Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health Announces Second Cycle of Grants Awarded by Panel of Community Leaders
Collaborative initiative convened by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors awards $250,000 to organizations providing direct support to Gulf Coast revitalization
NEW YORK (July 24, 2006) – Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors today announced seventeen grants from its Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health (“the Fund”) that were awarded by panels composed of Gulf Coast community leaders. The grants, which totaled $250,000, were awarded to organizations in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia addressing such issues as housing and urban planning; needs of hurricane survivors and the diaspora; youth; culture and arts; worker and day laborer rights; and environment, health and green rebuilding.
The Fund is a special collaborative initiative created by local community leaders and experienced grantmakers to support the revitalization of the Gulf Coast. This is the second grant cycle awarded by the panel of local leaders. Since its inception in September 2005, the Fund has awarded nearly $700,000 in grants.
“The Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health is an important way that the philanthropic community is responding to the devastation wrought by hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” said Melissa A. Berman, president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. “Working with local community leaders is key to addressing the underlying problems that would prevent the sustainable and just redevelopment of the Gulf Coast region. We’re pleased that in a relatively short time, we have been able to make grants that will have a marked impact on achieving the goals of sustainable redevelopment and building community-based regional power that can inform and influence policy on all levels.”
The grantees include:
- Alliance for Affordable Energy
- Center for Environmental and Economic Justice
- Common Ground Worker Education Project
- Community Advocacy, Research and Education, Inc.
- Gert Town Revival Initiative
- Grand Bayou Community United
- JuneBug Productions, Inc.
- Kids Rethinking New Orleans’ Schools
- Lighthouse Community Development Corporation
- Louisiana Bayoukeeper
- Louisiana Interchurch Conference
- Mary Queen of Vietnam Community Development Corporation
- People’s Organizing Committee
- New Orleans Kids Camera Project
- Portersville Revival Group
- Southwest Workers Union
- US Human Rights Network
Founded in 2005 by 13 donors, the Fund is overseen by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors professionals who donate their time in the grantmaking and outreach process. Founding donors include the Agua, Beldon, Dome, John Merck and Rockefeller Brothers Funds; the Ford, Jenifer Altman, Johnson Family, Mitchell Kapor, Nathan Cummings and Park Foundations; and The New York Community Trust.
The Fund’s Advisory Group is comprised of a cross-section of Gulf Coast community leaders who advise on Fund strategies, policies and identify needs on an ongoing basis; the Advisory Group used its local perspective to make recommendations to Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which is ultimately responsible for the final decisions.
Members of the Advisory Board include:
Sharon Alexis
Katrina House of Care
New Orleans, LA
Dr. Regina Benjamin
BayouClinic
Bayou La Batre, AL
Bishop James Black
Ctr. for Environmental and Economic Justice
Biloxi, MS
Elodia Blanco
Concerned Citizens of Agriculture St. Landfill
Tickfaw, LA
Stephen Bradberry
New Orleans ACORN
New Orleans, LA
LaTosha Brown
Saving OurSelves Coalition
Mobile, AL
Victoria Cintra/Sue Weishar
Mississippi Immigrants Rights Alliance
Jackson, MS
Johanna Congleton
Physicians for Social Responsibility - Louisiana
New Orleans, LA
Pam Dashiell
Holy Cross Neighborhood Association
New Orleans, LA
Scott Douglas
Greater Birmingham Ministries
Birmingham, AL
Derrick Evans
Turkey Creek Community Initiatives
Gulfport, MS
Joe Forte, Jr.
Citizen of Chalmette
St. Bernard, LA
Shana Griffin
INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence and
The Women’s Health & Justice Initiative
New Orleans, LA
Monique Harden
Advocates for Environmental Human Rights
New Orleans, LA
Jaribu Hill
MS Workers Center for Human Rights
Greenville, MS
Derrick Johnson
MS-NAACP
Jackson, MS
Rose Johnson
No. Gulfport Community Land Trust
Gulfport, MS
Brenda Robichaux
United Houma Nation
Raceland, LA
Wilma Subra
Subra Company
New Iberia, LA
Huy Bui
National Alliance of Vietnamese American Service Agencies
Silver Spring, MD
Aaron Viles
Gulf Restoration Network
New Orleans, LA
Angela Winfrey-Bowman
People’s Institute for Survival & Beyond
New Orleans, LA
Beverly Wright
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
Baton Rouge, LA
“The 54 grants we have awarded since March are illustrations of the scope of needs still unmet in the Gulf Coast region,” said Penny Fujiko Willgerodt, a vice president of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors who is overseeing the Fund. “Deep involvement of community leaders who bring to the process diverse perspectives allows the Fund to take important steps in addressing these needs and to have a lasting impact on the region.”
Applications for the next cycle of grantees are due in early October 2006 and will be announced in November. Organizations interested in submitting grant proposals can obtain more information on the Fund’s Web site (http://rockpa.org/gulfcoastfund/rfp/)