The 2010 Gulf Oil Disaster and Emergency Grants

Overview

In 2010 an offshore drilling rig explosion led to a very large oil release in the Gulf of Mexico. Communities along the coast were still rebuilding from the 2005 hurricane season when the oil began reaching shorelines and marshes. A post-hurricane community fund that had been making grants since 2005 turned part of its attention to the new emergency.

Emergency grants in numbers

From the start of the oil disaster, the fund distributed $375,000 across 60 organizations. These were quick, small awards meant for groups reacting to events as they unfolded rather than for long planning cycles. The fund described the money as support for a community-led response, and it said the need was greater than its resources.

Who received the money

The recipients worked in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Texas, with Louisiana and Alabama well represented. They were mostly small local groups. Typical types included:

• watchdog groups focused on rivers, bays and wetlands;
• community centers and neighborhood service providers;
• fishing and oystering associations;
• legal and civil rights organizations;
• immigrant and ethnic community groups;
• tribal communities on the bayous;
• clinics and health centers;
• faith-based and volunteer disaster relief groups.

The range showed how widely the spill touched coastal life, from seafood harvesting to health care and housing.

Where to read more

• The companies involved are described on the rig and operator background page.
• Ecological effects are covered under environmental impacts.
• Possible effects on people are outlined in health concerns.
• Kinds of reference material are grouped in the source typology.
• The fund's wider story is in its history.