Philanthropy Front and Center-Atlanta

Hurricane Katrina: Where Did the Money Go?

Despite my aching legs and feet from all of the walking, my husband and I had a blast celebrating our fifth anniversary in New Orleans. I thought four years would be enough time to rebuild homes and fix the damaged ones. Instead, I found myself wondering, “Where did the money go?” 
 

The Foundation Center attempts to answer this question in its newly released report: Giving in the Aftermath of the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricanes (2007-2009). According to the report, economic and community development has now “captured the largest share of ongoing foundation support dollars (24 percent) and the second largest share of grants (18 percent).” This represents a shift in the focus of service providers and grantmakers from immediate relief to recovery and rebuilding.  You can find this report and a wealth of other information at the Focus on Gulf Coast Hurricane Relief area of our web site.

I’m glad this shift is taking place. When I toured the Ninth Ward, I saw a sea of abandoned homes, empty home lots, battered FEMA trailers, and makeshift signs of remembrance and pleas for help. I was sorely disappointed and hurt to see what little had been done to rebuild the area, so I am glad to see that grantmakers are now more aggressively directing funds to rebuilding those communities.

Although rehabilitation will take years, I saw evidence of glaring success initiated by celebrities. The tour guide showed us Brad Pitt’s housing development from his Make It Right Foundation New Orleans. We also saw the Musician’s Village, a powerful partnership between Branford Marsalis, Harry Connick, Jr., and Habitat for Humanity. It was refreshing to see these new communities being reconstructed.
 
Now that I have seen parts of the aftermath with my own eyes, I realize that I probably wouldn’t have been near the Ninth Ward had I traveled to New Orleans prior to Katrina, unless I was visiting someone.
 
You would never know the devastation that wrecked the city if you stay downtown or in the Quarter. When you don’t have to look at the devastation daily, it’s easy to ignore the fact that more help is needed in less affluent areas. Even though billions have been donated, affected parts of the city still have a long way to go to rebuild.
 
Here is how you can help.

Asia M. Hadley, Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta

Reinventing Mississippi Conference

I attended the Mississippi Center for Nonprofit’s “Reinventing Mississippi” conference last week and found there were several valuable sessions for the nonprofits in attendance.  Here are just a few of the topics covered: “More than Money: Tapping the Corporate Pool” which had practical ideas on how to effectively ask for and use corporate volunteers; “Telling Your Story through Outcomes Measurement” which covered learning how to measure changes in clients' lives in a meaningful way; and  “Nontraditional Marketing Alternatives in Today's High-tech Environment” to learn how to make your marketing message stand out from the many messages received by your potential clients and funders.  

State associations of nonprofits, such as the Mississippi Center for Nonprofits and the Georgia Center for Nonprofits, are great resources for nonprofits.  According to the National Council of Nonprofits these state groups represent all types and sizes of charitable organizations and work with state and national partners to help local nonprofits:

• Manage and lead more effectively.
• Collaborate and exchange solutions.
• Save money through group buying opportunities.
• Engage in critical policy issues affecting the sector.
• Achieve greater impact in their communities.

You may want to find out about the state association of nonprofits in your state; there is a list of those in the southeast at the Community Resources area of our web site. For other states, you can check the locator at the National Council of Nonprofits web site.

Joanne Kepics, Regional Training Coordinator, Foundation Center-Atlanta
 

Interactive Maps and Charts for Gulf Coast Hurricane Giving

Focus on Gulf Coast Hurricane Giving is the first in a special, regularly recurring series that the Foundation Center has designed to give you fast facts, visual snapshots, and related news and research about current news events or timely topical issues, in time for the third anniversary of the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Use our interactive maps and charts to explore more than 4,000 grants, totaling over $800 million awarded to more than 1,900 recipients for Katrina- and Rita-related relief and recovery efforts. These tools illustrate the geographic areas and types of services and organizations that received this support. Drill down by state, county, city, ZIP code, or three levels of giving category to zoom in on the individual grants that went to help those affected by the hurricanes.

You can also see related research and news summaries that we've published since 2005. Please see this guide for full details on what you can access in this special interactive feature.

[Note: We are experiencing high web traffic with this online feature, so the direct links above may be slow to load. You may be able to access these pages more quickly from our home page. We apologize for this inconvenience.]

Comments? Suggestions? Let us know what you think!

Sandy Pon, Reference Librarian, Atlanta office