07/18/2006
Philanthropists seek capital for recovery and redevelopment.
Nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast, philanthropic leaders are seeking new ways to ensure that recovery efforts meet the long-term needs of those affected.
Panelists at the Voices of the Gulf Coast: Strategies for Hope and Change forum, held last week in New York, stressed the need for ongoing assistance to the region. They said that while millions of dollars have been donated, much of it went toward immediate relief for hurricane victims. The focus now is on recovery and reform, and the event’s organizers want to set in motion grants that will sustain Gulf Coast redevelopment for the years to come.
According to James Joseph, former ambassador to South Africa and now chairman of the board of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, many foundations need to reorganize their grant-making objectives. “It’s not just about meeting needs, but about promoting change,” he said in a speech at the forum. “It needs to be less deliberate and more functional.”
Joseph, a past president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, says organizations need to utilize both conventional and intellectual capital. “Private foundations should be using their social capital to strengthen the nonprofit sector,” he said, “but they must also help increase community discourse and provide not just money, but knowledge and access to networks.”
Panelists unanimously called for foundations to contribute more than just financial support. They want corporations to use their reputational capital to influence policy change. The best way to help, they say, is to make sure a disaster like Katrina does not happen again.
The forum was organized by the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers and the UJA Federation of New York.
—Tim Chan