Grant Makers Take Array of Approaches to Gulf Grant Making

Grant makers are taking a variety of approaches to helping the Gulf Coast region recover from Hurricane Katrina.

Some philanthropies are giving local community foundations and national charities money that they

can distribute to needy causes, while other foundations are supporting advocacy and research projects or making grants to give community leaders a brief respite from the demands of dealing with the recovery effort.

And with the understanding that many nonprofit groups were literally swamped, many foundations have streamlined their grant-making process by requiring less paperwork and documentation of results.

Hiring Experts

Searching for fresh approaches to grant making following the hurricane led the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in Princeton, N.J., to make grants to three health-care experts who have local connections in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

“They knew the players and helped us differentiate who was real and who wasn’t, and helped design our philanthropy in a way that would have an impact,” says John R. Lumpkin, a senior vice president at the foundation.

The three consultants also helped the foundation ensure the grants would be welcome.

“We felt we were in particular danger of doing things which were intended to be good but, because we didn’t understand the local conditions and local players, could be disruptive,” he says.

Among the $11.5-million the foundation has committed to the region is a $250,000 grant to the Hurricane Fund for the Elderly, established by Grantmakers in Aging, a Dayton, Ohio, group that represents foundations from across the country.

The group usually does not make grants but officials there felt the special needs of the elderly were being overlooked.

“There were more funds set up for pets than for the elderly,” says Carol A. Farquhar, the group’s executive director. “There is no one who is a bigger pet lover than I am, but there is a problem here.”

The Atlantic Philanthropies, in New York, contributed nearly half the fund’s $2-million total. Last month the first round of grants were distributed, including several for developing emergency resources and evacuation plans for the elderly.

Supporting Journalists

Like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Open Society Institute, in New York, is focusing some grants on individuals, not on charities.

In June the foundation awarded $950,000 to 31 journalists for investigative projects that focus on racism, poverty, and government neglect. “We have failed to build on the opening Katrina provided to really have a conversation in this country about the continuing existence of poverty and the continuing legacy of racism,” says Gara LaMarche, the institute’s vice president. “These fellowships could help us return to some of those issues. This work could spark a lot of those conversations.”

While a new survey by the Foundation Center, in New York, reported that four-fifths of foundations had completed grant making for hurricane needs, some charity leaders remain optimistic about more support.

“I don’t think they want to keep pouring money into this area if they don’t see anything getting done,” says Michael Rubinger, president of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, in New York, which is working with groups on the Gulf Coast to develop housing. “But if they see things getting done and expectations being met, funding will continue.”