Grantmakers in the News

The Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund announced in January the specific amounts of its initial allocations to relief and recovery funds in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

The allocations — $24.4 million for Louisiana, $12.2 million for Mississippi, and $3.2 million for Alabama — will be disbursed in stages to the three states over the coming months after the fund receives and approves detailed plans for the distribution and oversight of the money within each state. The awards are based on the percentage of applications — 61 percent in Louisiana, 31 percent in Mississippi, and 8 percent in Alabama — submitted by individuals and approved by FEMA in each state.

The announcement comes just one month after the fund announced $30 million in grants to Gulf region higher education institutions devastated by Hurricane Katrina, $20 million in grants to be awarded through a partnership with local and regional faith-based organizations, and its intention to disburse $40 million to the three states that suffered the most damage from Katrina.

"As we all know, the needs of the people in the Gulf region are great, so we need to move with all deliberate speed to get the money flowing to the states," said Donald Evans, co-trustee of the fund and a former secretary of commerce in the first George W. Bush administration. "We look forward to working with the governors as we implement the specific awards."

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and her immense devastation, former Presidents Bush and Clinton established the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund to provide longer-term relief and rebuilding resources to help the victims of this disaster. Additional information about the fund can be found at the Web site www.bushclintonkatrinafund.org.