With many of its facilities in ruins, and its employees, customers, volunteers and donors scattered by Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’ Audubon Nature Institute turned to the Web to raise the money needed to get back to its mission.

By Abny Santicola

ANI set out to raise $60 million from private and public sources over the course of the next 36 months, and it broke the campaign into three phases. The first goal was to raise $10 million within six months so that it could open its doors, feed and care for the animals, and sustain a base number of employees. Its second goal was to raise another $25 million in 18 months for operations plus damage repairs and building an infrastructure that safeguards against similar situations. By the 36-month mark, ANI planned to raise another $25 million for projects that were in the works when Katrina hit, including final production of its IMAX film “Hurricane on the Bayou,” a documentary on Louisiana’s wetlands that was in the midst of being filmed when the storm hit.