Make It Right Foundation

In December 2007, Brad Pitt and William McDonough, together with Graft Architects,{{cite web|last=Pogrebin|first=Robin|title=Brad Pitt Commissions Designs for New Orleans|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/arts/design/03pitt.html|work=The New York Times|accessdate=5 June 2018|date=December 3, 2007}} founded Make It Right to rebuild 150 safe, energy-efficient and affordable homes for families from New Orleans Lower 9th Ward who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.{{cite web|last=Thomson|first=Katherine|title=Brad Pitt "High" From New Orleans Project|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/01/brad-pitt-high-from-new-o_n_147477.html|work=The Huffington Post|accessdate=6 January 2014|date=January 1, 2009}}{{cite web|last=Bernstein|first=Fred|title=Brad Pitt's Gifts to New Orleans|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/travel/29cultured.html?_r=0|work=New York Times|accessdate=6 January 2014|date=November 25, 2009}} The foundation was advised on formation by Trevor Neilson and Nina Killeen, advisors to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation through their firm, Global Philanthropy Group.{{Cite web |title=Make It Right Foundation - GuideStar Profile |url=https://www.guidestar.org/profile/26-0723027 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www.guidestar.org}}{{Cite news |last=Holson |first=Laura M. |date=2010-12-03 |title=Charity Fixer to the Stars |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/05/fashion/05TREVORNEILSON.html |access-date=2022-08-25 |issn=0362-4331}}

On March 10, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans, Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres hosted "A Night to Make It Right" with Drew Brees and Randy Jackson and performances by Rihanna, Sheryl Crow, Seal, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. John. Make It Right raised $5 million at the event, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Over 1,200 attendees paid between $1,000 and $2,500 to dine on a meal created by celebrity chefs Emeril Lagasse and John Besh. A silent auction was also held to raise funds.[http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2012/03/brad_pitts_make_it_right_gala.html Make It Right Gala raises $5 million, Doug MacCash, Times Picayune, 3-13-12. Retrieved 1-19-16] The organization was bolstered by support from celebrities, such as Oprah Winfrey.{{Cite web | url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90230876/brad-pitts-housing-nonprofit-make-it-right-faces-lawsuit | title=Brad Pitt's housing nonprofit Make It Right faces lawsuit | date=31 August 2018 }}

By March 2013, Make It Right had completed 90 of the proposed 150 homes.{{Cite web | url=https://metropolismag.com/projects/in-defense-of-make-it-right/ | title=In Defense of Make it Right in New Orleans' 9th Ward }} The homes in New Orleans were designed by renowned architects such as Frank Gehry, David Adjaye, and Shigeru Ban, and each home was LEED Platinum certified by the USGBC.{{Cite web | url=https://www.archdaily.com/238232/make-it-right-homes-in-nola | title=Make it Right Homes in NOLA | date=29 May 2012 }}

With their angular shapes and bold colors, the Make It Right houses were not typical of New Orleans. The organization implemented the holistic, eco-conscious Cradle to Cradle method of building, promising certifiably green construction that would benefit the homeowner. The homes were said to use 70% less energy than a conventional home of the same size. It took about $150,000 to build these homes, labor included. If the costs exceeded the estimated price, the foundation would cover the difference.{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Evelyn|title=Brad Pitt Breaks Ground in Louisiana with 'Make It Right' Read more: Brad Pitt Breaks Ground in Louisiana with 'Make It Right' {{!}} Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building|url=http://inhabitat.com/make-it-right-begins-constructing-houses/|publisher=Inhabitat|accessdate=6 January 2014|date=2008-09-11}}

File:Brad Pitt Make it Right 2008.jpg's "Louisiana Cereal"]]

Projects went beyond New Orleans. Make It Right partnered with HelpUSA in Newark, NJ to build a 56-unit multi-family building for disabled veterans. The LEED Platinum building opened on Memorial Day in May 2012.{{Cite web | url=https://nj.gov/dca/news/news/2012/approved/20120529.html | title=NJ Department of Community Affairs }} In Kansas City, Missouri, Make It Right converted a school into 50 affordable rental units.{{Cite web | url=https://fox4kc.com/news/kansas-city-lots-owned-by-brad-pitts-nonprofit-make-it-right-sit-empty-residents-hope-for-change/ | title=Lots owned by Brad Pitt's nonprofit 'Make it Right' sit empty, KC residents hope for change | date=8 July 2021 }}

Beginning by at least 2013, the foundation has reached settlements with residents of its houses over problems including inadequate ventilation, mold, and rotting wood that caused illnesses in residents. Some of the agreements included non-disclosure agreements.

