpo- such as shelter and disaster preparedness. rates geographical requirements in its guidelines—typically, the New York Life Foundation provides grants only to EFFECTIVE PRACTICES organizations headquartered in New York City/Westchester Prior to Hurricane Katrina, AmeriCares did not have a County, or a few key cities where New York Life has facili- grantmaking program. Its exceedingly successful and highly ties. Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, however, the regarded disaster response activities were restricted to the New York Life Foundation recognized the opportunity to delivery and coordination of in-kind medical aid to regions address the needs of the hurricane-affected communities by throughout the world that had been hit by natural or man- maintaining the programmatic focus of its grantmaking pro- made disasters. Following Hurricane Katrina, however, the gram, but expanding its geographical restrictions to allow influx of cash contributions to AmeriCares from individu- disaster-related grants to be awarded to nonprofit organiza- als across the country and throughout the world demanded tions outside its traditional geographic grantmaking area. the creation of a vehicle for the dissemination of these While it would have been possible for the New York Life resources. In order to ensure the donations reached those Foundation to adhere to its geographical boundaries when most profoundly affected by the storms, AmeriCares cre- responding to the disasters, the foundation decided that it ated a grantmaking program that targeted the immediate wished to support not only the needs of those displaced by emergency needs of rural areas, smaller municipalities, and the storms, but also the rebuilding and recovery efforts of traditionally underserved communities, and the longer- those communities directly affected by Hurricanes Katrina term health and mental health needs of all communities in and Rita. the Gulf Coast region. To achieve this goal, and to open the door to broader The AmeriCares post-hurricane grantmaking program funding opportunities, the Board of Directors of the New created in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita utilizes York Life Foundation made the strategic decision to allow many of the practices already cited in this report: for the expansion of the foundation’s geographical focus • putting staff “on the ground” to facilitate the develop- while maintaining the foundation’s traditional funding focus. ment of relationships and allow for an increased under- This exception to the foundation’s typical funding activities standing of communities’ ever-changing needs during resulted in significant, long-term funding to support the the recovery process activities of organizations in Mississippi and Louisiana that identifying and utilizing “key people” in the affected provide children with safe places to learn and grow. • communities • a willingness to take risks in its grantmaking practices DISASTER RELIEF ORGANIZATIONS • a willingness to ask those directly affected by the disasters, “what do you need?” While many disaster relief organizations mobilized in the Gulf Coast region immediately following Hurricanes In addition to these practices, however, AmeriCares was Katrina and Rita, the majority left the region in the weeks also recognized for its straightforward grant application and months following the storms. Several organizations, process—a process that was lauded by many nonprofit however, recognized the need for a long-term commitment organizations interviewed for its simplicity and practicality. to the region and moved beyond their traditional disaster Straightforward Application Process response practices. The focus of the AmeriCares grantmaking program is upon AmeriCares immediate recovery needs such as food and shelter, as well as AmeriCares is an international relief organization whose longer term primary and mental healthcare for those in the passion to help is matched by an ability to deliver. Whether communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The it is an epic disaster or a daily struggle, AmeriCares goes to bulk of grants made through the program have typically extraordinary lengths to ensure that medicines, medical been distributed to small, grassroots organizations, with supplies, and aid reaches individuals in need wherever they funds also going to intermediaries (such as local community 20 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

foundations), and established national organizations with tions interviewed in preparation for this report, such an local chapters (e.g., Boys and Girls Clubs). Many of the application process provided them the opportunity to grassroots organizations that received funding through the access funding that was sorely needed to support their work AmeriCares grant program had never before received fund- in their local communities. ing from an out-of-region philanthropic organization. As was mentioned previously, many nonprofit practi- As AmeriCares grantmaking program was developed tioners, especially those in Mississippi, reported that they specifically to respond to the disasters in the Gulf Coast, did not know how to go about accessing funding from out- AmeriCares had the “luxury” of designing an application of-region philanthropic organizations and found approach- form that gathered the information required, but made ing funders extremely intimidating. This, combined with minimal demands upon nonprofit practitioners. The result- the fact that many foundations have particularly rigorous ing application form is a simple, six- to eight-page docu- grant application processes, meant that many smaller non- ment (depending upon the purpose of the grant) that profit organizations did not pursue funding opportunities requires enough basic supporting information and histori- following the hurricanes. The example provided by cal records to meet due diligence and auditing require- AmeriCares of a straightforward grant application for use ments, without being overly burdensome to the applicant. under exceptional circumstances, demonstrates that foun- The wording in the document is straightforward, the docu- dations can gather the information for their reporting ment does not have to be completed online, and funding requirements while also being sympathetic to the condi- was available for both programmatic and operational costs. tions under which nonprofit organizations are operating in For many of the small, less experienced grassroots organiza- times of disaster.

“ . . .many nonprofit practitioners, especially those in Mississippi, reported that they did not know how to go about accessing funding from out-of-region philanthropic organizations and found approaching funders extremely intimidating. ” Future Investment in the Gulf Coast 21

Future Investment in the Gulf Coast Opportunities for Promoting Recovery, Transformation, and Revitalization

The disasters across the Gulf Coast triggered by Hurricanes tem to the brink of collapse. The region’s continued reliance Katrina and Rita graphically revealed the need for ongoing upon non-unionized, low-paying service industry jobs as effective and responsive investment in the region. Whether the basis for economic growth in the region has further seg- the destruction of houses, businesses, and whole communi- regated the population in many areas. These issues—com- ties was the result of high winds and storm surges as it was bined with decades of environmental degradation that have along the Mississippi coast, or environmental degradation resulted in the destruction of the wetlands so vital to the and the failure to maintain the complex levee system as it was protection of the coastline and coastal cities, an education in New Orleans, the storms exposed the poverty, injustice, system that has failed to give generations of Gulf Coast res- and inequities that many in the region battle on a daily basis. idents an education equal to that of their peers in other The community leaders and nonprofit practitioners in regions of the nation, and systemic injustices that deny peo- the region who are working to address these issues are as ple of color, women, and those living in poverty an equal committed, skilled, and proficient as those anywhere in the opportunity for economic security— have produced a country—but they need resources, information, and peer region of the country whose needs are vast and where support to continue their work. For too long many in the opportunities for funding are myriad. philanthropic community have ignored the “bigger picture” While long-term, committed philanthropic investment is and focused their investment in the region primarily upon urgently needed in the programmatic areas listed above, individual programs and organizations. Investment in lead- investment is also required to support broader activities ership and leadership development has been largely that affect change across program areas and throughout the ignored, funding to support those working to change region. inequitable legislative practices and policies has been mini- Discussion with those listed in Appendix Two of this mal, and the opinions of community leaders who are report revealed three fundamental but far-reaching and invested in, and committed to, their communities have expansive areas to which long-term philanthropic invest- often gone unheeded. If the Gulf Coast is to emerge from ment should be directed to help achieve economic growth, the devastation of the 2005 hurricane season economically social cohesion, and racial and economic parity: 1) support- robust, socially cohesive, and culturally intact, it is essential ing and empowering local philanthropy; 2) affecting change that the philanthropic community invest in long-term in local and state policy; and 3) developing cooperative and rebuilding initiatives that address these issues and promote collaborative opportunities for funding in the Gulf Coast. transformation and revitalization in the region. This section provides an overview of each of these areas, Even prior to the 2005 hurricanes many areas of the Gulf citing examples of existing effective philanthropic practices. Coast were in dire need of ongoing, committed philanthropic, private, and governmental investment in affordable housing, economic development, healthcare, mental health SUPPORTING AND EMPOWERING services, environmental justice, childcare services, and LOCAL PHILANTHROPY many, many other areas. The devastation wrought by the hurricanes only amplified these needs. When interviewed by the Chronicle of Philanthropy on the The decimation by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita of rental role of the Greater New Orleans Foundation in the develop- and low- and middle-income housing stock in Mississippi ment of the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP), Carey and Louisiana only exacerbated existing issues surrounding Shea, Senior Program Officer, stated, “Wealth is not loud 25 inadequacies in affordable housing and inequitable housing here in New Orleans. Wealth is quiet and dignified.” practices in the region. The closure of Charity Hospital in For many years, local philanthropic activity in the Gulf New Orleans due to flooding only revealed more vividly the Coast region has indeed been quiet and dignified—with lit- existing deficits in healthcare services throughout that city tle fanfare, local families, businesses, and individuals of and the entire state. The permanent departure of many wealth have contributed to the well-being of their commu- mental health professionals and closure of all of the private nities by generously creating foundations, establishing psychiatric clinics in New Orleans following Hurricane donor advised funds at local community foundations, or Katrina pushed an already tenuous mental healthcare sys- developing other avenues for the distribution of their phil- 22 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

