Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation founded in 1964 that administers 500+ charitable funds, serves 475+ nonprofit members, and convenes donors, families, and corporations to drive philanthropic and civic impact across south Louisiana.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1964
- HeadquartersBaton Rouge, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Baton Rouge Area Foundation does
Baton Rouge Area Foundation (BRAF) is a 501(c)(3) community foundation founded in 1964 and headquartered at 451 Florida Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It serves as the central philanthropic and civic convener for the greater Baton Rouge region and across south Louisiana, uniting individual donors, families, corporations, professional advisors, and nonprofit organizations around community-impact work in education, economic prosperity, health, quality of life, public safety, and regional resilience. BRAF administers more than 500 charitable funds on behalf of donors, including donor-advised funds ($10,000 minimum), organization funds, agency funds, and supporting organizations ($1 million asset minimum) that together represent roughly $1.1 billion in leveraged funding.
The foundation operates with a small staff (11–50 employees, ~30 named) and a $5.5M operating budget, generating revenue through recurring administrative fees on charitable accounts, $500/year nonprofit membership dues, investment returns on an endowed portfolio managed by Goldman Sachs, and donor contributions. Its technology stack includes an iPhiView-powered donor portal, the Opportunity Data Project co-developed with Common Good Labs for neighborhood-level data science, and CityStats data dashboards. The foundation runs community programs such as the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (established 2023), the BRAF Fellows program, the Giving Collective of 13–14 supporting organizations, the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and the John W. Barton Sr. Awards for Nonprofit Management, alongside disaster-response and recovery initiatives. In April 2026, BRAF assumed ownership of The Newtron Group—an electrical construction company generating over $1 billion in annual revenue—through the Newton B. Thomas Support Foundation, marking a significant expansion of the foundation's organizational footprint into operating businesses.
Baton Rouge Area Foundation firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Baton Rouge Area Foundation
- Legal name
- Baton Rouge Area Foundation
- Website
- https://braf.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1964
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a 501(c)(3) community foundation founded in 1964 that administers 500+ charitable funds, serves 475+ nonprofit members, and convenes donors, families, and corporations to drive philanthropic and civic impact across south Louisiana.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Baton Rouge Area Foundation industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Community Foundation Services
- NAICS
- Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders (BPAGAKAO)
Keywords
Where Baton Rouge Area Foundation is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Baton Rouge
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Baton Rouge Area Foundation business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Charitable fund administrative fees: Recurring fees charged for managing donor-advised funds, organization funds, and agency funds on the 500+ charitable accounts held with BRAF.
- Membership dues: Annual nonprofit membership dues of $500/year supporting the Center for Nonprofit Excellence and member benefits.
- Investment returns: Returns on the endowed investment portfolio managed by Goldman Sachs, supporting grantmaking and operations.
- Contributions and grants received: Donations from individuals, families, and corporate donors; $70M contributed by donors in 2025 alone.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Nonprofit Membership |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Donor-Advised Fund minimum |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Supporting Organization minimum |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
Baton Rouge Area Foundation product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community foundation that administers donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, and organization funds on behalf of individual, family, and corporate donors. It invests an endowed portfolio under professional management and distributes grants to roughly 1,000 regional nonprofits annually while operating the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the BRAF Fellows program, and the Giving Collective of supporting organizations to deliver capacity-building, civic convening, and disaster-response services across South Louisiana.
Product overview
No product overview could be derived from the available source material. The provided input contained analytical commentary rather than attributable source passages with resolvable source IDs, so no specific products, services, programs, or modules can be reliably extracted for Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Forum 225: Young professionals' organization in the capital region (evolved from Forum 35 established in 1994).
- Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE)
- Camille Coates Environmental Impact Fund
- Community Safety Impact Fund
- Education Impact Fund
- Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund
- Capital Area First Responders Fund
- East Baton Rouge First Responders Fund
- Giving Store
- CityStats
- Opportunity Data Project (ODP)
- Currents
- Cox Charities Fund
- Credit Bureau of Baton Rouge Foundation
- E.J. and Marjory B. Ourso Family Foundation
- Turner Industries Fund
Products and services
- Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs) Charitable giving vehicle for individual and family donors with a $10,000 minimum, managed by BRAF with professional investment oversight and recurring administrative fees.
- The Giving Collective (Supporting Organizations) Network of 13 (soon 14) supporting organizations pooling administration, investment management, governance, and back-office services under BRAF; $1 million minimum asset threshold.
- Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNPE) Capacity-building, consulting, and management resources program for local nonprofits, including fellowships, training, and the Barton Awards for Excellence in Nonprofit Management.
- BRAF Impact Grants (Competitive Grants)
Quantifiable outcome
- $70 million contributed by donors in 2025
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Baton Rouge Area Foundation
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Baton Rouge Area Foundation technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Baton Rouge Area Foundation partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record.
- Common Good LabsCo-development partner on the Opportunity Data Project, the data-science initiative underpinning BRAF's evidence-based community programs including Resilient BR.
- Huey and Angelina Wilson FoundationCollaboration partner on early-childhood education initiatives in the Baton Rouge region.
