The creator is Greer Mendy and the space is the Tekrema Center for Culture and Art. Greer, a lawyer, mother, wife, artist, and long-time resident of the Lower 9^th Ward, opened Tekrema in 2006 as a place to preserve and develop African and diaspora art.

Today it is so much more. Tekrema offers a variety of diverse activities including: art, cooking, and dance classes, and gardening, film studies, tutoring, and family legal support. Over the holidays, it produced Black Nativity, a Langston Hughes play. “Art and creativity is how I educate. It’s my way of inspiring and giving back to the community I love,” explains Greer. Tekrema is a vibrant, social safe-haven for all who walk through its doors. Because of Greer’s enthusiasm and hard work, Tekrema’s attraction is growing beyond the 9^th Ward. It is growing into a center that sells tools of a different kind: tools for life.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation awarded Tekrema Center a 2011 IMPACT grant that supports after school programming for up to 80 kids and provides for three cultural community events.

Evaluation is the systematic process of asking questions that matter and then collecting and using data to help answer those questions in order to improve the work of your organization and tell your story of change.

At its core, evaluation is reflection geared toward improvement.  It is a learning process that helps an organization make better decisions for the future based on a better understanding of the past.  And though it is a process of learning from what you have done, evaluation should not be tacked onto the end of a project – it needs to start at the beginning.  Only when fully integrated into your planning and work can evaluation best assist you in determining the effectiveness of your work and thereby help shape your organization’s pursuit of its mission.

Essentials of Evaluation

Click here for a list of some essential aspects of evaluation:

Resources from the Evaluation 101 workshop:

• Logic Model Workbook (PDF, 30pgs)
• Logic Model Inputs – Outputs and Outcomes (PDF)
• Blank Logic Model Inputs – Outputs worksheet (JPG)
• MP3 Playback of Evaluation Conference Call
• Evaluation 101 Powerpoint

The homicide rate in New Orleans is unnatural and unacceptable. Consequently, homicide reduction among New Orleans’ youth is the top priority of the Landrieu administration. To reduce murders, the City of New Orleans is implementing a comprehensive plan that includes prevention, enforcement and rehabilitation strategies.

Mayor Mitch Landrieu has established the SOS NOLA Fund at the Greater New Orleans Foundation to support this comprehensive plan to reduce murders. SOS NOLA is a campaign that calls on the entire community—individuals, faith-based groups, nonprofits, academia, government and the private sector—to proactively invest in the lives of our youth to prevent lifestyles of violence. To learn more about SOS NOLA, please visit www.nola.gov.

Donations can be made 1) by check or credit card by calling Lauren Cecil, manager of donor relations at the Greater New Orleans Foundation at (504) 598-4663 or lauren@gnof.org or 2) online at www.gnof.org.

St. Anna’s had received a new mobile home as a generous gift to use for emergency housing. The ever-resourceful rector of St. Anna’s, Father Terry, had a better idea for its use. Why not turn it into a much-needed medical facility? Now, all he needed was a registered nurse. Luckily, he didn’t have to look too far.

At first Diana remembers her reluctance, thinking of the large responsibility that entails running a medical program. “Eventually I took the leap of faith,” said Diana. Now, six years later, she is St. Anna’s community wellness director with a staff of many including a social worker, a part-time doctor, and several volunteer medical students and nurses.

“Eighty percent of all the patients we see are uninsured or underinsured, and we service between two and four thousand people a year,” says Diana. Referred to as SAMM , short for St. Anna’s Medical Mission, they provide a gamut of services including mental health counseling, high blood pressure monitoring, diabetic and cholesterol testing. “I’ve diagnosed illnesses and prescribed medicine to people who have never seen a doctor before,” says Diana.

St. Anna’s mission reaches the community beyond church walls, and it’s people like Diana who are driving the call.

SAMM received funding from the Foundation’s Coastal Community Fund.

Click here to see the recent ABC spot on St. Anna’s Medical Mission.

Through the  story of two cats, Lafayette LeChat and his fat cat lawyer friend Claude DeMieux, the book describes various ways to plan a charitable gift while enjoying a day doing all their favorite things in New Orleans.   Charming illustrations by Mark Andreson accompany the text written by Lauren Cecil (pictured with Lafayette), a children’s book author and development associate at GNOF.