anthropic dollars. This somewhat low-key approach to tion between these two vastly dissimilar philanthropic community and nonprofit support is often at odds with the organizations on the Unified New Orleans Plan (UNOP) bolder and more overt philanthropy practiced by some of demonstrates how the relationship between out-of-state the national charitable organizations that have become and local philanthropy can be eminently successful if the more active in the Gulf Coast since 2005, and, as a result, the skills, resources, and knowledge of each partner are recog- contributions of local philanthropy to the recovery and nized and utilized. rebuilding efforts in the region have often been overlooked. According to Ben Johnson, President and CEO of GNOF: As the national philanthropic community continues its “Taking on such a high-profile and contentious project (as involvement in the Gulf Coast, it should be remembered the UNOP) was new territory for the Greater New Orleans that while local philanthropy may be “quiet and dignified,” Foundation. Sixteen months ago the planning process was- it possesses experience, knowledge, and a passion for its n’t even on the foundation’s radar screen….when all of a community that should be drawn upon and utilized when sudden that became our largest priority, because that was making investment decisions in the Gulf Coast. the next most-important thing that had to happen for the As stated earlier in this report, prior to Hurricane recovery of this city.”27 Katrina, the majority of grassroots nonprofit organizations in the Gulf Coast relied solely upon the support of local “ philanthropic and governmental organizations for their This need for change, however, also financial resources. Most typically, these governmental and presents an opportunity — the opportunity philanthropic contributions have been directed to support the programmatic activities or general operating costs of for national and out-of-state philanthropic nonprofit organizations working with specific populations organizations to support and empower the (e.g., children, the elderly, the disabled), or providing a spe- local philanthropic community. cific service (e.g., healthcare, cultural resources, education) to the community. While this system of funding has been ” adequate to support the operating and programmatic activities of many nonprofit organizations, those nonprofits While Mr. Johnson, and many others in New Orleans, whose work may be seen as divisive or controversial have recognized the vital importance of developing a blueprint struggled for many years to identify revenue streams. A for the rebuilding of the city, it is highly unlikely that GNOF graphic example of this is the field of environmental would have played such a pivotal role in the development of activism. Those interviewed for this report who work for the UNOP without the support and assistance of the nonprofit organizations active in the environmental arena Rockefeller Foundation. As stated earlier in this report, stated that their organizations receive no funding from the Carey Shea, a Senior Program Officer at Rockefeller with Gulf Coast philanthropic community—100 percent of more than two decades of experience in housing and com- their funding comes from states other than Louisiana, munity development, relocated to New Orleans in the sum- Mississippi, and Arkansas, with the vast majority of funding mer of 2006 with the specific objective of working with coming from New York and California. Additionally, pre- GNOF to guide the UNOP process to a successful outcome. senters at a philanthropic conference held in New Orleans Ms. Shea’s skills in the areas of housing and community in September 200726 stated that they estimate there are less development, combined with the institutional memory of than 25 environmental activists in the entire state of GNOF, the community and governmental contacts devel- Mississippi, with the vast majority of these activists being oped over many years by Mr. Johnson, and the relationships volunteer workers. Given the widely acknowledged environ- of several board members with the Mayor and Governor, mental destruction and degradation that has occurred resulted in the successful completion of a process that had along the Gulf Coast in past decades, and the direct rela- previously seemed doomed to failure. tionship between this degradation and the impact of the As stated by Mr. Johnson, tackling the UNOP process was 2005 storms, this is clearly a situation that needs to be new territory for GNOF—territory into which they had not changed. This need for change, however, also presents an previously ventured due to insufficient financial resources and opportunity—the opportunity for national and out-of- a lack of staff with the specific skill-set required to undertake state philanthropic organizations to support and empower such an endeavor. The financial support of the Rockefeller the local philanthropic community. Foundation, combined with the skills of the loaned senior Perhaps the best example of utilizing the need for change program officer, enabled GNOF to build its capacity, expand as a means for empowering and increasing the capacity of its focus, and become involved in a programmatic area in local philanthropy is the successful collaborative partner- which it had little previous experience. Since its involvement ship developed by the Rockefeller Foundation and the in the development of the UNOP, the Greater New Orleans Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF). The collabora- Foundation has continued its expansion—both of its philan- Future Investment in the Gulf Coast 23 thropic focus and, through its involvement in initiatives such tion on the more than $325 million invested in the Gulf as the collaborative Community Revitalization Fund, its role Coast by New York area philanthropy since the landfall of as a leader in the community. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, lists more than 120 nonprofit By investing in the Greater New Orleans Foundation, service providers working in the areas of advocacy, social Rockefeller not only assisted in the development of a vitally justice, and equity. While many of the organizations listed in important rebuilding tool, but also increased the capacity, the guide focus on issues directly related to their local com- influence, and power of philanthropy in New Orleans. While munities, many other organizations are working to empower such intensive investment in a community foundation may Gulf Coast residents to impact state and national policy. One not be viable for many national or out-of-state charitable of these organizations, the Mississippi Conference of the organizations, the collaborative relationship between NAACP, is striving to identify inequitable and unjust state Rockefeller and the Greater New Orleans Foundation serves policies that negatively impact vulnerable members of their as an example of how the support and empowerment of community, and, through the legislative system, are fighting local philanthropy benefits not only the local philanthropic to have these policies changed. Another such organization, organization, but also the wider nonprofit community. As the Advancement Project, a democracy and justice action the capacity, skills, and focus of local philanthropy expand, it group based in Washington D.C., has for almost two years can be expected that this expansion will translate into been a powerful voice on behalf of tenants who have been increased funding opportunities for local nonprofit organi- unable to return to public housing units in New Orleans due zations—including those nonprofits that have not tradi- to discriminatory state and federal policies and decisions. tionally been the recipients of local philanthropic dollars. New Orleans ACORN, an organization that has been a powerful community organizer and advocate for citizens’ rights for many years, began its advocacy work on behalf of hurri- AFFECTING CHANGE IN cane survivors the day after the levees broke and has been a LOCAL AND STATE POLICY tireless voice for the people of New Orleans ever since. And Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, a nonprofit According to the most recent U.S. census, prior to public interest law firm whose mission is to provide legal Hurricane Katrina: services, community organizing support, public education, • 28 percent of families with children under the age of 18 and campaigns focused on defending and advancing the who were living in New Orleans were living in poverty human right to a healthy environment, has been an unflag- • New Orleans was the sixth poorest out of the 100 largest ging voice for residents across the Gulf Coast region. metropolitan areas nationwide While the above organizations, and indeed all of the non- • 33 percent of black residents in New Orleans did not own profit service providers listed in the Donors’ Guide, have cars received funding from New York area grantmakers, past investment is not enough. In order to address the inequities only 66 percent of black residents had successfully com- • rife in the recovery and rebuilding process and to tackle the pleted a high school education many systemic injustices that have existed at a local, state, • 6 percent of the total population aged 25 years and older and federal level since long before the storms hit, philan- had less than a ninth-grade education.28 thropy must direct its financial support not only to non- While these statistics are specific to New Orleans, some of profits that focus upon programmatic issues, but also to the information can be extrapolated to the wider Gulf Coast those addressing policy and legislation. While it is undeni- area region. The South, as a region, is the poorest con- able that nonprofits working, for example, in the area of stituency in the country with a long history of rural poverty, housing access and development warrant substantial long- racial polarization, lower than national average educational term support from the philanthropic sector, the efforts of attainment, and an undercapitalized nonprofit infrastruc- such direct service organizations would be significantly ture.29 To overcome these obstacles and move towards a enhanced if the issues of discriminatory and inequitable society in which resources are fairly distributed, opportuni- state and federal policies were ameliorated. For example, a ties to create wealth are available to all, and quality educa- recent publication by the Center for Social Inclusion reports tion can be accessed by every child regardless of where he or that “Mississippi is one of the few states without a Fair she lives, vulnerable communities must be given the oppor- Housing Act and limited anti-predatory mortgage lending tunity to participate in civic and political processes and have statutes, but that still allows non-judicial foreclosures. a voice in the development of policies that directly affect Additionally, the state provides very few resources to sup- their lives. port…affordable housing developers in their efforts to facil- The second edition of the NYRAG Donors’ Guide to Gulf itate the construction of affordable homes. Even the state’s Coast Relief & Recovery, a document that provides informa- landlord-tenant laws favor landlords, giving them the right 24 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

to evict, in some cases, without ever going to court.”30 Gulf Coast region—the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Should the current efforts of the Mississippi State Renewal & Ecological Health uses collaboration to pool Conference of the NAACP be successful in changing these financial resources and distribute funds; Gulf Coast discriminatory legislative policies, not only will direct serv- Funders for Equity uses collaboration as a means of dissem- ice providers in the affordable housing sector receive a inating information among its membership and among vitally important resource to add to their direct service tool- nonprofit organizations in the hurricane-affected areas; the boxes, but all renters and lower-income homeowners in NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force uses collaboration Mississippi will gain protection for one of their most funda- as a means of developing resources that are relevant to the mentally important resources—their homes. wider philanthropic community and that encourage ongo- As we well know, the wheels of political change turn ing investment in the Gulf Coast; and the Rockefeller slowly, and those nonprofit organizations endeavoring to Foundation uses collaboration as a means of addressing impact public policy and influence political decision-mak- vital needs of a specific community while also building the ing must invest substantial time, resources, and energy into capacity and empowering a local philanthropic organiza- this process. If the philanthropic community wishes to tion. The one commonality among the four collaborative address and impact existing policies that propagate racial, efforts described above is the use of collaboration as a social, and economic inequity in the Gulf Coast region, then means of maximizing the efficacy of resources. None of it must be equally committed to the long-term nature of these initiatives could have had the impact, or indeed the this work and invest its funds accordingly. lifespan, they have were they reliant upon a single philanthropic organization for their survival. Had the 25 public and private foundations that support the activities of the DEVELOPING COLLABORATIVE AND Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal & Ecological COOPERATIVE OPPORTUNITIES FOR FUNDING Health decided to invest in the region independently rather than through the fund, their impact would have been min- The devastation in the Gulf Coast during the 2005 hurri- imal. Had members of the Gulf Coast Fund for Equity indi- cane season brought with it many changes—changes to vidually sought to gather and disseminate information peoples’ lives, changes to entire communities, changes to the about recovery initiatives, their efforts would be far less way Americans view their elected officials, and changes to comprehensive. Had NYRAG sought to create resources the way the philanthropic sector responds to catastrophic independently of a collaborative Task Force, the resulting events. The ineffective response by government at all levels documents would have minimal relevance to the wider to the devastation across the Gulf Coast revealed to a philanthropic community, and had the Rockefeller national audience the social, racial, and economic inequities Foundation sought to develop the Unified New Orleans that exist throughout the country and accentuated the need Plan independent of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, for significant strategic long-term involvement by the phil- it would have required a significantly greater financial anthropic sector in the transformative rebuilding process. investment and would have been unlikely to succeed. Due to the extent of the destruction, and to the magnitude The utilization of collaborative partnerships to respond of the inequities revealed by the storms, many in the philan- to the catastrophic devastation in the Gulf Coast has thropic community recognized the need for a response that enabled funders to share information, maximize resources, maximized the resources invested in the Gulf Coast region and develop strategic responses in a way that has previously while ensuring that those directly affected by the hurricanes been rare in the wider philanthropic community. The suc- had a voice in all stages of the recovery process. As a result cess of these collaborative initiatives, as perceived by both of this realization, the New York philanthropic community the philanthropic organizations involved in the collabora- created an unprecedented number of innovative and highly tions and the nonprofit community in the hurricane- successful collaborative and cooperative initiatives that affected areas, has demonstrated the efficacy of such addressed the myriad issues and needs that arose following initiatives and should encourage the development of fur- the storms. ther collaborative partnerships as the wider philanthropic The responses undertaken by New York area funders that community continues its involvement in the transformative are highlighted in this report use a variety of collaborative rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region. activities to support recovery and transformation in the Future Investment in the Gulf Coast 25

