BRAF gives $18 million to groups for spill work

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation has given out $18 million in grants to four organizations involved in the ongoing recovery from last year’s BP oil spill. The biggest share will go to Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, which will receive $15 million. That money will go to the Spirit of Hope Collaborative, a consortium of 16 nonprofits that helps disaster victims access mental-health and career counseling. The Audubon Nature Institute in New Orleans is set to receive $2 million to create a permanent triage and holding center on the Gulf Coast for marine mammals and sea turtles. Single Stop USA will receive just under $600,000, which will go toward a program at Delgado Community College to help people affected by the spill find new careers. And Louisiana Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster will get a bit more than $400,000 to arrange a conference of disaster-relief nonprofits in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. The conference, which will be held in November in Jackson, Miss., will offer the groups an opportunity to coordinate efficient and effective responses to future disasters.