Today is the Last Day to Apply for Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans!
Courtesy of Billiot Photography & Video
Today is the last day to apply to be a part of the next cohort of Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans (EPNO), a program of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. EPNO was created to engage our region’s next generation of philanthropists.
EPNO’s mission is to inspire and educate community members across the Greater New Orleans region to become effective, strategic, and lifelong philanthropists. Through this dynamic experience, community members across the region build the skills, perspective, and confidence to become impactful nonprofit supporters for the benefit of our community. In this high-energy, six-month cohort experience, participants learn, connect, and together create meaningful change in our community. Since 2011, more than 600 alumni have completed the EPNO program.
Applications for the 2026–2027 EPNO cohort are open until midnight tonight, July 15. Don’t miss your chance to be part of a powerful network of emerging leaders committed to making a difference.
Apply Here!In the News: Foundation President and CEO Andy Kopplin Believes New Orleans Best Hope for the Future Lies in Its BioDistrict
Courtesy of Billiot Photography & Video
Recently, Foundation President and CEO, Andy Kopplin, and NOLA.com’s Stephanie Riegel sat down for an interview about the BioDistrict’s history, strategic plan, priorities, investments, and wins—chief among them is last month’s announcement that Tulane University will lead the transformative effort to turn the former Charity Hospital into a hub of education, medical research and apartments.
Beginning in 2018, the Greater New Orleans Foundation made a generational commitment to catalyzing the growth of a dynamic, job creating, and equitable life and biosciences innovation district. The Foundation produced an initial report on the potential for such district in 2018 and then led the successful efforts to activate the BioDistrict and secure economic development district funding from the City of New Orleans and State of Louisiana to advance its work. Then the Foundation spearheaded the fundraising effort to support the BioDistrict’s 2024 strategic master plan, which named the redevelopment of Charity Hospital along with the launch of Xavier Ochsner College of Medicine and Louisiana State University (LSU) securing a National Cancer Institute designation as its three top priorities. Kopplin serves as Chair of the BioDistrict’s board.
“In 2018, the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s board made a generational commitment to get behind the idea of a redeveloped Charity. So, we did a strategic plan that talked about everything that could flow from that — small business development, entrepreneurship, increased research, reactivating that section of downtown,” said Kopplin. “Part of the plan called for creating an economic development entity — a public-private partnership — that would lead the way. We started working on that and invested resources in getting the BioDistrict back up and secured funding from the city and the state. So, we really feel that from 2018 to today, the biggest champion of the BioDistrict, hopefully anchored now by Charity, is the Greater New Orleans Foundation.”
Kopplin mentions other cities around the country where a biomedical corridor has generated investment and transformed the surrounding areas—like Pittsburgh, PA, Cambridge, MA, and Birmingham, AL— and says the BioDistrict leadership and the leadership at local institutions recognize that this cannot happen without major collaboration. Today, there is more collaboration than there has ever been, thanks to the BioDistrict’s partners at Tulane University, LSU, Delgado Community College, Ochsner Health, Xavier University, LCMC, and with mayoral appointees. To read the full article, click here.
Foundation and Its Women’s Giving Circle, Impact 100, Host Women’s Business Alliance Event
Courtesy of Anthony LaMothe Photography and New Orleans Chamber of Commerce
The Women’s Business Alliance, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Impact 100, the Foundation’s women’s giving circle, welcomed nearly 100 business professionals to a networking event on July 9 from 5-7 pm at the Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy. Bringing together women from a wide range of industries, the evening fostered authentic conversation, meaningful connections, and shared inspiration. Created by women, for women, the event provided a welcoming space to share experiences, explore challenges, and support one another in both business and life.
Impact 100 is a group of over 100 local women who commit to giving $1,100 each and together making a single transformative grant to a local nonprofit. Since its inaugural year, Impact 100 has granted more than $1.725 million to nonprofits across our region. We invite you to join Impact 100 for its 14th year. Members are welcome to pay in monthly installments. To register for Impact 100, click here. If you have any questions, please contact Donor Relations Associate Mary Conly Fakier at maryconly@gnof.org or (504) 620-5275.
It’s Not Too Late to Join Us for Our Nonprofit Preparedness Workshop on July 17!
The best time to plan your organization’s disaster response and revisit your organization’s disaster response policies and plans is when you are not experiencing an active disaster. Nonprofit leaders and their teams must remain prepared for a variety of operational challenges, such as extreme weather events, heat risk, flooding, and cyber attacks.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation is excited to offer a half-day workshop from 9:30 am- 2 pm on July 17 to support nonprofit preparedness and help organizations minimize operational and service interruptions due to disasters. This workshop will provide nonprofit leaders, staff, and stakeholders with an update on regional disaster response planning efforts at the city, regional, and state levels; emerging tools and trends in emergency response; expert perspectives on how the nonprofit sector can best prepare for current and future threats; and dedicated time to begin to develop or update their organization’s Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP).