ENDNOTES

1. For a list of those interviewed, see Appendix 2 Foundation; Richard King Mellon Family Foundation; Rockefeller Brothers 2. For a list of reports reviewed, see Appendix 3 Fund; Singing Field Foundation; Starry Night Fund at Tides Foundation; 3. Thank you to Raymond Jetson, CEO of the Louisiana Family Recovery Corp. The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; Two Trees 4. For the Task Force member list, see Appendix 4 Foundation; Walter & Elise Haas Fund 5. Funding received from: Altman Foundation; The F.B. Heron Foundation; 11. RPA website The Ford Foundation; The New York Community Trust; Open Society 12. For a list of Advisory Group Members and their affiliations, see Appendix 5 Institute; Pfizer Inc.; Rockefeller Foundation; and The Twenty-First Century 13. Ms. Foundation for Women website Foundation 14. The Twenty-First Century Foundation website 6. For Learning Forum presenters, see Appendix 5 15. Rockefeller Foundation website 7. Co-sponsors of 1st Learning Forum: Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in 16. unifiedneworleansplan.com Philanthropy; Association of Black Foundation Executives; The Center for 17. Contributors to the Community Revitalization Fund: the blue moon fund; Corporate Citizenship at Boston College; Council on Foundations; Disability The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation; Conrad N. Hilton Funders Network; Environmental Grantmakers Association; Forum of Foundation; Gates Foundation; Goldring Family Foundation; Greater New Regional Associations of Grantmakers; Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Orleans Foundation; W.K. Kellogg Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation; Families; Grantmakers in Aging; Hispanics in Philanthropy; Native Surdna Foundation; Patrick F. Taylor Foundation; and the Woldenberg Americans in Philanthropy; Neighborhood Funders Group; Philanthropy for Foundation Active Civic Engagement; UJA-Federation of New York; Women’s Funding 18. Ford Foundation website Network 19. Where Hope and History Rhyme: Reflections and Findings from the Mid South 8. Co-sponsors of Funders Forum: The Ford Foundation; JP Morgan Chase Commission to Build Philanthropy, Mid South Commission to Build Foundation; W.K. Kellogg Foundation; John S. and James L. Knight Philanthropy, December 2004 Foundation; The Rockefeller Foundation; The Community Foundation of 20. Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation website South Alabama; Foundation for the Mid South; Greater New Orleans 21. Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation website Foundation; Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation; Foundation Center; 22. Toshiba America Foundation website New York Regional Association of Grantmakers 23. New York Life Foundation website 9. The Mission Statement of the NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force can 24. AmeriCares website be found in the section of this report titled “NYRAG’s Response to 25. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Volume XIX, No. 21, August 23, 2007 Hurricanes Katrina and Rita” 26. Funders Forum on Sustainable Gulf Coast Transformation, New Orleans, 10. Funding received from: AB Fund; Agua Fund; Barbara Smith Fund; Beldon LA, September 5th–7th 2007 Fund; Dome Fund; Durst Family Foundation; Estelle Friedman Gervis 27. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Volume XIX, No. 21, August 23, 2007 Foundation; Ford Foundation; Jenifer Altman Foundation; Jessie Smith 28. 2000 U.S. census, www.census.gov Noyes Foundation; Johnson Family Foundation; John Merck Fund; Kite 29. Population Reference Bureau, www.prb.org Fund; Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation; Marisla Foundation; 30. M. Wiley, Triumph Over Tragedy: Leadership, Capacity and Needs in Arkansas, Mitchell Kapor Foundation; Nathan Cummings Foundation; Mustard Seed Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Fund New World Foundation; New York Community Trust; Park The Center for Social Inclusion: A Project of the Tides Center, August 2007 26 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

APPENDIX ONE Presentation of resource distribution by NYRAG members in response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

The information in this section reflects data gathered via tions have been sorted into eleven programmatic categories, survey and phone conversations with 287 NYRAG mem- in some instances an organization may appear in more than bers. All information was received as a result of direct com- one category (e.g., ACORN appears in both the “Advocacy, munication between NYRAG staff and the member Social Justice, and Equity” category and the “Community organizations with no information being garnered from and Economic Development” category). third parties or previously released reports. For more information regarding grants made by the New The information is presented both geographically and York area philanthropic community in response to programmatically. When reviewing the data, two factors Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, please refer to the second edi- should be considered: 1) all nonprofit organizations located tion of the NYRAG Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & in Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Recovery which can be downloaded from the NYRAG web- Louisiana, and Texas are classified as being located “in the site (www.nyrag.org). Gulf Coast region”; 2) while the listed nonprofit organiza-

GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS

Ten states in which the greatest number Ten Gulf Coast cities* in which the greatest of grant recipients are located: number of grant recipients are located: Number of Number of State Grant Recipients City Grant Recipients Louisiana 323 New Orleans, LA 169 Mississippi 106 Baton Rouge, LA 58 New York 102 Houston, TX 51 Texas 94 Jackson, MS 29 Washington, DC 55 Biloxi, MS 17 Georgia 45 Lake Charles, LA 13 Alabama 30 Gulfport, MS 13 California 25 Lafayette, LA 11 Virginia 20 Austin, TX 10 Florida 15 San Antonio, TX 9

Countries other than the U.S. in which 105 grant recipients are located: Total number of Gulf Coast cities/towns* in which Number of NYRAG-member grant recipients are located Country Grant Recipients Germany 1 612 Italy 1 Total number of Gulf Coast-based* Mexico 1 nonprofit organizations that were the recipients of grants from NYRAG members

* Located in Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas Appendices 27

Communities in which grant recipients are located:

Bayou La Barte AL Peoria IL Baltimore MD Bronx NY Birmingham AL Rolling Meadow IL Bethesda MD Brooklyn NY Coden AL Elkhart IN Rockville MD New York NY Daphne AL Olathe KS Silver Springs MD Rochester NY Fairhope AL Lexington KY Ann Arbor MI Tarrytown NY Fowl River AL London KY Auburn Hills MI Cincinnati OH Grand Bay AL Alexandria LA Detroit MI Columbus OH Mobile AL Angie LA Minneapolis MN Dayton OH Montgomery AL Arcadiana LA Saint Paul MN Redwood OR Selma AL Avondale LA Bridgeton MO Philadelphia PA Sylacauga AL Barataria LA St. Louis MO Springfield PA Tuscaloosa AL Baton Rouge LA Bay St. Louis MS Providence RI Tuskegee AL Beauregard LA Biloxi MS Clemson SC Conway AR Clinton LA D’Iberville MS Columbia SC Little Rock AR Columbia LA Duck Hills MS Brentwood TN Phoenix AZ Covington LA Greenville MS Chattanooga TN Berkeley CA Cut Off LA Gulfport MS Memphis TN Irvine CA Franklin LA Hattiesburg MS Nashville TN Los Angeles CA Franklinton LA Jackson MS Allen TX Oakland CA Golden Meadow LA Leakesville MS Austin TX San Diego CA Grambling LA Lexington MS Beaumont TX San Francisco CA Greenwell Springs LA Long Beach MS Bellaire TX Santa Barbara CA Hammond LA Marks MS Dallas TX Santa Monica CA Harahan LA McComb MS Fort Worth TX Aspen CO Houma LA Moss Point MS Garland TX Danbury CT Kenner LA Ocean Springs MS Georgetown TX Stamford CT La Place LA Pascagoula MS Houston TX Washington DC Lafayette LA Pass Christian MS Humble TX Newark DE Lake Charles LA Picayune MS Katy TX Gainesville FL Luling LA Poplarville MS Kirbyville TX Jacksonville FL Mandeville LA Ridgeland MS League City TX Miami FL Metairie LA Tougaloo MS McKinney TX Ponte Vedra Beach FL Monroe LA Tunica MS Plano TX Sanford FL New Iberia LA Tupelo MS Port Arthur TX Tallahassee FL New Orleans LA University MS San Antonio TX Tampa FL New Roads LA Vicksburg MS Stafford TX West Palm Beach FL Opelousas LA West Point MS Tomball TX Winter Park FL Plaquemines LA Wiggins MS Arlington VA Alpharetta GA Shreveport LA Chapel Hill NC Burke VA Americus GA Slidell LA Durham NC Charlottesville VA Atlanta GA Sulphur LA Pittsboro NC Fairfax VA Brunswick GA Thibodaux LA Raleigh NC Falls Church VA Cornelia GA Tickfaw LA Lincoln NE Reston VA Decatur GA Belchertown MA Amherst NH Richmond VA East Point GA Boston MA Bridgewater NJ Cochester VT Iowa City IA Cambridge MA New Brunswick NJ Montpelier VT Chicago IL Carlisle MA Newark NJ Madison WI Elk Grove Village IL Needham MA Sante Fe NM Milwaukee WI Lisle IL Somerville MA Albany NY New Holstein WI 28 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

