Carson To Serve as Interim CEO of
Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation 

October 4, 2005

Louisiana governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco announced a first round of board selections for the newly formed Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF). Dr. Emmett Carson, chair of the national Council on Foundations' board of directors and president and CEO of the Minneapolis Foundation, will serve as interim CEO, while Xavier University of Louisiana president Norman Francis will serve as chairman of the new board. The nonprofit foundation was established to accept donations that will be used to meet the needs of the thousands of Louisiana citizens whose lives have been devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“We have asked national foundation leaders and some of Louisiana’s most respected private citizens to serve as leaders of Louisiana’s fund for Louisiana’s people," said Governor Blanco. "The task of assisting with family restoration is a monumental one and will require the combined knowledge and reach of this special group of leaders who have a proven knowledge of Louisiana and a history of community service. We wanted to send a message to the world that support for this foundation is appreciated and that our new foundation will be established with the highest standards.”

The foundation, formed by Governor Blanco during the first week following Hurricane Katrina, assembled some of the best and brightest officers from the foundation community nationwide to help design a high-performing, accountable organization. Among leaders invited to participate in planning sessions were foundation program officers central to the establishment of guidelines and funding principles designed in the aftermath of 9/11 in New York. Significant financial and volunteer services to start up the foundation have been donated by Ohio-based KnowledgeWorks Foundation. The foundation is also receiving support and in-kind services from Paul Pastorek of Adams and Reese, providing pro bono legal services, and the America’s WETLAND Foundation, providing management, media and corporate outreach services.

In the new fund’s transition and developmental period, Dr. Carson has accepted the governor’s invitation to serve as a loaned executive CEO for the LDRF. “Dr. Carson is well-known and respected for assisting foundations around the world in developing grantmaking programs that improve and strengthen local communities,” said Blanco. "He will bring unique expertise and oversight from his position as Chair of the Council on Foundations, the nation’s most recognized gathering of foundation leaders."

A practitioner-scholar, Dr. Carson has developed an international reputation for innovative philanthropy and for conducting research that has helped to define key trends in the nonprofit sector. He has published over 75 works on philanthropy and social justice issues. Previously, Dr. Carson was the first manager of the Ford Foundation's international and U.S. grantmaking program on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector. He also has worked for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and the Congressional Research Service, where he conducted public policy research.

The LDRF was created to help attract funds to a central Louisiana disaster recovery effort that would work with well-established community grants-making foundations and nonprofit agencies, such as United Way, to efficiently and effectively reach organizations working with those most in need. It has been recognized as one of three funds created by the Governors of states impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by USA Freedom Corps and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. The Foundation is also designed to support long-term family restoration and recovery by focusing on education, housing, health care, legal assistance and jobs for Louisiana families whose lives have been altered by Hurricane Katrina. For additional information, visit the Web site for the Louisiana governor's office.

In the media:

• Minnesota exec to play key role in Louisiana
  Minneapolis Star Tribune, 10/6/05 (requires free registration)