The Gulf Coast Fund is a collaborative, pooled fund created weeks after Hurricane Katrina and housed at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. The Fund is committed to supporting work that focuses on environment, social justice, human rights, and rebuilding civil society capacity in the region to ensure that communities are healthy, equitable, and sustainable. At its core is an “Advisory Group” of two dozen leading policy advocates, community activists and grassroots organizers from Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas representing a broad swath of constituencies, geographies and issues. These Advisors play a central role in informing the Fund’s grantmaking priorities and policies, and in directing the Fund’s resources.
Since 2005, the Fund has distributed nearly $3,000,000 to over 150 community-led, grassroots organizations from across the Gulf Coast. The Fund supports grassroots and advocacy organizations that are led by and address the needs of historically disenfranchised communities in the region—such as the African American and immigrant communities—and organizations that engage in work that encompasses environmental health and justice, civic engagement, voting rights, labor rights, housing, health care, youth services and education, and many other issues.
The contributions the Fund has made in the areas of movement-building and networking are as important as the Fund’s financial support to non-profits. The Fund seeks to provide opportunities for grantees to forge networks, make new connections and strengthen prior relationships, as well as increasing their capacity and effectiveness as organizations. The Gulf Coast Fund has created one of the most extensive networks of grassroots and community based organizations in the region, and is working to strengthen this network and increase the capacity of these organizations in many ways.
In addition to supporting grassroots leadership, The Gulf Coast Fund is working to highlight philanthropic investment opportunities in the South, and increase the understanding that some of the most important struggles for the future of our democracy are taking place within the region.
Current efforts in light of the BP Oil Drilling Disaster:
The Gulf Coast Fund is working to identify and galvanize resources and support for coastal communities affected by the BP Oil Drilling Disaster. Its goal is to raise $100,000 in the next 30 days for support of community-led first response initiatives, and to establish a fund of up to $1,000,000 to address the long-term effects of this disaster. It has already distributed a portion of its own emergency grant reserves. The goals of the first round of emergency grants are: (1) to coordinate and enhance the work on the ground being led by coastal communities; (2) to reduce the duplication of efforts; and (3) to encourage joint collaboration across the region.
- Location: Home office: New York, NY
- Visit the website: gulfcoastfund.org