All states in which grant recipients are located: Number of Number of State Grant Recipients State Grant Recipients Alabama 30 Mississippi 106 Arizona 1 Missouri 4 Arkansas 5 Nebraska 1 California 25 New Hampshire 1 Colorado 2 New Jersey 5 Connecticut 3 New Mexico 1 Delaware 1 New York 102 Florida 15 North Carolina 5 Georgia 45 Ohio 5 Illinois 15 Oregon 1 Indiana 1 Pennsylvania 6 Iowa 1 Rhode Island 1 Kansas 1 South Carolina 3 Kentucky 2 Tennessee 9 Louisiana 323 Texas 94 Maryland 11 Vermont 2 Massachusetts 14 Virginia 20 Michigan 3 Washington, DC 55 Minnesota 3 Wisconsin 3 Appendices 29

PROGRAMMATIC FOCUS

Ten nonprofit organizations that received All grants awarded, arranged the greatest number of grants: by programmatic focus: Number of Number Nonprofit Organization Grants Received Programmatic Focus of Grants American Red Cross (national) 49 Arts, Culture, and Education 234 ACORN (New Orleans, LA) 18 Intermediaries 148 Gulf Coast Fund for Community Health and Mental Health 127 Renewal & Ecological Health Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 125 (New York, NY) 18 Immediate Disaster Relief 97 Habitat for Humanity (national) 18 Women, Children, and Families 88 Baton Rouge Area Foundation Community and Economic Development 75 (Baton Rouge, LA) 14 Housing 27 New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans, LA) 13 Hunger and Poverty 27 Salvation Army (national) 12 Environment 25 Southern Mutual Help Association Aging and Disabled Populations 21 (New Iberia, LA) 12 United Way (national) 12 Children’s Health Fund (national) 11

Ten Gulf Coast-based nonprofit organizations that received the greatest number of grants: Number of Nonprofit Organization Grants Received ACORN (New Orleans, LA) 18 Baton Rouge Area Foundation (Baton Rouge, LA) 14 New Orleans Museum of Art (New Orleans, LA) 13 Southern Mutual Help Association (New Iberia, LA) 12 Dillard University (New Orleans, LA) 10 Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (Jackson, MS) 10 Foundation for the Mid South (Jackson, MS) 9 Greater New Orleans Foundation (New Orleans, LA) 9 Xavier University (New Orleans, LA) 9 Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights (Greenville, MS) 8 30 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

COMPLETE LIST OF GRANTS AWARDED BY NYRAG MEMBERS ARRANGED BY PROGRAMMATIC FOCUS:

Advocacy, Social Justice, Faith Partnerships Incorporated New Orleans International Human Manna Ministries and Equity Families & Friends of Louisiana’s Rights Film Festival Mississippi Methodist Senior Services Incarcerated Children New Orleans Survivor Council National Council on Aging 100 Black Men of Lake Charles Families Helping Families of Greater New Orleans Women’s Health and New Orleans Council on Aging 21st Century Youth Leadership New Orleans Justice Initiative REJOICE Movement Family and Youth Counseling Agency New Orleans Workers Center for Sheltering Arms ACORN (Association of Community Farmers’ Legal Action Group Racial Justice United Methodist Senior Services of Organizations for Reform Now) Farmworker Association of Florida New Orleans Workers Justice Mississippi Action Communication and Foundation for Jewish Camping Coalition Opportunity Agenda Wider Opportunities for Women Education Reform Free Speech Radio New KPFA Pacific News Service (WOW) Advancement Project Radio # 73 Physicians for Social Responsibility Advocates for Environmental Human Grace Harbor Community Ministries PICO (Pacific Institute for Rights Greater Birmingham Ministries Community Organizations) Arts, Culture, and Education African-American Leadership Project Gulf Coast Fund for Community PICO-LIFT (Louisiana Interfaiths 21st Century School Fund Agenda for Children Renewal & Ecological Health Together) A Better Chance AJAMM Ministries Gulf Coast Funders for Equity Planned Parenthood Federation A Studio in the Woods Alabama Coalition on Black Civic Gulf Coast Latin American Association of America Acadiana Arts Council Participation Heartland Alliance for Human Needs PolicyLink All Congregations Together and Human Rights Power U Center for Social Change Action Communication and Education Reform American Civil Liberties Union of Houston Area Urban League Praxis Project Agenda for Children Mississippi Houston Interfaith Sponsoring Project South: Institute for the American Federation of Musicians of Committee Elimination of Poverty and Algebra Project the U.S. and Canada Innocence Project New Orleans Genocide Alternate Roots American Friends Service Committee Institute for Southern Studies Puentes New Orleans Alumni Society of School of Visual Arts American Institute for Social Justice Institute of Community Resurrection After Exoneration (formerly the Arkansas Institute Development Safe Streets/Strong Communities American Federation of Musicians of the U.S. and Canada for Social Justice) Interfaith Worker Justice Coalition & Campaign American Jewish Committee AmericaSpeaks Jeremiah Group Saving Our Selves Coalition Artists for Life AMOS Network Jewish Community Relations Council Service Employees International Arts Council of New Orleans Antioch Urban Ministries Jewish Funds for Justice Union ArtSpot Productions Applied Research Center JFA Institute Southeast Louisiana Legal Services Ascension of Our Lord School Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Junebug Productions (JPI) Southern Center for Human Rights Ashé Cultural Arts Center Organizing Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana Southern Echo Association of Art Museum Curators Cascade Center for Community Kirwan Institute for the Study of Southwest Workers Union Foundation Governance Race and Ethnicity St. Mary’s Community Action Atlanta Jewish Federation Catholic Charities of Central Texas Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Association Catholic Legal Immigration Network Under Law United Church of Christ Justice and Austin Independent School District CBNO-Mac Foundation League of United Latin American Witness Ministries BAC Education Foundation Center for Environmental and Citizens United Houma Nation Bay Catholic Elementary Economic Justice Living Cities: The National Urban Institute Benjamin Franklin High School Center for Nonprofit Resources & Community Development Initiative Urban League of Greater Dallas and Beth Israel Congregation Community Data/New Orleans Louisiana Bucket Brigade North Central Texas Beth Shalom Synagogue Community Network Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Urban League of Greater New Beulah Baptist Church Center for Social Inclusion Empowerment Network Orleans Big Apple to Big Easy Concert Centro por la Justicia (Center for Association U.S. Human Rights Network Birmingham Jewish Federation Justice and International Law) Malcolm X Grassroots Movement Vietnamese American Young Leaders Bishop Perry Middle School Citizens Against Widening the Meaningful Minds of Louisiana Association of New Orleans Blackout Arts Collective Industrial Canal Media Justice Fund Youth Empowerment Project Laura Bush Foundation Gulf Coast Citizens United for Economic Equity Metropolitan Organization School Library Recovery Initiative Coalition for Citizens with Centenary College of Louisiana Mission African Strong Shoulders Aging and Disabled Populations Disabilities Mississippi Center for Justice Center for American Progress Coalition to Restore Coastal Mississippi Coalition Against Coalition for Citizens with Disabilities Center for New American Media Louisiana Domestic Violence F.E.G.S. Chabad ColorLines Magazine Mississippi Immigrant Rights Families Helping Families of Greater Chez Panisse Foundation Common Ground Worker Education Alliance New Orleans Clark Atlanta University Project Mississippi Workers Center for Grantmakers in Aging Columbia University Mailman Community Labor United/ Human Rights School of Public Health The People’s Hurricane Fund Hancock County Human Resources MoveOn.org Agency Columbia University Hillel Community Policy, Research and NAACP Columbia University Medical Center Training Institute Hurricane Fund for the Elderly NAACP Legal Defense & Education Columbia University Trustees Concerned Citizens for a Better Institute for Disability Studies of the Fund Communities in Schools and its local Tunica County University of Southern Mississippi National Alliance of Vietnamese- affiliates Concerned Citizens of Agriculture Jewish Community Federation American Service Agencies Congregation Beth Israel Street Landfill Greater Chattanooga National Center for Human Rights Consumer Credit Counseling Critical Resistance/Justice Now Jewish Family Service of Greater New Education Orleans Services Deep South Center for Environmental National Immigration Law Center Contemporary Art Museum Justice at Dillard University Lafayette Restoration Center National Network of Abortion Funds Contemporary Arts Center Detroiters Working for Little Sisters of the Poor National Youth Advocacy Coalition Craft Emergency Relief Fund Environmental Justice Loaves and Fishes New Orleans Bar Foundation Lutheran Social Service of the South Creative Time Appendices 31

