Looking to Help and Finding Friends

In 2006, the Gulf South Allied Funders (GSAF) and The Twenty-First Century Foundation (21CF) launched a partnership to ensure that financial resources get to the people and communities who need them most through 21CF’s Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund. The guiding principle of this collaboration is that monies raised are not a substitute for responsible local, state, and federal government programs which need to be held accountable.

Gulf South Allied Funders was formed through the efforts of nine young white donors with ties to Resource Generation who were joined by members of the Women Donors Network and Threshold Foundation . Together, this volunteer alliance of donors is working with 21CF to bring in additional partners, allies, and individual donors in order to generate a minimum of three years of steady financial support for the equitable rebuilding of the Gulf Coast region. 21CF was chosen as GSAF’s organizational partner because of our work in the Black community and long-standing presence in the South as well as our access to communities of color at all levels. Our relationships with past grantees and our ability to distribute funds quickly, plus our determination to ensure that grants for relief, recovery, and advocacy provide a voice for all people regardless of race or class, were also deciding factors in forming this partnership.

21CF is proud to report that GSAF reached their goal of raising $1 Million in 2006 for the Hurricane Katrina Recovery Fund.This wonderful news was announced on January 29, 2007, when the 21CF/GSAF partnership held its first evaluation session. Additionally, there were discussions on:

The fact that these three donor networks came together for the first time for a common goal is important. Of equal significance is the nature of this multi-racial partnership, with primarily White networks standing with a national Black foundation.