A Word from Our Sponsors

SPENCER WATTS Library Director, East Baton Rouge Parish Library

Free tools and resources for our community

The East Baton Rouge Parish Library offers a variety of resources for nonprofit organizations at the Grants Center. Amazingly, 90% of domestic foundations don’t have a website. Foundation Directory Online and iWave, only available at the new River Center Branch Library, give you access to these hard-to-find funders, plus the most effective tools to organize and manage your foundation fundraising process. Our Grants Librarian can assist you with your search, whether you are a grant-seeker, grant-maker, or just curious about the grants process. For an appointment, call 225.389.4964. We also host free programs periodically for grant seekers.

The Library also offers a variety of FREE tools that can help nonprofit organizations assess and strengthen their business model, perform needs assessments, research funding opportunities, locate community partners and provide skills training and workforce development for staff. These resources are available FREE 24/7 in the Digital Library. A consultation via Small Business Services (SmallBusiness@ebrpl. com) will help your group create an effective strategy, whether it’s enhancing your own skills as a grant seeker, writing a business plan, getting reliable and relevant local statistics, or finding out about potential corporate funders. All you need is your Library card!

BRANDON LANDRY

Founder, Walk-On’s Game On Foundation

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Taking care of our people

Walk-On’s has succeeded since 2003 because of relationships and taking care of our people (teammates and guests) in the Baton Rouge community. That rings true in the work we do through the Walk-On’s Game On Foundation as well.

Our mission has always been supporting youth sports in our communities—but unprecedented times call for swift action—and that’s what our team does best. In 2020, we activated our Furlough Kitchen through the foundation, which fed furloughed workers (no matter their employer) more than 30,000 meals across six states. In the past two hurricane seasons, our teams activated seven relief kitchens in affected areas and served more than 13,000 meals.

Whether building courts, feeding furloughed workers, or gathering essentials for displaced hurricane evacuees—we lean on our strengths to help our communities. And it’s something we’ll never stop doing.