Page Tools

A number of Mott Foundation grantees have been severely impacted by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Grantees also have been involved in helping to organize assistance for survivors. Mott Foundation staffers have written two features and conducted several interviews with grantees and others affected by the hurricanes. A summary and links for each are provided here:

• Group moves quickly to reconnect, organize Astrodome residents: The Metropolitan Organization, a Houston-based community group of churches, schools and other organizations, was integrally involved in helping to re-settle 25,000 men, women and children displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
• Organizing brings social entrepreneurship to New Orleans: The national headquarters of ACORN, an international organizing network of more than 175,000 members, was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The New Orleans chapter of ACORN was instrumental in helping to organize assistance to families in New Orleans impacted by the hurricane.
• A conversation with Mark Davis, executive director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana: Mark Davis was left homeless after Hurricane Katrina. In a conversation with Mott Communications Officer Maggie Jaruzel, Davis talks about the physical and emotional toll Katrina took on the region and its residents. [Note: to download a PDF of the entire conversation click here.]
• Mott Foundation Program Officer Christine Doby discusses community organizing and social entrepreneurship: Cris Doby manages Mott’s grantmaking for community organizing. In a conversation with Communications Officer Duane Elling, Doby talks about the contributions social entrepreneurs and community organizers make during times of disaster.