Dallas Independent School District Lake Charles Symphony Orchestra Newman Day School Tulane University of Louisiana Dillard University Levee Broke Nicholls State University Tulane University School of Medicine Downtown Community Television Louisiana Community and Technical NOLA 180 Tulane University School of Public Center College System North American Midway Health and Tropical Medicine Duke University Louisiana Cultural Economy Entertainment Educational Tuskegee University East Central Independent School Foundation Foundation United Negro College Fund (UNCF) District Louisiana Landmarks Society North East Independent School University of Delaware Editorial Projects in Education Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra District University of Florida College of Educational Video Center Louisiana Resource Centers for North Louisiana Jewish Federation Medicine Efforts of Grace Educators Northside Independent School University of Iowa Faith Project Louisiana Restaurant Association District University of Nebraska Medical Center Family and Youth Counseling Agency Education Foundation Ogden Museum of Southern Art University of Pennsylvania Finding Our Folks Tour Louisiana State Department of Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art University of Rochester Medical FirstBook.org Education Operation Reach Center Fort Worth Independent School Louisiana State University Our Lady of Perpetual Help University of Virginia District Louisiana State University School of PACE Head Start University of Wisconsin School of Foundation for Jewish Camping Social Work Parents for Public Schools Medicine and Public Health Franklin W. Olin College of Louisiana State University Veterinary Pass Christian Public Library Vanderbilt University Engineering Medical Association (Library Recovery Fund) William Winter Institute for Racial Frederick Douglass Community Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Pearson Charitable Foundation/ Reconciliation at the University of Coalition Loyola University Bay Waveland Schools Mississippi Free Speech Radio New KPFA Loyola University Chicago, Stritch People Left Behind Women Make Movies Radio # 73 School of Medicine Performing Arts Society of Acadiana World Media Foundation French American Cultural Exchange Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plano Independent School District World Monuments Fund Friends of Atlantik-Brücke Mazon Pomegranate Productions, LLC WYES Channel 12 George Mason University McKinney Independent School Portersville Revival Group Xavier University Georgia Southwestern State District Preservation Resource Center YA/YA (Young Aspirations/Young University Millsaps College Preservation Trades Network Artists) Georgia Tech Research Corporation Mississippi Arts Commission Project Row Houses Young Audiences/Arts for Learning God’s Way Christian Academy Mississippi Heritage Trust Public Education Network Young People’s Project Good Shepherd Nativity Mission Mississippi State University College Renew Our Music Fund School of Veterinary Medicine Resurrection Catholic School Community and Economic Greater New Orleans Education MusiCares Hurricane Relief Fund Elementary Campus Development Foundation National Association for Equal Resurrection Middle High School Greater New Orleans Youth Opportunity in Higher Education River Oaks Square Arts Center 100 Black Men of Lake Charles Orchestra National Performance Network Samuel J. Green Charter School 5th Ward Community Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra National Performing Arts Network San Antonio Independent School Redevelopment Corporation Hadassah Ministries National Trust for Historic District Preservation ACORN (Association of Community Heart of America Foundation Santa Fe Art Institute Organizations for Reform Now) National Trust for Historic Hendrix College Serendipity Films, LLC Affordable Housing Resources Heritage Preservation Preservation Emergency Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth Stabilization of Historic Properties African-American Leadership Project Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Sound Portraits Productions Neighborhood Story Project Alabama Coalition on Black Civic Campus Life South San Antonio Independent Participation Holy Cross High School New Orleans Arts and Cultural Host School District Committee All Congregations Together (ACT) Houston Independent School District Southeastern Library Network Alliance of Artists Communities Interfaith Education Fund New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (SOLINET) Institute AmeriCares International Foundation for Art Southeastern Museum Conference New Orleans Center for Science and ASII (A Shared Initiative) Research Southern Atlantic Corporation Math Atlanta Mutual Housing Association Isidore Newman School Southern Institute for Education and New Orleans Charter Middle School Avenue Community Development Jazz at Lincoln Center Research New Orleans Creative Glass Institute Corporation Jazz Foundation of America Southern University and A&M College New Orleans Film and Video Festival Boat People SOS Jesuit High School Southwestern University New Orleans International Human Bonita Street House of Hope Jewish Children’s Regional Service of Spelman College Broadmoor Development Corporation New Orleans Rights Film Festival St. Bernard Unified School Café Reconcile Jewish Community Center on the New Orleans Jazz Heritage St. James Episcopal Day School Center for Community Initiatives of Hudson Foundation St. Joan of Arc School Greater Houston Community Jewish Community Federation New Orleans Jazz Orchestra (NOJO) St. Martin’s Episcopal School COFFEE (Community of Faith for Greater Chattanooga New Orleans Museum of Art St. Mary’s Dominican High School Economic Empowerment) Jewish Federation of Baton Rouge New Orleans Musicians Clinic New Orleans Musicians Hurricane Start the Adventure in Reading Corporation for Enterprise Jewish Federation of Cincinnati (STAIR) Development Jewish Federation of Danbury Relief Fund/Renew Our Music Fund Students at the Center Corporation to Develop Jewish Federation of Greater Summerbridge New Orleans Communities Houston New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra New Orleans Public Library Taglit—Birthright Israel Crescent City Peace Alliance Jewish Federation of Greater New Teach for America Desire Street Ministries Orleans New Orleans Science and Math Teachers College at Columbia Dryades Saving Bank Jewish Federation of Peoria Charter High School University Echoing Green Foundation Junebug Productions (JPI) New Orleans West College Prep Temple University Enterprise Community Partners Junior Achievement New School Tennessee Williams Festival Enterprise Corporation of the Delta Kamoinge New Schools for New Orleans Third World Majority (TWM) Faith Center for Community KID smART New York Foundation for Architecture (Center for Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund Development Kids Rethinking New Orleans’ Schools Architecture Foundation) Tougaloo College Farmworker Association of Florida Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) New York University College of Tulane University Health Sciences Federation of Southern Cooperatives Lafayette Restoration Center Nursing Center 32 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

Focusing Our Community Upon Environment Columbia University Medical Center Mercy Family Center Sustainability Common Ground Health Clinic Mobile AIDS Support Services Frederick Douglass Community Advocates for Environmental Human Council for the Advancement of Mobile Baykeeper Coalition Rights (AEHR) Social Services and Education Montrose Clinic Fulton Atlanta Community Action Alliance for Affordable Energy Covenant House New Orleans Morehouse School of Medicine Authority America the Beautiful Fund Crisis Intervention of Houston Mt. Sinai Medical Center Gert Town Revival Initiative American Institute for Conservation Direct Relief International Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Grace Harbor Community Ministries of Historic and Artistic Works Emergency Medicine Foundation National AIDS Fund Gulf Coast Fund for Community Audubon Nature Institute EXCELth (Community Health National Alliance for Health Renewal & Ecological Health Center for Environmental and Center) Information Technology Hispanic Business Resources and Economic Justice F.E.G.S. Foundation Technology Center Citizens League for Environmental Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge National Alliance for the Mentally Ill Hope Community Credit Union Action Now Community Clinic National Alliance on Mental Illness, Houston Area Urban League Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana Family Service of Greater New Southwest Louisiana Houston Department of Economic Deep South Center for Environmental Orleans National Association of Community Development Justice at Dillard University Florida Health Care Association Health Centers Houston Hope Detroiters Working for Franklin Primary Health Center National Association of County and Institute for Sustainable Communities Environmental Justice God’s Love We Deliver City Health Officials Jewish Funds for Justice Environmental Defense Greater Baton Rouge Community National Association of School Julia C. Hester House Grand Bayou Community United Clinic Nurses Liberty Bank & Trust Gulf Coast Fund for Community Greene Area Medical Extenders National Cancer Coalition Lighthouse Community Renewal & Ecological Health Gulf Coast Health Center National Council for Community Development Corporation Gulf Restoration Network Hancock Medical Center Foundation Behavioral Healthcare Living Cities: The National Louisiana Bayoukeeper Health and Hospitals Corporation National Foundation for the Centers Community Development Louisiana Bucket Brigade Foundation of New York City for Disease Control & Prevention Initiative Louisiana Environmental Action Health Care Centers in Schools National Mental Health Association Local Initiatives Support Coalition Network Heart to Heart International of Georgia Louisiana Loan Fund Louisiana State Department of Helping Everyone Receive Ongoing National Network of Public Health Louisiana Minority Business Council Environmental Quality Effective Support (HEROES) Institutes Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Mississippi River Basin Alliance Houston Galveston Institute Natural Resources for Preparing, Empowerment Network Mobile Baykeeper Iberia Comprehensive Community Educating and Changing Association Natural Resources Defense Council Health Center Environments Mary Queen of Vietnam Community New Orleans Women’s Health and In This Together New Orleans Kid Camera Project Development Corporation Justice Initiative Jefferson Community Health Care New Orleans Outreach Mississippi Action for Community People’s Environmental Center Centers New Orleans Re-Think Project Education Texas Environmental Justice and Jewish Community Federation NO/AIDS Task Force Mississippi Association of Advocacy Services Greater Chattanooga NOAH’s Friends Cooperatives Trust for Coastal Stewardship Jewish Family Service of Greater New North Shore—Long Island Jewish National Community Investment Orleans Health System Foundation Fund Jewish Federation of Baton Rouge One Love Outreach Health and Mental Health National Community Reinvestment Jewish Healthcare International Physicians for Social Responsibility Coalition Pointe Coupee Better Access Agenda for Children Julia C. Hester House National Federation of Community Community Health AIDS Services Coalition and 1-2-1 Katrina Medical Volunteers Development Credit Unions Primary Care Providers for a Healthy Haven House Association (D’Iberville Free Clinic) National Urban League Feliciana All Saints Free Medical and Dental Kids in Crisis Project Neighborhood Centers Project Hope Clinic Lady of the Sea General Hospital New Orleans Business Council Rainbows Alzheimer’s Association Lafayette Community Health Care New Orleans Redevelopment Region 13 Mental Health/Mental American Academy of Pediatrics Clinic Authority Retardation Commission American Kidney Fund Lafayette Restoration Center North Gulfport Community Land Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation American Lung Association of Larry King Cardiac Foundation Trust Project Katrina Art Therapy Louisiana Literacy Alliance of Greater New North Midtown Community Orleans Projects and Children’s Events Development Corporation American Medical Students Little Rock Missionary Baptist Church Samaritan Counseling Center of People’s Organizing Committee Association Living Bank Imperial Calcasieu People’s Institute for Survival and Angie Medical Clinic Long Beach Substance Abuse Task Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Beyond Baton Rouge AIDS Society Force Education Project for Public Spaces (PPS) Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention South Mississippi AIDS Task Force Center Louisiana Association for the Quitman County Community Southeast Texas Community Health Bayou Clinic Education of Homeless Children Development Organization and Youth Clinic Bayou La Batre Rural Health Clinic Redemption Community Louisiana Public Health Institute Southern Law Enforcement Development Corporation Bethel Lutheran Church Hurricane Louisiana Rural Health Services Foundation Rural Advancement Foundation Katrina Ministry Free Medical Southwest Louisiana AIDS Council Clinic Corporation International—U.S.A. Southwest Louisiana Area Health Blood Center Louisiana State Department of Save Middle East Action Committee Health and Hospitals Education Center C.G. Jung Society of New Orleans Seedco/Seedco Financial Services Markle Foundation Direct Charitable Southwest Louisiana Center for Calcasieu Cameron Hospital Service South Plaquemines Parish United Activity Health Services District Fishermen Cooperative Memorial Hospital Gulfport St. Bernard Parish Healthcare Calcasieu Community Clinic Southern Mutual Help Association Development Foundation Recovery Project Capital Area Human Services District Turkey Creek Community Initiatives Mental Health America St. Charles Community Health Center Carter Place United Church of Christ Justice and Mental Health Association in St. Landry Parish Rural Health Children’s Health Fund Witness Ministries Louisiana Network Children’s Hospital United Houma Nation Mental Health Association of St. Thomas Health Services Christian Health Ministries Mississippi State Associations of Addiction Coastal Family Health Services Appendices 33

