NEW YORK—Gulf Coast nonprofits working to rebuild and vitalize their communities are getting another boost from the Open Society Institute. The foundation today announced a second round of grants to aid local recovery efforts to strengthen social justice and encourage displaced and low-income residents to participate in shaping public policy.
OSI’s latest commitment to the region, $1,075,000, supports seven community-based non-profits working to reform the criminal justice system, increase civic participation among displaced residents, and provide analysis of how tax and budget policies affect low-and moderate-income families, among others.
“OSI’s efforts to strengthen communities in the Gulf region are guided by the counsel of people from the affected areas,” said Erlin Ibreck, director of grantmaking strategies at the Open Society Institute. “OSI is committed to supporting policy and recovery efforts that place the social and economic needs of displaced people at the forefront.”
Today’s announcement of support to Gulf Coast communities, totaling $1.89 million since the storm, will be followed by a third round of funding this summer when OSI announces the winners of the Katrina Media Fellowships, a special journalism competition. The one-time media grants will support exceptional print and radio journalists, photographers, documentary filmmakers, and youth media organizations to help foster a national conversation on race and class inequalities that the storms laid bare.
In January, OSI announced an initial $815,000 to support eight frontline nonprofits working to restore communities affected by the storm. OSI’s investment in the region is part of a wider effort to strengthen communities in the United States and around the world. Over the past decade, OSI has spent some $742 million in the U.S. to support human rights, access to justice, education, palliative care, professionalism in law and medicine, and to ensure the inclusion of everyone in the democratic process.
Grantees
The following organizations received funding to help restore communities in the Gulf region:
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN): $150,000 to help rebuild ACORN’s national and New Orleans-based operations and to organize low- and moderate-income Katrina survivors to advocate for transparency, direct support on housing issues, consumer protections, and monitoring voting rights.
Advancement Project / Post-Hurricane Katrina Enfranchisement Project: $150,000 to partner with organizations in the affected region and throughout the country to stimulate debate around displaced residents' rights to return, repair their property, voice their opinions, and obtain employment.
Center for Nonprofit Resources & Community Data / New Orleans Community Network: $200,000 to develop the New Orleans Community Network, the Orleans Parish section of the www.LouisianaRebuilds.info website. The site provides vital information to help displaced residents participate and have a voice in rebuilding their communities and is a resource to city and state government.
Center for Social Inclusion: $125,000 to organize low-income communities impacted by the storm as well as local and national groups to advocate for effective policy reform that will encourage equity and opportunities in the rebuilding efforts.
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta / Mississippi Economic Policy Center: $200,000 to provide analyses of how budget and tax policies affect low- and moderate-income families.
Innocence Project New Orleans: $50,000 to help the organization rebuild after the storm and resume research and investigations to overturn wrongful convictions in Louisiana and Mississippi.
Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations / Louisiana Budget Project: $200,000 to work with business owners, community leaders, elected officials, and advocacy organizations to provide timely research and analysis on the evolving fiscal and budget debate in Louisiana, with an emphasis on how trends affect low- and moderate-income families.
# # #