The Greater New Orleans Foundation is proud to be the steward of more than 800 donor-advised and donor-designated funds. Our donors make more than $23 million in grants to diverse nonprofits of all sizes throughout the region, according to their specific areas of interest.
IMPACT is the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s discretionary grants program. Its goal is to promote a resilient, vibrant, and equitable region in which the special character of the Greater New Orleans region and its people is preserved, celebrated, and given the means to thrive. Funding for IMPACT comes from a portion of our assets, field of interest funds, and unrestricted funds. We are committed to increasing the dollars we have available for IMPACT through our fundraising efforts; however, at this time our IMPACT funding remains limited.
In 2017 the Foundation made the decision to adopt a multi-year, renewal-based grantmaking strategy. By providing nonprofit organizations general operating support for multiple years, we are giving organizations what they need most—time and money. In collaboration with our nonprofit partners, we will be able to devote more attention to our community’s most pressing problems. Organizations that receive general support IMPACT grants will be eligible to renew their grants for an additional two years. This will create a rolling cohort of organizations working to help the Greater New Orleans Foundation to achieve its programmatic goals.
In 2019, through IMPACT, the Greater New Orleans Foundation will award approximately $150,000 in new grants to organizations serving the Greater New Orleans region in addition to the approximately $250,000 of grants that were renewed early in 2018. The average new grant size will be approximately $20,000.
Grants will be awarded in five priority areas: Arts & Culture, Youth Development, Education, Health, and Social Services. The Foundation expects to award one new grant in each of the priority areas in addition to the renewed grants. Although an application may align with the guidelines, only the applications that strongly align with the theories of change in each priority area are likely to be considered for funding.
Nonprofit organizations that receive general support grants will be eligible to renew their grants for an additional two years. Those grantees will be asked to complete an evaluative report and a renewal application. Grants will not be automatically renewed. The organization will have to demonstrate they are meeting their metrics for progress, which will be carefully reviewed by the Foundation’s programs team and members of the grants committee.
Organizations that receive IMPACT grants for programmatic work will have to reapply for funding. These grants are not renewable.
Due to the increased competitive nature of the IMPACT program, the Foundation encourages only organizations that strongly align with IMPACT priorities to apply.
IMPACT – Guidelines for Applications 2018
IMPACT 2018 – FAQs,
Budget Template, (.xlsx)
Sample Budget, (.xlsx)
Sample Budget Narrative,
IMPACT Theories of Change 2018
Submitting a Letter of Intent
Please remember that we will only accept letters of intent electronically through our online portal.
Our technology partner, Foundant, has created a brief tutorial for applicants that may be viewed here. It is highly recommended that all applicants review this video before beginning a new application in order to better understand the process.
Proposals that are not submitted electronically will not be considered for funding. Foundation staff will review online submissions and recommend which organizations to invite to participate in a site visit. A site visit does not guarantee funding from the IMPACT program.
Grant recommendations made by staff will be reviewed by the Foundation’s president and Grants Committee, and final approval for funding will come from the Foundation’s board of directors.
If you have additional questions not included in the FAQs please email grants@gnof.org