State of Louisiana Department of Marshall Faulk Foundation Household of Faith Family Worship United Methodist Church Committee Department of Health and Mazon Church International on Relief Hospitals Mississippi Coastal Plains Resources Houston Katrina/Rita Fund Unmet Needs Committee of Student Osteopathic Medical Conservation & Development Hurricane Fund for the Elderly Tangipahoa Association Council Hurricane Katrina Displaced Volunteers of America in Central Ubi Caritas National Policy and Advocacy Residents Fund Louisiana United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) Council on Homelessness Hurricane Katrina Good Neighbor Volunteers of America of Greater Association of Texas North Texas Food Bank Fund Baton Rouge West Alabama AIDS Outreach Order of Malta International Relief and Volunteers of America of Greater San Antonio Food Bank Development New Orleans San Francisco Food Bank International Relief Teams Volunteers of America of North Housing Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth International Rescue Committee Louisiana Tarant Area Food Bank Israel Trauma Coalition Washington Emergency Recovery Affordable Housing Resources Ongoing Cadre Atlanta Mutual Housing Association Target Hunger Jefferson Disaster Recovery Committee Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church Center for Affordable Housing Johnson & Johnson Retirees Club Circle of Love Outreach Immediate Disaster Relief Joy Fellowship Church Common Ground Community HDFC Intermediaries Kentucky Coalition Family Promise Interfaith Hospitality 8th District AMEC Disaster Relief Kids In Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.) Networks Center Archdiocese of New Orleans Lafayette/St. Martin Parish Long- Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Acadia Long-Term Recovery Arkansas Community Foundation Term Recovery Coalition Action Center Coalition ASPCA Lewis Temple CME Church Gulf Coast Housing Partnership American Red Cross Associated Colleges of the South Louisiana Interchurch Conference Habitat for Humanity AmeriCares Atlanta Regional Commission Metropolitan Council on Jewish Homeownership Education Program Austin People’s Action Center Atlanta Women’s Foundation Poverty Initiation for Affordable Housing Back Bay Mission Baton Rouge Area Foundation Mexican Red Cross Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Calling all Christians Church Bush Clinton Katrina Fund Mohammad Mosque 65 Initiative (JREHI) Camp Coast Care Catholic Relief Services of the U.S. Louisiana Housing Alliance/ Montgomery County Disaster Catholic Conference Caritas of Austin Recovery Task Force St. Mary’s Community Agency Chicago Foundation for Women Catholic Charities Archdiocese of Moving Forward Gulf Coast Louisiana Loan Fund New Orleans Children’s Defense Fund Southern Mercy Housing and Human Mt. Hebron Missionary Baptist Regional Office Citizens Organized for Rita Church Development Restoration Children’s Defense Fund Southern Mt. Hebron Baptist Church National Fair Housing Alliance Committee for Plaquemines Black Women’s Initiative National Association of Police Neighborhood Development Recovery City of Pass Christian Recovery Organizations Relief Fund Foundation Common Ground Collective City of Perth Amboy National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Neighborhood Housing Services Community Relief Foundation City of Poplarville National Urban League (NHS) Crescent Alliance Recovery Effort Clinton Presidential Foundation Nechama Jewish Response to Disaster NeighborWorksAmerica Direct Relief International Dallas Mayor’s Disaster Relief Fund New Beginnings Mission New Orleans Neighborhood Disaster Recovery Services of George Dekalb County Government New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Development Collaborative County Diocese of Louisiana Newark Emergency Services for NYC Department of Housing, East Biloxi Relief and Coordination ETV Endowment of South Carolina Families Preservation & Development Center Family Foundation of Southwest Northern and Central Louisiana Operation Home Delivery Emmitt Spurlock Memorial Louisiana Interfaith and Sponsoring Providence House Foundation Committee Florida Community Partners Re-Ward Third Ward Episcopal Relief and Development Northwest Assistance Ministries Foundation Center San Antonio Metropolitan Ministries FaithShare Outreach Ministries Partnership for Youth Foundation for the Louisiana State Southwestern Louisiana Homeless Gateway Community Church University Health Sciences Center Pass Christian Recovery Programs Coalition Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Foundation for the Mid South Pastors for Peace Star of Hope Mission Church Friends of New Orleans Fire People’s Hurricane Relief Fund and Good Hope Missionary Baptist Department Oversight Committee Church Gifts In Kind International Hunger and Poverty Points of Light Foundation and Greater Grambling Community Volunteer Center National Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund Relief Effort America’s Second Harvest Network Grantmakers in Aging Greater New Hope Missionary Atlanta Community Food Bank Project K.I.D. Greater Alexandria Economic Baptist Church Back Bay Mission Rebuild Jackson County Development Authority/ Greater New Orleans Disaster Alexandria Metropolitan Bayou Interfaith Shared Community Rebuilding Pearl River County Recovery Partnership Foundation Organizing (BISCO) Together Greater St. Mary Baptist Church Greater Houston Community Benevolent and Protective Order of Rebuilding Together Greater St. Matthews Baptist Church Foundation Elks of the U.S.A. Rebuilding Together, Southern Hancock County Long-Term Greater New Orleans Foundation Brother’s Keeper Ministries California Council Recovery Committee Greater New Orleans Nonprofit Capital Area Alliance for Homeless Rescue & Recovery Search Dogs HANDS (Helping Americans Knowledge Works Capital Area Food Bank of Texas St. Bernard Long Term Recovery Needing Disaster Support) Gulf Coast Community Foundation City Harvest Committee Hands On Gulf Coast Gulf Coast Policy Forum Faith Partnerships Incorporated Stone County Long Term Recovery Hands On Network Henry W. Grady Foundation Greater Birmingham Ministries Committee Hands On USA Hope Haven Children’s Shelter Hancock County Food Pantry Texas Asset Building Coalition Hands On Worldwide Houston Department of Economic Hancock County Human Resources Tomball Emergency Assistance Harrison County Long Term Development Agency Ministries Recovery Coalition Houston SPCA Heartland Alliance for Human Needs Tri-Coastal Community Outreach in Heifer Project International and Human Rights South Alabama Human Services Council of New Hope Crisis Response Network York City Houston Food Bank and Endowment Union Privilege Relief Fund Hope Force International Humane Society of the United States Katy Christian Ministries Hope Haven Children’s Shelter 34 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

