Senator Mary Landrieu and Dr. Lauren Augustine, Executive Director of the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program, Address Southeast Louisiana Adaptation Forum
Courtesy of Billiot Photography & Video
The Greater New Orleans Foundation and Tulane ByWater Institute launched the Southeast Louisiana Adaptation Forum, featuring a keynote plenary by Senator Mary Landrieu and Dr. Lauren Augustine, Executive Director of the National Academies’ Gulf Research Program, on January 22 at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. The Southeast Louisiana Adaptation Forum is a regional collaborative that will advance implementation of green infrastructure and climate adaptation projects, support regional and cross-sector professional coordination, and build capacity of the region’s practitioners. The convening agenda also included learning from other regional collaboratives like the San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative, engaging activities to advance collective impact, and networking. The Forum is designed to foster regional collaboration across government, community, business, academia, and philanthropy. To learn more about the Organizing Committee, administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation and Tulane ByWater Institute, click here.
Foundation Joins City and State Leaders in Announcing Newlab Groundbreaking on Major Mixed-Use Investment
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and Louisiana Economic Development (LED) Secretary Susan B. Bourgeois joined Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO Inc.), Louisiana State University’s Future Use of Energy in Louisiana (FUEL), the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and other partners in a groundbreaking for Newlab New Orleans at the former Naval Support Activity (NSA) East Bank site in Bywater on January 21.
GNO Inc., recruited Newlab—which it calls the most successful venture platform in the world—to expand to New Orleans to help create new jobs for our region by scaling the next generation of critical technologies that will shape future industries in the state. Newlab New Orleans will focus initially on advanced energy and power solutions, carbon management, industrial efficiency, and maritime innovation—sectors where Louisiana’s existing assets and workforce create a clear competitive advantage. Through structured programming with industry and government partners, the platform will help founders move from technology development and lab-scale testing to first field deployments and commercial scale.
Newlab New Orleans is being built specifically for industrial-scale innovation. The new facility will support startups as they fabricate, assemble, and pre-commission first-of-a-kind systems, allowing technologies to be tested and proven in real-world conditions before being deployed at commercial scale. By lowering the cost and risk of early deployment, Newlab accelerates commercialization timelines and helps attract companies that might otherwise build and scale elsewhere.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Baton Rouge Area Foundation are partnering together to play a critical role in bringing Newlab New Orleans to life by providing bridge loans and managing construction and property management of the Newlab building on behalf of the partners.
Newlab New Orleans is one of several major components of the broader NSA redevelopment, being led by Brian Gibbs Development. Lincoln Avenue Communities’ NSA East Bank Apartments will anchor the housing component of the redevelopment through an adaptive-reuse project that will deliver 294 units of affordable housing and approximately 30,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. At $197 million, the Lincoln Avenue Communities investment represents the largest affordable housing development in Louisiana history, setting a new benchmark for scale, preservation, and long-term affordability.
The multi-phase plan will deliver affordable housing, neighborhood-serving retail, a world-class venture platform, and shared community spaces that reconnect a long-isolated riverfront campus to the surrounding neighborhood. The redevelopment will reimagine the historic riverfront site as a modern, mixed-use campus that supports New Orleans’ role in the future of energy and industry while delivering tangible community benefits and long-term economic growth. The redevelopment of the former Naval Support Activity East Bank site represents one of the most significant mixed-use investments in New Orleans in decades.
Read more about what people are saying about the new investment in New Orleans:
- WGNO: Newlab New Orleans breaks ground at Naval Support Activity Site, transformation plans underway
- The Lens: Bywater Navy base kicks off re-do
- WWL-TV: From blight to renewal: Development begins at old Bywater naval base
- WDSU: New Orleans naval base redevelopment aims to revitalize Bywater
- NOLA.com: New Orleans breaks ground on Navy base redevelopment pitched as new blueprint for city
- MSN: Ribbon cutting celebrates progress at dilapidated Bywater naval base
- Yahoo! News: Newlab New Orleans breaks ground at Naval Support Activity Site, transformation plans underway
Foundation, in Partnership with National Charter Schools Institute and NOLA Public Schools, Invites New Orleans Charter School Board Members to The Success Agenda: Leveraging Governance to Drive Academic Results
As charter schools across the District celebrate academic growth and progress and the highest ever letter grade earned by NOLA Public Schools, it is important to recognize the critical role charter school boards played in these wins. Schools with well-informed board members and strong governance systems and practices are better positioned to advance the academic outcomes characteristic of thriving schools.
To advance the work of charter school boards, the Foundation, in partnership with the National Charter Schools Institute (NCSI) and NOLA Public Schools (NOLA-PS), is hosting The Success Agenda on January 28 from 5-8 pm at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. The Success Agenda brings national experts, NCSI, and District leadership together for an evening of inspiration, guided learning to advance student academic growth and outcomes, and connection with other charter board members.
This session is designed to intentionally connect state accountability expectations, district momentum, and board-level decision-making and equip participants with practical tools they can immediately apply in their governance roles. During the session, attendees will hear directly from NOLA-PS on the new Louisiana State Academic Accountability Changes, insights into the upcoming charter school performance framework being discussed at the District, and academic data resources. Board members will leave the session informed, energized, and better prepared to help our students reach their fullest academic potential. To RSVP, click here.
GiveNOLA Day Website Transitions to New Platform, Announces Registration Tutorial Webinar on January 29, Registration Opens on January 27
GiveNOLA Day will take place on Tuesday, May 5, 2026! An initiative of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, GiveNOLA Day is a one-day online giving event that provides support for 1,000+ nonprofits in the thirteen-parish region the Foundation serves (Orleans, Jefferson, St. Tammany, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, and Washington Parishes). Since its inception, GiveNOLA Day has helped raise more than $71.2 million for regional nonprofits. The majority of gifts are $100 or less, which shows that even small gifts add up to a huge impact.
