Special Initiatives
Through special programming and partnerships, the Foundation connects grantees and community members to resources and each other and helps nonprofits navigate a host of challenging issues. From the New Orleans Housing Institute—a year-long series of seminars on housing strategies that work—to our efforts to assist organizations in the daunting task of acquiring Stimulus Package funding, the Foundation proactively brings nonprofit and community leaders and experts to a common table to problem solve together.
We have a lot to learn from community-based work in other cities, and the country is watching New Orleans to learn from our rebuilding efforts. The Foundation serves as a gathering place for local and national leaders to hone ideas, develop strategies, and evaluate tactics in order to more effectively serve our city.
Visit our Resources for Nonprofits page for additional information on Foundation initiatives. Here is just a sampling of the work we continuously do “beyond grantmaking”:
White House White Paper: Rethinking Federal Urban Strategy, New Orleans as a Model City
Several local funders convened a meeting with Xavier De Souza Briggs, Associate Director for General Government Programs, White House Office of Management and Budget; Janet Woodka, Gulf Coast Rebuilding Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; Ana Marie Argilagos, Deputy Chief of Staff for HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan; Fred Tombar, Senior Advisor to Secretary Donovan; and several other senior administration officials. As this meeting, the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation presented this paper endorsing the idea that New Orleans and surrounding parishes should become a model region for President Obama’s urban initiatives.
The paper describes critical areas where private philanthropic investments after Hurricane Katrina seeded community development and social justice advocacy work on which the Obama administration could build to ensure equitable outcomes for marginalized families in New Orleans. Just as philanthropy stood with New Orleans in the aftermath of the storm, we want the administration to view the nonprofits and the foundations of the region as capable and willing partners in the transformative work for the future of the city and the region.
ARRA (Stimulus Package)
Foundation staff has been working in partnership with SEEDCO to help a cohort of economic development organizations access ARRA funds. Staff is also partnering with the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations to bring training on fundraising from federal sources to local nonprofits.
Government Accountability and Transparency
The Open Society Institute has been supporting Foundation-led efforts to convene organizations working in the areas of citizen participation, accountability, and transparency in government.
Economic Inclusion Initiative
The Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and JP Morgan Chase convened local stakeholders in February 2009 to discuss opportunities to grow the minority middle class by building the capacity of small and disadvantaged businesses to take advantage of contracting opportunities made available through the expenditure of federal recovery dollars in the Orleans region.
Community Land Trusts
Along with other foundation partners, the Greater New Orleans Foundation has been exploring ways to preserve housing affordability and grow community equity through shared equity models of real estate development. Consultants from the National Community Land Trust Network are currently providing technical assistance to New Orleans neighborhoods vital to the City’s recovery.
