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What is the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and how did it begin?
How does LDRF differ from the two other funds established by Governor Blanco?
Where does LDRF receive its funding?
How much support has LDRF raised?
How will the foundation go about giving out the successive grants? Are there planned grant cycles?
How much of these funds go to running LDRF?
Which foundations are part of this collaboration?
What is the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and how did it begin?
The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) was established in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in September 2005. Authorized by Louisiana Governor Babineaux Blanco as an independent and nonpartisan organization, its initial funding of approximately $13 million dollars came exclusively from the unprecedented outpouring of donations from everyday people from around the world.
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How does LDRF differ from the two other funds established by Governor Blanco?
Governor Blanco created two other nonprofit funds in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Louisiana Family Recovery Corps (LFRC) provides direct case management services to displaced families throughout the state of Louisiana. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is a government body that works with federal agencies and coordinates initiatives to rebuild the physical infrastructure of the state.
The Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation was incorporated as a private foundation designed to support and work with private, nonprofit organizations engaged in recovery efforts. It exists to provide flexible philanthropic capital that can ably be deployed to meet needs that government cannot – or will not – address. These private funds, used well, will enhance and leverage the impact of LRA and government funds.
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Where does LDRF receive its funding?
First funding came and continues to come from everyday people from around the nation and the world. Additional support has come from corporations, grants from national foundations, and the Bush/Clinton Katrina Fund.
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How much support has LDRF raised?
Over 5,000 donors from around the world contributed close to $13 million to LDRF. Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund awarded $24.4 million, and we are in the process of raising $3 million for three-years of operating support. We are raising separate operating support from private foundations so that 100 percent of the money raised from private donations goes to relief, recovery and betterment in the Rita- and Katrina-affected areas of Louisiana.
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How will the foundation go about giving out the successive grants? Are there planned grant cycles?
LDRF does not have planned cycles because we want to be as responsive as possible to requests for relief, recovery and betterment. LDRF’s board decided to have an open, rolling grant cycle.
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How much of these funds go to running LDRF?
None of the donated funds is used for LDRF’s administration. As a result of a unique collaboration among a number of the nation’s largest foundations, LDRF is able to use 100 percent of the monies received from citizen donations to accomplish its mission and goals. All operating expenses are covered by a percentage of the funding from the foundations.
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Which foundations are part of this collaboration?
Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
