Our ongoing projects include the Medical District Plan to improve traffic along Bluebonnet Boulevard, Perkins Road and Essen Lane; and The Water Campus, which will begin construction this year on 30 riverfront acres and one day house 4,000 scientists and support staff dedicated to solving water problems that affect coastal populations around the world. With support from donors, the Foundation is also hiring consultants to craft a master plan for restoring the lakes adjacent to Louisiana State University and City Park so that the people of the parish can enjoy this treasured resource to the fullest.

Members of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation underwrite projects that try to fundamentally change the direction of communities, such as retaking blighted areas and responding to rising seas that imperil our most cherished cities. The Foundation connects donors to exceptional nonprofits to take on causes that provide the greatest return for the greatest good. The Baton Rouge Area Foundation enacted a new five-year strategic plan early in 2014. The Strategic Planning Committee identified four strategies that will guide the Foundation's work from 2014 until 2018: the Foundation will remain a Donor Centric organization, which focuses on helping fund donors thoughtfully invest in their charitable priorities; the Foundation will maintain its commitment to Civic Leadership Initiatives throughout South Louisiana; the Foundation will continue to develop diverse income sources for financial sustainability; and, the Foundation will further develop communications programs that are strategic in their delivery of information to our donors, partners, the press and the general public.

The Baton Rouge Area Foundation's work builds on five decades of experience and looks forward to many more. The Foundation's work is calibrated to the long-term view, which allows time for dramatic change that often outlasts the purview of many elected officials. From a staff size of 31 in 2007 to a staff size of 22 in 2013, Foundation leadership has found that smaller numbers have resulted in increased productivity, intensity and cross-function capability.

In 2009, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation launched CityStats, which, with help from the community and partners, offers about 50 indicators that tell us about the quality of life in East Baton Rouge Parish. The Foundation and its donors use the annual data to assist in making millions of dollars in annual grants. The Foundation shares the information with the public, as well as business interests, nonprofits and local government, hoping that these groups and individuals can work together to solve the issues that emerge from the data in the reports.

It is a tall order to summarize the first fifty years of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation's progress. Indeed, many lives have been touched, minds enriched, mouths fed, doors opened and buildings built by the work of dedicated individuals who weave the fabric of the Foundation's story. Thanks to our fund donors, the Foundation has granted nearly $350 million to worthy nonprofits and projects throughout the years. We help our donors address their vision of what the future can be by giving to organizations that span the breadth of charitable activity. The Foundation's Civic Leadership Initiatives have transformed an entire city block into Baton Rouge's arts district and ushered in the rebirth of our city's downtown, among many other remarkable projects. Community foundations take a long view of history and an equally long perspective on the future. That allows us to remember in detail those generations upon whose shoulders the current generation stands. It also requires us to look forward for decades in our goals and directions. Acting on our "longer view" has always required partnering with the amazing public, private and independent sector organizations that populate our region. Much work remains to be done, and our common vision and ambition for the future is energizing indeed.