IFCO (Interreligious Foundation for Partnership for Advanced Technology Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Kids Rethinking New Orleans’ Community Organizing)/People’s Training New York Schools Organizing Committee Partnership for Public Service We Care for America Foundation Lena Pope Home Jewish Board Family & Children’s PetSmart Charities Louisiana Association for the Services ProQuest Education of Homeless Children Women, Children, and Families Jewish Center of the Hamptons Public/Private Ventures and Youth Jewish Community Relations Council Louisiana Coalition Against RAND Corporation and The RAND AJAMM Ministries Jewish Federation of Arkansas Gulf States Policy Institute Domestic Violence Allen County Community Outreach Jewish Federation of Greater Recover, Rebuild, Restore Southeast Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Alliance for Children and Families Washington Mississippi Rectors & Visitors of Assault Jewish Federation of Nashville The University of Virginia America’s Promise Lutheran Social Service of the South Latin American Association Renaissance Project/Students at the Atlanta Women’s Foundation Mary Hall Freedom House Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Center Beauregard Area Ministerial Alliance Metropolitan Battered Women’s Organizations Louisiana Disaster Research Foundation of State Disaster Relief Network Program Recovery Foundation University of New York Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Mississippi Children’s Home Society Louisiana Family Recovery Corps Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeast Mississippi Families for Kids Louisiana SPCA Rotary Club of Baton Rouge Louisiana Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA Louisiana State University Foundation Big Buddy Program Mississippi Low Income Childcare Foundation Rutgers University Boys and Girls Club of America and Initiative Louisiana Veterinary Referral Center Salvation Army and its local affiliates its local affiliates Moore Community House (see also Lundy Foundation Salvatorian Mission Warehouse Boys Hope Girls Hope Children’s Defense Fund) March of Dimes Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference Casa Atabex Ache National Center for Missing and Markle Foundation Direct Charitable Save the Children Center for Families Exploited Children Activity School of the Arts Foundation Chez Panisse Foundation National Domestic Violence Hotline Marshall Faulk Foundation Seamen’s Church Institute Children’s Defense Fund National Head Start Association Medical Center of Louisiana Social Science Research Council Children’s Health Fund National Network of Abortion Funds Foundation Social Work Access Network (SWAN) Coalition for Citizens with New Orleans Kid Camera Project Disabilities Medical Foundation of South Southern Education Foundation New Orleans Women’s Health and Coastal Women for Change Mississippi Southern Foodways Alliance Justice Initiative DC Children & Youth Investment Middle School Advocates Southern Governors’ Association NOLA Queer Women’s Project Trust Corporation Mid-South Community Southern Partners Fund Prevent Child Abuse Louisiana DePelchin Children’s Center Development Corporation Spring Branch Education Foundation Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation Dignity U Wear Millennium Fund St. Vincent de Paul Society Project Katrina Art Therapy East Fort Bend Human Needs Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund State of Louisiana Projects and Children’s Events Mississippi State Department of Ministry Safe Horizon STEPS Coalition East Tuscaloosa Family Resource Finance and Administration Technical Assistance Collaborative State of Louisiana Department of Mountains to Mississippi Center Social Services Technology For All Essential 2 Life Ms. Foundation for Women Terrebonne Readiness & Assistance Sylacauga Alliance for Family National Association of Vietnamese F.E.G.S. Enhancement (SAFE) Coalition Families & Friends of Louisiana’s American Service Agencies Texas State Department of Health UNICEF National Baptists Layman’s Incarcerated Children University of California, Los Angeles and Human Services Family Guidance Center of Alabama Movement Third Sector New England National Child Traumatic Stress Family Promise Interfaith Hospitality Network National Center for Construction Tides Center Education and Research Networks V-Day/V to the 10th Tipitina’s Foundation National Coalition on Black Civic Family Road of Greater Baton Rouge Wider Opportunities for Women Touro Infirmary Foundation Participation Community Clinic (WOW) TRIOS Consulting Partners, LLC National Conference of Family Services of Greater Baton Women Make Movies Tulane Educational Fund Commissioners on Uniform Rouge Women’s Business Enterprise State Laws Twenty-First Century Foundation Family Services of Greater New National Council New Orleans Community Network UJA/Federation of Jewish Orleans Women’s Foundation for Greater New Orleans Fire Department Philanthropies of New York Federation of Childcare Centers of Memphis New Orleans Firehouse Restoration UNICEF Alabama (FOCAL) Women’s Fund of Greater Project Union Community Fund (of AFL-CIO) Foundation for Jewish Camping Birmingham New Orleans Police Department Union of American Hebrew Freedom Women’s Fund of the Community New Orleans Police Foundation Congregations Global Fund for Children Foundation of Greater Jackson New Orleans Public Library Union Privilege Relief Fund Gulf Coast Community Services Women’s Funding Network Foundation Unitarian Universalist Association Association YK Coalition New York Board of Rabbis United Jewish Communities (UJC) Gulf Coast Women’s Center for Young Audiences/Arts for Learning New York Disaster Interfaith Services United Methodist Church Nonviolence Youth Empowerment Project New York Regional Association of Hispanic/Latino Ministries Hadassah Ministries Youth Inspirational Connection Grantmakers United States Equestrian Federation Institute for Women’s Policy Research Youth Radio New Yorkers for the Gulf Coast United Way of America and local Institute of Women and Ethnic YWCA of Baton Rouge United Way chapters (NY4GC) Studies Zero to Three: National Center for NHP Foundation University of Louisiana at Lafayette Jewish Children’s Regional Service of Infants, Toddlers and Families Norman Dixon, Sr. Annual Second Foundation New Orleans Line Parade Fund U.S. Chamber of Commerce/ Jewish Community Federation Office of Recovery Management, City Business Coalition Greater Chattanooga of New Orleans Leadership Council Jewish Family Service OMG Center for Collaborative Vanguard Public Foundation KaBOOM! Learning Vermont Public Radio KID smART Operation HOPE Volunteer Florida Kids in Crisis Project Ortho Biotech Volunteer Houston Kids In Distressed Situations Oxfam America Volunteer Mobile (K.I.D.S.) Appendices 35

GEOGRAPHIC AND PROGRAMMATIC FOCUS Grants arranged by programmatic focus in the ten Gulf Coast cities* in which the greatest numbers of grant recipients are located: New Orleans Jackson Number Number Programmatic Focus of Grants Programmatic Focus of Grants Arts, Culture, and Education 54 Intermediaries 8 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 18 Arts, Culture, and Education 6 Community and Economic Development 18 Women, Children, and Families 6 Intermediaries 16 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 6 Health and Mental Health 15 Community and Economic Development 3 Women, Children, and Families 10 Immediate Disaster Relief 1 Immediate Disaster Relief 7 Aging and Disabled Populations 1 Housing 7 Health and Mental Health 0 Environment 4 Environment 0 Hunger and Poverty 2 Housing 0 Aging and Disabled Populations 1 Hunger and Poverty 0

Baton Rouge Biloxi Number Number Programmatic Focus of Grants Programmatic Focus of Grants Arts, Culture, and Education 13 Immediate Disaster Relief 4 Intermediaries 12 Arts, Culture, and Education 3 Women, Children, and Families 9 Women, Children, and Families 3 Health and Mental Health 7 Health and Mental Health 3 Immediate Disaster Relief 5 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 2 Environment 5 Community and Economic Development 1 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 3 Aging and Disabled Populations 1 Community and Economic Development 2 Environment 1 Hunger and Poverty 2 Intermediaries 0 Housing 0 Housing 0 Aging and Disabled Populations 0 Hunger and Poverty 0

Houston Lake Charles Number Number Programmatic Focus of Grants Programmatic Focus of Grants Immediate Disaster Relief 10 Health and Mental Health 6 Community and Economic Development 10 Immediate Disaster Relief 2 Intermediaries 6 Arts, Culture, and Education 1 Arts, Culture, and Education 5 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 1 Women, Children, and Families 5 Intermediaries 1 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 5 Hunger and Poverty 1 Health and Mental Health 4 Women, Children, and Families 0 Environment 2 Community and Economic Development 0 Housing 2 Aging and Disabled Populations 0 Aging and Disabled Populations 1 Environment 0 Hunger and Poverty 0 Housing 0

*Located in Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas 36 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

Gulfport San Antonio Number Number Programmatic Focus of Grants Programmatic Focus of Grants Health and Mental Health 4 Arts, Culture, and Education 5 Intermediaries 3 Hunger and Poverty 2 Immediate Disaster Relief 2 Intermediaries 1 Community and Economic Development 2 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 1 Women, Children, and Families 1 Health and Mental Health 0 Housing 1 Immediate Disaster Relief 0 Arts, Culture, and Education 0 Women, Children, and Families 0 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 0 Community and Economic Development 0 Hunger and Poverty 0 Housing 0 Aging and Disabled Populations 0 Aging and Disabled Populations 0 Environment 0 Environment 0

Austin Number Programmatic Focus of Grants Arts, Culture, and Education 3 Health and Mental Health 2 Immediate Disaster Relief 2 Women, Children, and Families 2 Hunger and Poverty 1 Intermediaries 0 Community and Economic Development 0 Housing 0 Advocacy, Social Justice, and Equity 0 Aging and Disabled Populations 0 Environment 0 Appendices 37

APPENDIX TWO List of those interviewed

Nonprofit Organizations Community Foundations Collaborative/Collective Efforts NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force Funder List ACORN Baton Rouge Area Foundation Gulf Coast Fund for Community Advocates for Environmental Human Community Foundation of Greater Renewal & Ecological Health Altman Foundation Rights Jackson Gulf Coast Funders for Equity F.B. Heron Foundation AmeriCares Family Foundation of Southwest NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Ford Foundation Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast Louisiana Force New York Community Trust Center for Environmental and Foundation for the Mid South Open Society Institute Economic Justice Greater Jackson Community Others Rockefeller Foundation Coastal Family Health Foundation The Twenty-First Century Enterprise Corporation of the Delta Greater New Orleans Foundation Accenture Foundation Families & Friends of Louisiana’s Gulf Coast Community Foundation American Red Cross Incarcerated Children Louisiana Disaster Recovery Council on Foundations Foundation NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Federation of Southern Cooperatives Forum of Regional Associations Task Force Members Galilee Housing Initiative & CDC of Grantmakers Gulf Restoration Network Affinity Groups Foundation Center AmeriCares Marketumbrella.org Louisiana Association of Nonprofit The John A. Hartford Foundation Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Organizations (LANO) JP Morgan Private Bank Philanthropy Development Corporation Louisiana Family Recovery Corps New York Life Foundation Grantmakers for Children, Youth & Memorial Hospital Foundation McKinsey & Company Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Families Mental Health Association of Mississippi Governor’s Office on Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation Grantmakers for Education Mississippi Recovery & Renewal UJA Federation of NY Grantmakers in Aging Mercy Housing and Human Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund UJA Philanthropy Advisors Development Grantmakers In Health RAND Gulf States Policy Institute Mississippi Center for Justice Hispanics in Philanthropy South Coast Consulting Mississippi Immigrant Rights Native Americans in Philanthropy Alliance Neighborhood Funders Group Mississippi Low-Income Childcare PACE: Philanthropy for Active Civic NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Initiative Engagement Task Force Executive Group Mississippi Workers Center for Women’s Funding Network Human Rights Ronna Brown, President, NYRAG Moore Community Health Center Erica Hunt, Co-Chair, Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force Neighborhood Housing Tamara Kreinin, Interim Executive Association of New Orleans Director, NYRAG Neighborhood Housing Services Mary Jo Mullan, Co-Chair, Gulf New Orleans Neighborhood Coast Recovery Task Force Development Collaborative Oxfam Seedco Southern Mutual Help Association STEPS Coalition Turkey Creek Community Initiatives United Way of South Mississippi Women of the Storm 38 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

