The Giving Strategy
NECESSITY:
The priority goal of the Qatar Katrina Fund is to provide assistance as directly as possible to victims of Hurricane
Katrina for projects that are not funded by other sources. Despite the confusion in the immediate aftermath
of the storm, it was clear that substantial assistance eventually would be provided from governmental
sources and large private relief organizations. Rather than duplicating those efforts, the Qatar Katrina Fund
supports projects that reflect urgent and important needs, for which other sources of funding are unavailable.
FOCUS:
To provide a focus for the gift and maximize its impact, the Qatar Katrina Fund is dedicated to health care,
housing, and education.
ACCOUNTABILITY:
The Qatar Katrina Fund identified reliable local partners to handle the actual execution of projects selected as
gift recipients. These partners were carefully evaluated, both to verify their credentials, but also to validate
their ability to successfully execute the projects. In addition, an independent accounting firm was engaged
to provide audit services to monitor all gift-related transactions.
SUSTAINABILITY:
It was a priority to bring assistance quickly to those most in need, but where possible, the Qatar Katrina Fund
sought to identify projects that would make a lasting difference in the lives and communities of the victims.
The Qatar Katrina Fund also identified projects that would create a "multiplier effect" by stimulating job creation
and training.
LOCAL KNOWLEDGE:
To provide an organized process for soliciting gift proposals, gift recipient candidates were identified in two
principal ways: (a) initiating contact with members of the U.S. Congress, State Governors, and community
leaders to request their advice in defining priority needs; and (b) directly approaching reliable, well-established
organizations in the most heavily-damaged areas — for example, hospitals, universities, and housing
providers.
INDEPENDENT ADVICE:
In order to consider all options, an Advisory Committee of distinguished Americans representing diverse backgrounds and political affiliations was selected to advise in the process of identifying and selecting gift recipients.