Baton Rouge Area Foundation

As Gulf Coast communities face growing challenges, collaboration is key to building resilience.

The Community Foundation Resilience Network convened for a two-day, in-person meeting last week, hosted by BRAF.

The network is comprised of four Gulf Coast community foundations: Greater New Orleans Foundation, BRAF, Greater Houston Community Foundation and The Community Foundation of South Alabama. With support from the Gulf Research Program at the National Academies of Sciences, the group collaborates to strengthen proactive disaster resilience.

During the meeting, attendees shared progress from their first year of work, discussed potential future projects and visited local sites connected to resilience efforts in Baton Rouge. Activities included a bus tour of Baton Rouge stormwater and public-private redevelopment sites, as well as a visit to The Water Institute to tour the Mississippi River physical model.

The gathering offered an opportunity to exchange ideas, learn from regional partners and explore how collaboration can help Gulf Coast communities prepare for future challenges.

An empty field in New Orleans is on its way to becoming a source of clean energy for hundreds of families.

John O’Donnell, BRAF’s community resilience officer, recently attended a strategy workshop with Together New Orleans to begin coordinating around the city’s near-term energy and resilience pipeline.

The session included a site visit to the Dwyer Road Community Solar Project, which is on its way to becoming a community solar farm. Pelican Community Capital, a supporting organization of the Foundation, is serving as the construction lender for the project.

Once complete, the Dwyer Road solar farm is expected to serve roughly 650 low-income households in Orleans Parish. It is one of 16 Community Solar projects in the broader New Orleans pipeline Together New Orleans is working to deliver.

This work reflects the power of community-led partnerships to expand clean energy access and strengthen resilience across Louisiana.

What could downtown Baton Rouge look like in the years ahead?

Eric Dexter, vice president of civic leadership initiatives at BRAF, appeared on Mornings with Brian Haldane last week to discuss the evolving long-term vision for downtown Baton Rouge outlined in Plan Baton Rouge III.

Eric outlined the plan’s focus areas and major project proposals, shaped by months of community engagement. He also emphasized key recommendations, challenges, and next steps, including ideas to transform the downtown riverfront into a pedestrian-friendly gathering place.

Listen to the full interview to learn more about what’s ahead for downtown Baton Rouge at the link in the comments.

This past Wednesday, our Development Fellows explored the world of major gifts with Erik Showalter, President of the Baton Rouge General Foundation.

The session offered practical insight into donor strategy, relationship-building and the art of making a compelling ask, helping fellows better understand how major gifts can advance an organization’s mission and strengthen its impact.

Thank you to Erik for sharing his expertise with this year’s cohort!

Last week, the Foundation invited our affiliates, the Northshore Community Foundation and Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana, to BRAF’s office for an Enterprise-wide meeting.

The gathering offered time to connect, share ideas, and learn from one another as our organizations continue to strengthen the work we do across Louisiana.

Through breakout sessions, teams exchanged practical tools for workflow management, dove into the world of AI, learned how to spot and reduce burnout in the workplace, and more.

We are grateful for the chance to come together and strengthen the partnerships that help us better serve our communities.

What does it take for more families in East Baton Rouge Parish to move from getting by to getting ahead?

Last week BRAF and Common Good Labs unveiled the latest Opportunity Data Project briefing at a public event that convened community members, partners, and local leaders. This new release, titled "Prosperous Families: Enhancing Economic Mobility in East Baton Rouge Parish" provides an in-depth examination of the data shaping family prosperity in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The report emphasizes the critical factors that contribute to long-term family stability, including access to stable employment, quality education, affordable housing, and dependable childcare. Among the key findings: approximately 45% of local families with children live in poverty or near-poverty, highlighting the urgent need for effective, practical strategies to boost economic mobility.

Guests heard key findings from Brenna Benson Lamb, BRAF’s chief operating officer, and Rhett Morris, partner at Common Good Labs. The presentation was followed by a riverside chat featuring Stephen Barnes, executive director of the Kathleen Babineaux Blanco Public Policy Center; George Bell, president and CEO of Capital Area United Way - Baton Rouge, and Lori Melancon, former president and CEO of Greater Baton Rouge Economic Partnership.

We appreciate everyone who attended this special event, and we extend our thanks to our panelists for their valuable insights.

Read the full report and other ODP briefings at OpportunityBTR.org.

Strong board leadership can help shape a nonprofit’s fundraising culture.

Our recent Nonprofit Board Chair Fellows session, Empowering Board Chairs: Creating a Culture of Fundraising, was led by Kay Irby and focused on the board chair’s important role in supporting strong, sustainable fundraising efforts.

Fellows explored tools and strategies for ensuring adequate resources, building a fundraising board, understanding funding and finances, evaluating the return on fundraising activities, and strengthening solicitation efforts. The session also covered key topics such as gift acceptance policies, legal compliance, fundraising readiness, and how to craft an elevator pitch that resonates.

Thank you to Kay Irby for guiding a thoughtful and practical conversation on how board chairs can help advance their organization’s mission through confident, strategic fundraising.

Learn more about BRAF’s fellowships at braf.org/nonprofits.

Today we’re celebrating John O’Donnell’s one-year anniversary at the Foundation! 🎉

As our community resilience officer, John leads cross-sector efforts to expand access to clean energy across Louisiana. His work helps build public-private systems that support climate resilience, household savings, workforce opportunity, and long-term infrastructure investment, especially in frontline communities.

We are grateful for John’s leadership and proud to have him on our team. Please join us in congratulating him on one year at BRAF!

After more than a year of community engagement and thoughtful ideation, Plan Baton Rouge III has finally been release to the public!

The bold, actionable vision for the future of downtown Baton Rouge incorporated feedback from thousands of people across the capital area. Recommendations in the plan focus on reconnecting downtown to the Mississippi River, expanding housing and economic opportunity, strengthening neighborhood life, and improving mobility and access in the downtown core.

We invite you to read the plan at braf.org/news or visit the link in the comments.

Adrian Owen Jones of Success Labs recently led BRAF’s Development Fellows in a practical conversation on prospect research.

During the session, fellows explored how to identify and prioritize potential supporters by focusing on engagement, affinity, and capacity. The conversation offered a helpful reminder that an organization’s strongest prospects are often already connected to its work.

Explore the professional fellowships offered by the Foundation at braf.org/nonprofits.