Boosted by the strength of its real estate portfolio, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation saw the value of its assets climb to $574 million for the year ended 2015, up from $550 million during the prior year.
The IBM building and its companion apartment complex, 525 Lafayette, are included in the foundation’s assets for the first time at an appraised value of roughly $50 million, BRAF spokesman Mukul Verma says. Both buildings opened in 2015.
The financial figures were presented during the foundation’s annual meeting held Wednesday night at the Manship Theatre. The foundation’s members also elected new directors and its board elected new officers during the session.
Donors contributed $34 million to the foundation’s charitable funds, BRAF says in a news release. Meanwhile, donors and the foundation collectively granted $26 million to nonprofits in 2015.
BRAF has been a prominent player in some of Baton Rouge’s highly visible, and sometimes controversial, projects, such as the Baton Rouge Health District, The Water Institute of the Gulf, a charge to restore the LSU lakes and efforts to decriminalize mental illness in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Last year, the foundation had 567 members, down a bit from the 570 members it reported having in 2014. BRAF members committed roughly $700,000, but the foundation collected roughly $615,000 from them in the calendar year.
BRAF also says it had $4 million, generated through fees, memberships and other income, to run its operations. Expenses totaled $3.96 million. The foundation ended the year with an operating surplus of $41,428.