“We wanted to make a book about planned giving that’s fun and positive, and expresses the warm feelings we all have for the city we love,” said Cecil, who signed copies of the book for attendees.

“Though it is written in the style of a children’s book, Giving While Living is intended for adults who aren’t necessarily cash rich but want to give back to the city they adore,” explained the Foundation’s President and CEO Albert Ruesga.  “As the book illustrates, there are many ways to give.”

On board the streetcar parked on Howard Avenue at Lee Circle, Lafayette shook hands with his new friends, posed for photos, and danced to the sounds of trumpet player Mario Abney.  Attendees munched on some of Lafayette’s favorite snacks: sausages, Roman chewing candy, Hubig’s Pies, and peppermint hot chocolate provided by Liberty’s Kitchen and Crescent Pie and Sausage Company.

You can share in Lafayette’s adventures while learning about some of the many ways to give back to the community.  The book, Giving While Living, can be viewed online here, or you can order a copy by emailing asklafayette@gnof.org.

Written by freelance writer, Rebecca Connor.

“The beauty of this book is that it makes you aware of various ways to give that you never thought possible,” says Alice Parkerson, vice president for development at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “And, the best part of all is that you don’t have to give now; the only thing you have to do now is to make a plan!” says Parkerson.

The book follows the travels of Lafayette and his fat cat lawyer friend Claude DeMieux as they enjoy a day in New Orleans doing what they love most: eating beignets, riding a streetcar, visiting the French Quarter, and sitting by the Mississippi River.

Lafayette wants to give back to the community he adores, and he seeks the good counsel of Claude to help explain the many vehicles for doing so: bequests, trusts, life insurance policies, and retirement plans among others.

“People often think cash is the only option, but as Lafayette shows us, there are many other assets to consider—and the best part of all is that you  can defer your gift until later,” says local attorney Hilton Bell, chairman of the Cornerstone Council, a forum of professional advisors that advises the Foundation on estate and financial planning, “This is perhaps the best year to make a plan to give,” adds Bell, “because  it is very likely that estate tax laws will change after this year.”

Despite the still-struggling economy, giving has not dropped nationwide with the biggest growth being in the area of charitable bequests.  According to Giving USA, giving by bequests rose 16.9 percent, adjusted for inflation, to an estimated $22.8 billion last year.

“Why wait until the end of the year to start thinking about giving?  Rather, the time is now to make a plan,” says Parkerson. “Let Lafayette help you realize how many assets you have and how meaningful giving can be—now, or in the future.”

Giving While Living was written by Lauren Cecil, a children’s book author and a staff member at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. The book was illustrated by Marc Andresen, a New Orleans native who now lives in Atlanta.

“In all our years of marketing planned giving, we’ve never seen a book like this,” said Kristen Schultz, vice president at Crescendo, a leading planned giving marketing firm.  Because interest rates have been low the past few years, donors who live off the earnings from investments may feel cash poor and are looking for other ways to donate. “This book explains in a fun-loving way various ways to give back,” says Schultz.

In conjunction with the launch of the book, the Greater New Orleans Foundation has expanded its website to include an entire section on planned giving that is highly informative and user-friendly.  Giving While Living may be viewed online here, or a copy can be requested by writing to asklafayette@gnof.org.

About the Greater New Orleans Foundation
The Greater New Orleans Foundation is the community foundation serving the 13-parish Greater New Orleans metropolitan area. We design and lead initiatives that improve the region, connect donors to community needs, identify and support great nonprofits, and strengthen civil society.

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Responded to Families after the Oil Spill

The Coastal Community Fund responded to needs created by the oil spill disaster. The Fund fed 90,000 residents through Second Harvest Food Bank; provided emergency assistance to 8,140 individuals facing fiscal, housing, and/or employment crisis; administered health and social services in physical and/or emotional need; and offered long-term assistance in financial planning and workforce training to coastal residents.

