August 27 Program – Bayou Community Foundation

August 26, 2014

James J. Buquet III is President of Buquet Distributing Company located in Houma. He is the Chairman of the Bayou Community Foundation, Chairman of the Board of Coastal Commerce Bank, and past Chairman of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce.

After Hurricane Katrina, key investors discovered the need to have a local, non-profit foundation to compete for available recovery funding. The Bayou Community Foundation (BCF) was established as the entity to serve as an endowment recipient for the Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Grand Isle community. The BCF is a donor-advised fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, focused on strengthening the local capacity to create a compassionate and sustainable coastal community for generations to come.

The Bayou Community Foundation began by completing a needs assessment. Mental Health ranked as the most significant need expressed by service providers. BCF’s funding focus is in educational success for children and adults; protection and preservation of our coast; and human services.

The Gheens Foundation, granted the BCF $500,000, dispersing $100,000 annually for five years, with the stipulation of a grant match of a 2:1 ratio. BCF can assist in directing contributions to non-profit organizations; in turn, the donations will contribute towards satisfying the ratio. Contributions can be specific to organizations or the BCF can facilitate the decision making in awarding funding to grant applicants. Since 2013, BCF has awarded $225,000 in competitive grants to area non-profit service agencies and schools.

For more information or for more information contact Jennifer Armand (985-580-3901) at Armandj@bayoucf.org or visit www.bayoucf.org.