Baton Rouge Area Foundation ("The Foundation") is a community foundation dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Louisiana's capital region, and is registered with the IRS as a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit organization. Since inception, the Foundation has granted over $650 million.
In addition to grants, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation has launched community initiatives projects. The Foundation has partnered with local government and businesses to revive downtown Baton Rouge. It underwrote a master plan for downtown, renovated an abandoned hotel and built more than 200 apartment units in the city center. Other civic projects include developing The Water Campus, a place dedicated to provide water science and management to imperiled communities around the world; improved services for people with mental health and addiction issues; the creation of a master plan for preserving the City Park lakes system; and launching New Schools for Baton Rouge to draw the best charter schools to Baton Rouge.
History
In 1964, a group of 12 Baton Rouge business leaders created the Foundation to raise money and purchase land for the Gulf South Research Institute (GSRI) to locate offices in Baton Rouge. Since then, the Foundation has pursued its work by connecting donors to the causes they care most about.
In assets, BRAF is now ranked among the top 50 community foundations in the country in an annual survey by the Columbus Foundation.
Responding to Hurricane Katrina
The foundation's grant making teams performed hundreds of assessments, identified pressing needs for displaced residents, and issued over $600,000 in emergency grants to aid organizations and shelters within 10 days of Hurricane Katrina making landfall. During the recovery, it continued to help displaced residents by providing funding for basic human needs, physical and mental health, education, and employment.
Baton Rouge City Stats
A project launched by the foundation in 2008 uses Economic indicators] to measure the quality of life in East Baton Rouge, to help created a shared vision among residents. The project uses a total of 50 quality-of-life indicators that measure categories such as economy, education, public safety, and health. CityStats is funded by the Foundation, its donors, and members.
North Shore Community Foundation
The Northshore Community Foundation was established in January 2007 with financial assistance from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. It is run by an independent board of directors representing St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Livingston and St. Helena parishes.
Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana
The foundation provides financial support for the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, which is operated by an independent board based in Lake Charles, Louisiana. It serves five parishes (counties) - Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jefferson Davis.
Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence
The Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence is an annual literary award that recognizes an emerging African-American author of fiction. The book award honors the accomplishments of Gaines, a Louisiana native and resident. Past winners include Jacinda Townsend, Nathan Harris, Gabriel Bump, Bryan Washington, Jamel Brinkley, Ladee Hubbard, Crystal Wilkinson, T. Geronimo Johnson, Mitchell S. Jackson, Attica Locke, Stephanie Powell Watts, Dinaw Mengestu, Victor LaValle, Jeffrey R. Allen, Ravi Howard, and Olympia Vernon. The winners receive a $15,000 cash prize.
University/City Park Lakes
The Foundation underwrote the master plan to preserve and beautify the City Park lakes. With local government and state partners, the Foundation helped raised $50 million to implement the first phase of the project.
New Schools for Baton Rouge
The foundation and its donors created New Schools for Baton Rouge, a nonprofit to recruit and provide resources to charter schools. It is working to improve failed schools that were taken over by the state of Louisiana.
Structure
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is governed by directors who are appointed for three-year terms. Members may serve two consecutive terms, after which they must rotate off for at least one year. The board has fifteen at-large directors elected by the members. The immediate past board chair serves as a member of the executive committee and member of the Board, as does the chief executive officer of the foundation. Founding chair John W. Barton Sr. has a permanent seat as chair emeritus on the board and its executive committee.