Over the past few months, the Foundation’s team has been working hard preparing for the next GiveNOLA Day. We are pleased to announce our partnership with Mightycause, GiveNOLA Day’s new technology provider. Mightycause has served the nonprofit community with online fundraising and donor engagement since 2006, has supported over 150,000 causes, and has been the technology partner for hundreds of community-led giving days. While there will be a few changes, donors and nonprofits alike can look forward to a seamless transition.
Nonprofit registration for GiveNOLA Day will open on January 27. The team will host a training webinar on January 29 to help nonprofits navigate the new registration process and take advantage of the new platform. To sign up for our webinar, click here. The webinar will be available for viewing on our website after January 29.
The Foundation celebrated its 12th annual GiveNOLA Day in 2025, hosted by Baptist Community Ministries and powered by Entergy, which generated nearly $7 million in donations for a record-breaking 1,027 nonprofits.
Foundation Featured in The Kresge Foundation Blog About the Role of Community Foundations in Building Resilience
Courtesy of The Kresge Foundation
The Community Lighthouse initiative, led by Together Louisiana with catalytic support from the Greater New Orleans Foundation, as well as the Foundation’s Next 100 Years Challenge were featured in a blog post by funding partner, The Kresge Foundation, about the growing role of community foundations in climate adaptation.
In the post, Kristin Tracz, Director of the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative, highlights projects in New Orleans that illustrate the impact of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. In addition to highlighting the Community Lighthouse initiative, Tracz also wrote about the success the Foundation’s Next 100 Years Challenge had in earning state and federal funding for local resilience projects. “Through [the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s] Next 100 Years Challenge, projects rooted in community leadership — such as the United Houma Nation’s multi-phase resilience strategy — demonstrated impact and readiness, resulting in a $56 million NOAA grant supporting resilience hubs, green infrastructure, relocation planning, and cultural preservation,” said Tracz.
The Foundation launched the $1.2 million-Next 100 Years Challenge in celebration of our centennial year to inspire great ideas for resilient infrastructure projects, including nature-based solutions, that will reduce the threat from storms and other disasters and which can attract federal and state funds for their construction. Since being awarded Next 100 Years Challenge grants from the Foundation, these winners have secured federal and state funding to implement their projects totaling nearly $125 million!
In 2022, Together Louisiana and the Foundation launched the Community Lighthouse strategy to create a community-wide network of nonprofit resilience hubs, each powered by commercial-scale solar systems with back-up battery capacity, that will be able to better provide assistance to surrounding communities during power outages caused by hurricanes and other disasters. The Foundation provided a $1 million grant to The Community Lighthouse strategy, serving as the lead investor and partner in getting the project off the ground. The gift was the Foundation’s largest single grant from its Disaster Response and Restoration fund. To read the full blog post, click here.
New Lighting Project Highlights BioDistrict New Orleans on Canal Street
Courtesy Downtown Development District
The Downtown Development District of New Orleans (DDD) and the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) have completed a new creative lighting installation along Canal Street, a project aimed at enhancing visibility, safety and identity within the New Orleans BioDistrict. The installation, located on the NOBIC campus, uses programmable lighting to accent architectural features and reinforce the BioDistrict‘s presence along one of downtown’s most heavily traveled corridors. District leaders say the project supports broader efforts to position Downtown New Orleans as a hub for life sciences research, entrepreneurship and commercialization.
The lighting represents the latest in a series of investments by the Downtown Development District to advance the long-term vision outlined in the BioDistrict Strategic Plan. DDD officials said the project builds on more than two years of financial support and leadership focused on strengthening the BioDistrict, including public art, landscaping improvements, district branding efforts, planning studies, and entrepreneurial programming.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation has made a generational commitment to catalyzing the growth of a dynamic, job-creating, and equitable BioDistrict for our region and Andy Kopplin, Foundation President and CEO, serves as Chair of the BioDistrict’s board. Learn more here.
Downtown Development District Begins Upgrades to Molly Marine Plaza in BioDistrict
Courtesy of Downtown Development District
The Downtown Development District of New Orleans (DDD) has begun designing upgrades to Molly Marine Plaza, the Elk Place neutral ground between Canal Street and Tulane Avenue, in the BioDistrict. The improvements, which include updated lighting and enhanced public spaces, are being developed in partnership with local design firm Studio West. The $100,000 project is funded through Act 461 of the 2025 Louisiana Legislature and covers both design and installation.
“Molly Marine Plaza sits at the heart of where innovation meets everyday life,” said Andy Kopplin, chair of BioDistrict New Orleans and President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “Investments like this help create places where people feel connected, inspired, and proud of their neighborhood.”
The Molly Marine Plaza project coincides with DDD’s Canal Street Sidewalk Restoration, the first comprehensive maintenance of the sidewalks in more than 20 years. Both projects reflect the district’s commitment to improving prominent Downtown corridors and public spaces. To learn more, click here.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Nonprofit Leadership and Effectiveness Program is hosting a workshop training for young professionals and community members who are interested in nonprofit board service on February 4 from 6:00 pm-8:00 pm at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. Workshop topics for Everything You Need to Know to be a GREAT Board Member will include:
- The nonprofit sector’s purpose and structure;
- The role of governance in nonprofit organizations;
- The Board of Director’s legal, fiduciary, and ethical duties and responsibilities;
- Individual board members’ role and responsibilities; and
- Finding the right board position for YOU.
Participation in the workshop costs $15. Use promo code “GNOF” to receive a $5 discount. Click here to register.