APPENDIX THREE Publications and Reports

D. Abramson, R. Garfield, and I. Redlener, The Recovery Mid South Commission to Build Philanthropy, Where Hope Divide: Poverty and the Widening Gap Among Mississippi and History Rhyme: Reflections and Findings from the Mid Children and Families Affected by Hurricane Katrina, South Commission to Build Philanthropy, February 2005. National Center for Disaster Preparedness & The Children’s Health Fund, February 2007. New York Regional Association of Grantmakers, Second Edition of the Donors’ Guide to Gulf Coast Relief & Recovery, L. Bernholz in collaboration with G. Kasper and K. Fulton, December 2007. PolicyLink, Issue Brief: Building a Better Future Matters: Philanthropy Marketplaces: Inventing the New Orleans, August 2007. Future of Community Philanthropy,” Blueprint Research & Design, Inc. and the Monitor Group, Fall 2006. S. Vail, The Calm in the Storm: Women Leaders in Gulf Coast Recovery, Women’s Funding Network and the Ms. European Foundation Center and the Council on Foundation, 2006. Foundations, Disaster Grantmaking: A Practical Guide for Foundations and Corporations, 2007 Edition. M. Wiley, New Orleans Recovery Report Card – October, 2007, The Center for Social Inclusion: A Project of the Tides Foundation Center, Giving in the Aftermath of the Gulf Coast Center, October 2007. Hurricanes: Report on the Foundation and Corporate Response, August 2006. M. Wiley, Triumph Over Tragedy: Leadership, Capacity and Needs in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Foundation Center, Giving in the Aftermath of the Gulf Coast Mississippi After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, The Center for Hurricanes: Update on the Foundation and Corporate Social Inclusion: A Project of the Tides Center, August 2007. Response, August 2007. Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Policy Papers, September 2006. Appendices 39

APPENDIX FOUR NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force Members

Roland V. Anglin Kim Frawley Jim Metzinger Walter Sweet Initiative for Regional and Pfizer Inc. The F.B. Heron Foundation Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Community Transformation Rebecca Freyvogel Ricardo Millett Marlo Tablante Kenneth W. Austin U.S. Chamber of Commerce Association of Black Foundation Goldman, Sachs & Co. Association of Black Foundation Executives (ABFE) Executives (ABFE) Penny Fujiko Willgerodt Jasmine Thomas Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Mary Jo Mullan The New York Community Trust Jessica Bailey The F.B. Heron Foundation Rockefeller Brothers Fund Linetta J. Gilbert Lena Townsend The Ford Foundation Rev. Benjamin The Robert Bowne Foundation Julia Beatty Musoke-Lubega Ellen Greeley Trish Tweedley The Twenty-First Century Parish of Trinity Church Foundation Philanthropy Advisors in the City of New York AmeriCares Charles Bergman Colin Greer Amita Nagaraja Rev. John H. Vaughn The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Inc The New World Foundation The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. The Twenty-First Century Foundation Ronna Brown Erica Hunt Jim O’Sullivan Sarita Venkat NYRAG The Twenty-First Century The John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc. Foundation Council on Foundations Alan Cohen Pat Ostrander Erlin Ibreck Amber Vernon UJA-Federation of New York U.S. Trust, Bank of America Open Society Institute Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation Ligia Cravo Philanthropic Management The William Randolph Hearst Namalie Jayasinghe Chris Park David J. Vidal Foundations Ms. Foundation for Women New York Life Foundation The Conference Board Laura Cronin Billy E. Jones Cari Parsons Megan Watkins Toshiba America Foundation Black Equity Alliance Committee to Encourage JPMorgan Private Bank Rita Domnitz Michele Kahane Corporate Philanthropy Mia White Children’s Health Fund Clinton Global Initiative Wendy Pedowitz Consultant Gary Doran Steven Lawrence New York Life Cheryle Wills United Way of America Foundation Center Alicin Reidy-Williamson Black Equity Alliance Annie Ducmanis Paula Madrid MTV Networks Task Force Staff Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Mailman School of Public Health, Stefanie Rhodes Michael Barrett Columbia University Jewish Funders Network Diana Crawford Randy Fertel Emily MacKenzie The Fertel Foundation Lynn Stekas 40 Best Practices in Disaster Grantmaking

APPENDIX FIVE The NYRAG Gulf Coast Recovery Task Force Learning Forum Series Speakers

LEARNING FORUM 1: Dr. Roland V. Anglin Ashleigh A. Gilbert Randy Roach Voices of the Gulf Coast: Executive Director Vice President Mayor Strategies for Hope Initiative for Regional and JP Morgan Chase Lake Charles, Louisiana Community Transformation Linetta J. Gilbert Brenda Dardar-Robichaux & Change Julia Beatty Program Officer Principal Chief Lauren Anderson Program Officer Ford Foundation United Houma Nation Executive Director Twenty-First Century Foundation Monique Harden Cynthia M. Sarthou Neighborhood Housing Services of Steven Bingler Co-director and Attorney Executive Director New Orleans President Advocates for Environmental Gulf Restoration Network Lorna Bourg Concordia Architecture and Planning Human Rights Warren Simmons President/Executive Director Xavier Bishop Sharon Hanshaw Director Southern Mutual Help Association Mayor Executive Director Annenberg Institute for School Stephen Bradberry Moss Point, Mississippi Coastal Women for Change Reform, Brown University Head Organizer Dr. Edward J. Blakely Erica Hunt Pam Stevens New Orleans ACORN Executive Director for President President Judith A. Browne Recovery Management Twenty-First Century Foundation Consulting NOLA LLC Co-Director City of New Orleans Erlin Ibreck Ashley Kennedy Shelton Advancement Project Gretchen Bonfert Director of Grantmaking Strategies Director of Policy Initiatives Ambassador James A. Joseph Director, Environmental Program Open Society Institute Louisiana Disaster Chairman of the Board McKnight Foundation Alisha Johnson Recovery Foundation Louisiana Disaster Recovery Lorna Bourg Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance Ed Sivak Foundation Executive Director and President Sam Jones Director of Policy and Evaluation Lionel C. McIntyre Southern Mutual Help Association Mayor Enterprise Corporation of the Delta Associate Professor of Urban Planning K.C. Burton Mobile, Alabama Alta Starr Columbia University Senior Associate, Annie E. Steven Lawrence Program Officer Casey Foundation Senior Director of Research Ford Foundation LEARNING FORUM 2: Interim Executive Director, Louisiana Foundation Center Tony Tran Disaster Recovery Foundation Opportunities & Adele Lyons Lead Project Coordinator William J. (Bill) Bynum Challenges: Mental Health Program Director for Louisiana Boat People SOS President and CEO Mississippi Gulf Coast Linda Usdin Needs in the Gulf Coast Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/ John S. & James L. Knight Foundation Project Director Hope Community Credit Union Raymond Jetson Jason Mackenzie Initiative for Regional and Chief Executive Officer Victoria Cintra Executive Director Community Transformation Louisiana Family Recovery Corps Outreach Organizer North Gulfport Community Rev. John H. Vaughn Jerome Gibbs Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance Land Trust Program Director Executive Director Rosana Cruz Richard McCarthy Twenty-First Century Foundation Metropolitan Human Services District ld Coordinator Fie Executive Director Reverend Father Gerri Hobdy National Immigration Law Center marketumbrella.org Vien Thé Nguyen Director of Grantmaking Pam Dashiell C. Ray Nagin Mary Queen of Vietnam Baton Rouge Area Foundation resident P Mayor Catholic Church Holy Cross Neighborhood Association Susan Levin New Orleans, Louisiana Alandra L. Washington Executive Director Mark S. Davis M. von Nkosi Program Director Philanthropy Houston Galveston Institute Director Senior Advisor for Equitable and Volunteerism Institute on Water Resources Law Grayson Norquist Development W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Policy, Tulane Law School Professor and Chairman of the City of New Orleans Office of Orlando C. Watkins Department of Psychiatry Thomas H. Davis Jr. Planning & Development Vice President and Human Behavior Executive Director Bernadette Orr Greater New Orleans Foundation University of Mississippi Community Foundation Program Manager David J. Utter Medical Center of South Alabama Oxfam America Former Director Michelle DePass Juliet Page Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana LEARNING FORUM 3: rogram Officer P Interim Program Officer Betty Weiss Ford Foundation Funders Forum on Greater New Orleans Foundation Director Sustainable Gulf Coast Annie Ducmanis Paul Pastorek Community Initiatives Project Manager Transformation Superintendent of Education Mia White Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Ivye L. Allen State of Louisiana Consultant Rev. Tyronne Edwards Saundra Reed Initiative for Regional and President Executive Director Community Transformation Foundation for the Mid South Co-chair Zion Traveler Cooperative Center of Central City Renaissance Alliance Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana

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