- Foundation for East Baton Rouge Parish School SystemCo-development partner on education initiatives, including the early childhood education program.
- Cox Communications (Cox Charities)Operates the Cox Charities Fund with BRAF to direct corporate philanthropy into the region.
- SasakiPlanning and design consultant supporting Plan Baton Rouge III and the Blueprint for Coastal Adaptation.
- DeltaresNetherlands-based water and subsurface specialist whose work informed the founding of The Water Institute of the Gulf alongside BRAF.
- Northshore Community FoundationSub-community foundation operating as a supporting organization within BRAF's Giving Collective.
- Community Foundation of Southwest LouisianaSub-community foundation operating as a supporting organization within BRAF's Giving Collective.
- LRA Support FoundationSupporting organization partner within BRAF's Giving Collective network.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Baton Rouge Area Foundation competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Cleveland Foundation: The Cleveland Foundation is among the oldest and largest U.S. community foundations (founded 1914, $2B+ AUM) with a comparable operating model: donor-advised funds, competitive grants, civic leadership initiatives, and a strong regional focus. BRAF explicitly references being "among the largest community foundations" and pursues the same integrated grantmaking-plus-civic-convening playbook.
- Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo: Mid-to-large regional community foundation offering donor-advised funds, competitive grantmaking, and nonprofit sector support — directly comparable in operating model, although in a different region. Often cited alongside BRAF in community-foundation peer benchmarking.
- Greater Houston Community Foundation: Houston's leading community foundation with comparable scale and a similar Gulf Coast disaster-response orientation (Harvey response). Operates donor-advised funds, competitive grants, and nonprofit capacity-building — directly parallel to BRAF's Baton Rouge model.
Emerging players
- Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana: Another sub-regional Louisiana community foundation in BRAF's Giving Collective. Operates a similar donor-advised fund and grantmaking model in the Lake Charles / SW Louisiana region, with BRAF providing shared services.
- Northshore Community Foundation: Smaller sub-regional community foundation that operates as a supporting organization within BRAF's Giving Collective. Same mission and donor-advised fund model at smaller scale, with BRAF providing back-office infrastructure — a tight organizational peer.
Broad incumbents
- The Chicago Community Trust: One of the largest U.S. community foundations (founded 1915, multi-billion AUM) operating donor-advised funds, regional grantmaking, and civic leadership. BRAF is smaller but pursues the same integrated model, making CCT a useful scale-benchmark peer.
- The San Francisco Foundation: Large regional community foundation with donor-advised funds, civic leadership initiatives, and a comparable multi-decade operating history. Useful as a scale and program-mix benchmark for BRAF.
- Schwab Charitable: Major national DAF sponsor with comparable giving-account structure. Represents the primary alternative to community foundation donor-advised funds for high-net-worth donors in the U.S.
- Fidelity Charitable: The largest national donor-advised fund sponsor in the U.S., serving as a direct competitor for high-net-worth donor-advised fund dollars. Represents the largest competitive threat to community foundations like BRAF.
Regional players
- Foundation for Louisiana: Louisiana-focused place-based foundation that operates as a state-level peer to BRAF. Both target Louisiana communities and pursue similar civic-leadership and equity-oriented grantmaking strategies, though FFL's footprint is statewide versus BRAF's regional base.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Baton Rouge Area Foundation social profiles
Digital presenceBaton Rouge Area Foundation financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Baton Rouge Area Foundation leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Baton Rouge Area Foundation subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries8 records
Baton Rouge Area Foundation funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Baton Rouge Area Foundation M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Baton Rouge Area Foundation
What does Baton Rouge Area Foundation do?
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a community foundation that administers donor-advised funds, supporting organizations, and organization funds on behalf of individual, family, and corporate donors. It invests an endowed portfolio under professional management and distributes grants to roughly 1,000 regional nonprofits annually while operating the Center for Nonprofit Excellence, the BRAF Fellows program, and the Giving Collective of supporting organizations to deliver capacity-building, civic convening, and disaster-response services across South Louisiana.
Is Baton Rouge Area Foundation a public or private company?
Baton Rouge Area Foundation is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Baton Rouge Area Foundation founded?
Baton Rouge Area Foundation was founded in 1964. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Baton Rouge Area Foundation based?
Baton Rouge Area Foundation is headquartered in Baton Rouge, United States, in the North America region.
How does Baton Rouge Area Foundation make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Charitable fund administrative fees are the primary driver. The others are membership dues, investment returns and contributions and grants received.
Who are Baton Rouge Area Foundation's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Cleveland Foundation, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo and Greater Houston Community Foundation. Emerging players are Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana and Northshore Community Foundation. Broad incumbents are The Chicago Community Trust, The San Francisco Foundation, Schwab Charitable and Fidelity Charitable. Foundation for Louisiana is listed as a regional player.
Does Baton Rouge Area Foundation have an API?
No public API is recorded for Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
What industry is Baton Rouge Area Foundation in?
Baton Rouge Area Foundation's product category is Community Foundation Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations, with a secondary code of BPAGAKAO, Capacity Building & Nonprofit Infrastructure Funders. Its NAICS code is 813211 and its SIC code is 8300.