During the session, attendees will hear from a range of trusted national and regional leaders on disaster preparedness, emergency management, and disaster response data.
While this workshop is free, registration is required. The session will be held in person at the Greater New Orleans Foundation (919 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130). Free parking will be provided. Register here!
Applications Are Live for 2026-27 Executive Director Intensive
Being an executive director can be both rewarding and challening. While executives assume leadership roles because they are passionate about the communities they serve, they increasingly face operational disruptions, increased demand for services, and a host of sustainability challenges. Now more than ever, executive directors need timely, relevant training and networks of support.
In partnership with Kresge Foundation and Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation is excited to host the 2026- 2027 Executive Director Intensive (EDI), a comprehensive, six-month leadership program exclusively for nonprofit executive directors, CEOs, and presidents. EDI combines experienced trainers and peer learning to support leaders as they develop critical technical and leadership skills; inspire their staff, board members, and other stakeholders to deeper impact and greater responsiveness; and envision organizations that simultaneously meet community needs and successfully navigate changes in the nonprofit sector.
The program’s curriculum draws on research, experiences with individual coaching and organizational capacity building in the region, and the collective wisdom of EDI alumni to create a powerful space to cultivate core leadership skills, think creatively, try fresh ideas, and identify action steps to successfully lead your organization. The fee to participate in the program is $400. However, we never want funding to be a barrier to participation. A limited number of partial scholarships for qualified participants is available. Scholarship applications will be available after cohort decisions have been announced. Apply before August 14!
New Orleans Recognized by World Monuments Fund as One of 10 Influential Historic Places Across Country
Courtesy of World Monuments Fund
The city of New Orleans has been named to Irreplaceable America, a new list from World Monuments Fund (WMF) recognizing 10 historic places across the United States whose preservation is essential to the richness and complexity of American history in celebration of the nation’s 250th anniversary. From landmarks of public health and colonial architecture to sites central to Black history, Indigenous heritage, and artistic experimentation, the initiative spotlights places facing urgent preservation needs—and New Orleans is the only city included in the 2026 list. WMF recognizes that the historic neighborhoods in the city—shaped by Indigenous, African, European, and Caribbean influences—form one of America’s most distinctive cultural landscapes and that “rising seas, land loss, and mass population relocation now threaten that heritage.”
The local nomination was initiated by Kristin Gisleson Palmer, Executive Director of the Preservation Resource Center, to make the case that the entire city — not a single monument, building or district — is the irreplaceable site. PRC worked with the Historic Preservation program in Tulane’s School of Architecture and Built Environment, Louisiana Landmarks Society, The Ella Project, and The Water Collaborative to develop the submission and highlight the relationship among architecture, culture, water, community stability and traditional skills.
New Orleans Public Schools Surpass Each of Louisiana’s Other Largest Peer Districts in LEAP Results, Climbing from 55th to 36th Among Louisiana’s 71 School Districts in Overall Mastery+ in the Past Five Years
Courtesy of New Schools for New Orleans For the first time and despite serving a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students, New Orleans’ public schools now surpass each of Louisiana’s other largest peer districts – Jefferson, East Baton Rouge, and Caddo – in the percentage of students achieving Mastery or above across all subjects on the 2026 Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP). New Schools for New Orleans shared an analysis of the Louisiana Department of Education’s release of the 2026 LEAP results on July 10 via email, highlighting five consecutive years of growth for New Orleans’ students. Each year, students in grades 3 through high school take state LEAP tests to measure their knowledge and skills in each subject area or course and their readiness for the next level of study. There are five scoring levels on the LEAP test: Unsatisfactory, Approaching Basic, Basic, Mastery, and Advanced. Mastery is the grade-level expectation. New Orleans has also now demonstrated stronger post-pandemic academic recovery than the state and every large peer district, surpassing its 2019 performance by six percentage points. Dana Peterson, Chief Executive Officer of New Schools for New Orleans, said in an email, “These results reflect more than the success of individual schools. They reflect the strength of a system of public schools intentionally designed around key system values of autonomy, accountability, equity and fairness – alongside a relentless focus by leaders on student outcomes. We believe this unique balance has created the conditions for sustained improvement over time.” In 2021, Orleans ranked 55th out of 71 districts for Mastery or above. Today, Orleans ranks 36th out of 71 districts statewide, rising 19 spots in five years. In Orleans, performance improved for all major student subgroups (Black students, Hispanic students, Economically Disadvantaged students, English Learners, and Students with Disabilities). |
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