Addressed the Needs of Nonprofits

Based on the survey results from 175 nonprofit leaders and 80 conversations, the Needs Scan Report provides an honest account of the state of local nonprofits.  Foundational to GNOF’s Organizational Effectiveness work, the Needs Scan has provided a platform for ongoing engagement with nonprofit leaders on how to address the challenges facing local nonprofits.

Helped Families Move Home

This year alone, the Community Revitalization Fund helped over 2,100 families move into newly-renovated and energy efficient homes and apartments which helped reduce blight and stabilize neighborhoods. During the four-year life of this initiative, we’ve helped 11,600 families find homes.

Launched the Coastal 5+1 Initiative

The Initiative has engaged residents in six coastal parishes in citizen-led planning for their future in coastal communities. Coastal 5+1 supported UNO-CHART to conduct a comprehensive outreach and education program focusing on community sustainability.

Partnered with the City to Provide Employment Opportunities

The Foundation worked in partnership with the City of New Orleans and other organizations to match a $300,000 federal grant and launch a new initiative to train workers for the jobs coming in the biotech and healthcare sectors.

Provided Learning Opportunities for Nonprofits Leaders

Through workshops on advocacy, fundraising, and evaluation to one-on-one capacity coaching sessions with nonprofit leaders, our Organizational Effectiveness team has quickly become a very real presence in the community addressing very real organizational needs.

Initiated a Regional Approach to Revitalization

In partnership with the Ford Foundation, we’re focusing on connecting residents with workforce housing, good jobs, and efficient transportation in the most efficient and equitable way possible.

Invested in the Best-of-the-Best

The IMPACT Program is the Foundation’s largest discretionary grants program that supported 33 nonprofits in the following four categories: arts & culture; education; health & human services; and youth development. Now in its third year, we have invested $2.4 million in local nonprofits through the IMPACT Program.

Informed the Community

Conducted Circle Talks events to discuss what’s working and what’s not in our community; held bus tours called Understanding New Orleans, One Neighborhood at a Time to introduce residents to outstanding nonprofit work; and, hosted New Orleans Now to celebrate local and national philanthropy.

Published Lafayette, the French Quarter Cat

To discover the joy of giving, email asklafayette@gnof.org for a free copy of this delightful book about the good feeling you get when you make a planned gift.

Taurhis Colley (pictured above) spends a lot of time on public transit. She leaves her apartment in the Muses by 7:00 am to drop off her three-year-old twins at school on Louisiana Avenue. Then she heads back to Canal Street and across the river to her job in Algiers. Her two older children attend school on the West Bank. Her 13-year-old daughter will attend Ben Franklin High School next year, and she hopes to get her 10-year-old son into a school on the East Bank as well.

“Maybe in a few years everybody will be on this side of the river,” said Colley.

Taking public transportation—the St. Charles streetcar, the bus to the West Bank, and a short walk saves money, but it also takes time—about 45 minutes each way, “on a good day,” she says. But the commute is worth it because she loves her new apartment at The Muses, and particularly its central location.

Connecting housing, jobs, and transportation in a more efficient, equitable way is the goal of the Metropolitan Opportunities Initiative (Met Ops), a partnership between the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

“With the Met Ops Initiative, Ford and GNOF envision a prosperous region with equitable access to safe, affordable housing, efficient transportation, and good jobs,” said Ellen Lee, senior vice president of programs at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “Putting these pieces together through thoughtful planning and coordination will lead to increased opportunities throughout our region.”

One organization working to do just that is Transport for NOLA, one of the first Met Ops grantees. Formed by a group of transit riders, planners, engineers, bicyclists, and designers, they will create a comprehensive regional transportation plan based on equity, accessibility, and best-practices. “We want to see a world class transit system for New Orleans including enhanced bus service, expanded streetcar lines, and rapid transit such as light rail,” said Jeff Schwartz, founder and board president of Transport for NOLA.

The Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX) has also received a Met Ops grant for its project, the Connect Coalition. The coalition brings together many organizations whose missions focus on transit, including Transport for NOLA, which will research best practices and advocate for better transit systems for the New Orleans and Baton Rouge metropolitan areas.

“Great transportation access is going to result in greater job opportunities and economic development,” said Rachel DiResto, executive vice president of CPEX.