(HOUMA) The Bayou Community Foundation (BCF) today announced grants totaling $220,020 to 29 Terrebonne and Lafourche non-profit organizations as part of the foundation’s fifth annual competitive grants program. This is BCF’s highest number of grants awarded in one year and the highest dollar amount of grants awarded in the organization’s five-year history.
The grants will fund innovative programs that fill critical needs in our community such as mental health counseling and treatment, food and medicine for the poor and elderly, support services for at-risk youth, housing rehabilitation for residents of flood-prone areas, books for pre-school children, and job training and worker placement.
“Since the birth of BCF five years ago, this foundation has been focused on building and sustaining our Lafourche, Terrebonne and Grand Isle communities by supporting local nonprofits that help our neighbors in need, provide educational opportunities to residents, and work to preserve our valuable coast. Today is an annual day of celebration for BCF as we award grants for nonprofits that are changing people’s lives for the better and making our entire Bayou Region an even better place to call home. We are blessed to have these and hundreds of other nonprofits in our community providing critical services that government and private industry simply cannot or will not provide,” said BCF Chairman Dr. James Leonard.
“We always say that Lafourche, Terrebonne and Grand Isle are special communities, and our BCF grants ceremony today demonstrates just how special our region truly is. In these challenging economic times, with the number of local residents in need of assistance growing rapidly, men and women across our area have opened their hearts and their pocketbooks to help sustain critical nonprofit programs with one gift to BCF. It is this tremendous generosity that allows BCF to provide these impactful grants to 29 organizations this year and we are truly grateful for the support of our BCF donors who make this possible,” Leonard explained.
Full list of 2017 BCF Grantees
BCF was established in 2012 by Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish residents who, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the 2010 Gulf oil spill, recognized the need for a community foundation to strengthen our area and to attract national and international assistance in the event of a future emergency or natural disaster.
Gifts from the Gheens Foundation, local family foundations, and other generous local donors support BCF’s grant-making program, focused on addressing the region’s most critical needs. Since 2013, BCF has awarded $782,270 in competitive grants to local nonprofits working in human services, education, workforce development, and coastal preservation. The organization also offers workshops for nonprofit organizations, coordinates GiveNOLA Day for the Bayou Region, and conducts Community Needs Assessments.