In early January 2014, the foundation was criticized after over two dozen of the New Orleans homes began to rot.{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Ashley|title=Brad Pitt Charity's Post-Hurricane Katrina Homes Rotting (Report)|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pitt-charitys-post-hurricane-668410|work=The Hollywood Reporter|accessdate=6 January 2014|date=January 3, 2014}}{{cite web|last=Merriman|first=Rebecca|title=Brad Pitt's Charity Under Fire After Hurricane Katrina Houses Begin|url=http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/136885/Brad-Pitts-Charity-Under-Fire-After-Hurricane-Katrina-Houses-Begin-To-Rot|publisher=Entertainment Wise|accessdate=6 January 2014|date=January 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140104062945/http://www.entertainmentwise.com/news/136885/Brad-Pitts-Charity-Under-Fire-After-Hurricane-Katrina-Houses-Begin-To-Rot|archive-date=4 January 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Brad Pitt charity under fire after Katrina victims' homes begin to rot|url=https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/brad-pitt-charity-under-fire-after-katrina-victims-homes-begin-to-rot/|publisher=Fox News|date=January 1, 2014}} The foundation reported that the homes used special wood products called TimberSIL which is advertised as free from many of toxic ingredients.{{cite web|last=Thompson|first=Richard|title=Brad Pitt foundation sues manufacturer over allegedly defective wood|url=https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/brad-pitt-foundation-sues-manufacturer-over-allegedly-defective-wood/article_27a7be39-5bb6-53e5-935f-b289cb970ded.html|publisher=The Advocate|accessdate=13 August 2023|date=April 2, 2015}}{{cite web|last=Dicker|first=Ron|title=Rotting Wood Reported In Katrina Homes Built By Brad Pitt's 'Make It Right' Foundation|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/02/make-it-right-wood-rotting-brad-pitt-katrina_n_4531804.html|work=The Huffington Post|date=2 January 2014|accessdate=6 January 2014}} The wood was unable to withstand the humidity in the city of New Orleans. The foundation announced they were prepared to pursue all legal remedies if necessary.{{cite web|title=Brad Pitt's housing foundation considers legal action|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Brad-Pitts-housing-foundation-considers-legal-action/tabid/418/articleID/327139/Default.aspx|publisher=3News|accessdate=6 January 2014|date=January 4, 2014}} In 2015, the foundation sued the manufacturer for nearly $500,000, the alleged cost of replacing rotting decks on 39 of the 109 built houses. In 2017, the suit was settled for an undisclosed amount.

In 2018, the first of the several class-action lawsuits against the foundation were filed by residents of the New Orleans Make It Right homes who complained that many of the homes were rotting and dangerous. The founder of the Lower 9th Ward Homeowners Association, Linda Jackson, was quoted in 2018 as saying that the majority of the foundation's homes were then vacant. Residents complained of mold and collapsing structures, electrical fires, and gas leaks.{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/brad-pitt-built-dozens-homes-new-orleans-after-katrina-now-n908651|title=Brad Pitt built dozens of homes in New Orleans after Katrina. Now they're falling apart and residents are suing.|date=12 September 2018|work=NBC}} The residents said the houses were built too quickly, with low-quality materials, and that the designs did not take into account New Orleans’ humid, rainy climate. Also, it was reported that Make It Right had not built a home, filed tax forms, or updated its website since 2015. NBC News said that the foundation had "all but disappeared" with its downtown New Orleans office had been closed and staff had been cut to a handful, and with residents saying their calls went unreturned.

In October 2020, a Make It Right house designed by David Adjaye was ordered by the city government of New Orleans to be demolished, after the city decided the home was "in imminent danger of collapse and/or threat to life".{{Cite web | url=https://www.archdaily.com/949718/david-adjaye-designed-house-built-by-brad-pitts-make-it-right-foundation-to-be-torn-down | title=David Adjaye-Designed House Built by Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation to be Torn Down | date=17 October 2020 }} In early 2022, only 6 of the 109 Make It Right houses remained in what an urban-studies researcher deemed to be "reasonably good shape."{{Cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/03/brad-pitt-post-katrina-housing-project-went-horribly-wrong | title=Mold, leaks, rot: How Brad Pitt's post-Katrina housing project went horribly wrong | website=TheGuardian.com | date=3 February 2022 }}

In 2022, the foundation paid $20.5 million to homeowners to settle a class action lawsuit. Global Green USA agreed to advance the US$20.5 million to the Make It Right Foundation and to oversee the distribution of the funds. Global Green's CEO William Bridge was quoted by The Times-Picayune newspaper as saying that Global Green "had a great relationship with Make It Right and Brad Pitt" and that his organization's board of directors' goal was "to plug it (the money) back into the community."

In an article called "Where Did Brad Pitt's Make it Right Foundation Go Wrong?", Architectural Digest examined what went wrong with the foundation's efforts to build homes magazine and interviewed several builders, lawyers, and residents.

• Reconstruction of New Orleans

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20031221094918/http://makeitright.org/ Official website]

• CNN, [http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/12/04/lkl.brad.pitt/index.html "Brad Pitt works to 'make it right' in New Orleans"], transcript of a Larry King interview, 4 December 2008
• BusinessWeek, [https://web.archive.org/web/20080204062905/http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/content/dec2007/id20071217_222687.htm?chan=innovation_architecture_green+architecture "Brad Pitt Aims to Make It Right"], Alec Appelbaum, 17 December 2007
• Times-Picayune, [http://www.nola.com/arts/index.ssf/2012/11/brad_pitts_make_it_right_affor.html Brad Pitt's Make It Right affordable houses now available to teachers, first responders] Doug MacCash, 10 November 2012

{{Brad Pitt}}

Category:Hurricane Katrina disaster relief

Category:Hurricane Katrina recovery in New Orleans

Category:Non-profit organizations based in Louisiana

Category:Organizations established in 2007

Category:Brad Pitt