August 6, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
In the years since Hurricane Katrina struck, the Mississippi Center for Justice has coordinated hundreds of volunteers from law firms and lawyers’ groups across the country to help hurricane survivors apply for government assistance, negotiate with insurance companies, establish title to their homes, and deal with other legal problems related to the storm.
For the first two to three years after the storm, the organization was able to secure grants by talking to foundations about their “Katrina work,” says Martha Bergmark, chief executive of the Jackson, Miss., organization.
The center has since had to change its pitch to those foundations and other donors by focusing on the content of the group’s programs and how they benefit local residents.
