Greater New Orleans Foundation Prepares for
GiveNOLA Day 2026
With Early Giving starting on April 28, the GiveNOLA Day team at the Greater New Orleans Foundation is working hard to prepare nonprofits to make the most out of GiveNOLA Day on May 5.
On April 9, the Association of Fundraising Professionals hosted a panel discussion featuring GiveNOLA Day experts, including the Foundation’s Senior Program Officer, Rachel Swan, at the Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy. For many nonprofits, GiveNOLA Day is a cornerstone of their annual fundraising efforts. In this discussion, leaders from local nonprofits revealed the proven strategies behind their GiveNOLA Day successes, and Swan provided practical tips and answers to frequently asked questions. Nonprofit experts —Percy Marchand, Founder & CEO of Impact 504; Gabrielle Mizrahi, Director of Philanthropy at ACLU of Louisiana; Diana Turner, Operations Director at Be Loud Studios; and Nora Ellertsen, Founder & Fundraising Coach at the Funding Seed—shared key insights as part of a panel discussion.
To help our participating nonprofits spread the word about this regional giving day, the GiveNOLA Day Team has created a Nonprofit Resource Center on the GiveNOLA Day website. It includes planning and marketing tips, the GiveNOLA Day brand and asset guidelines, and customizable social media graphics and email header templates. Please visit the Nonprofit Resource Center here to learn more about how to implement the GiveNOLA Day brand into your nonprofit’s promotional materials.
Not only are we sharing tips for participating nonprofits, but we are also sharing tips for donors who’d like to give on GiveNOLA Day. Starting this year, donors can deduct $1,000 as a single taxpayer or $2,000 if they file jointly for charitable deductions, even if they don’t itemize their taxes. Take advantage of this new, above-the-line deduction by supporting your favorite nonprofits on GiveNOLA Day!
Donors may also make donations on GiveNOLA Day through a donor-advised fund, a gift of securities, a retirement account distribution, and other vehicles. Please email development@gnof.org by Friday, April 24 for more details about contributing assets outside of credit card and ACH payments to ensure that your donations are counted on GiveNOLA Day!
Join the Foundation and the Tulane ByWater Institute on April 22!
The Foundation and the Tulane ByWater Institute invite practitioners to join peers from across sectors working to accelerate equitable implementation of green infrastructure and climate adaptation at the Southeast Louisiana Adaptation Forum Spring 2026 Member Meet-Up at Skeeta Hawk Brewing on April 22.
This gathering is an opportunity to build new relationships across sectors and parishes, learn more about Forum Membership and programming, understand an emerging data science and community knowledge project, and celebrate the growing regional collaboration that drives our collective impact. This event is for all practitioners, community leaders, researchers, and partners from nonprofit, government, business, philanthropic, and academic sectors. Please RSVP here to attend.
The Southeast Louisiana Adaptation Forum is led by a broad-based and diverse Organizing Committee and administered by the Greater New Orleans Foundation and Tulane ByWater Institute.
Learn More About Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans
Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans (EPNO), a program of the Greater New Orleans Foundation to inspire and educate our region’s next generation of philanthropists, invites you to join us to learn more about joining our 2026 cohort on May 20 at the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy! EPNO alumni, past grantees, and prospective EPNO cohort members are invited to join us for refreshments, interactive activities hosted by two past EPNO grantees, and to learn more about joining this year’s EPNO cohort.
Since 2011, over 600 alumni have gone through the EPNO program. To RSVP for this event, click here.
Grant Spotlight: Parks & Parkways Tree Planting Grant
In partnership with the City of New Orleans’ Department of Parks and Parkways and with one-time funds allocated by the City Council, the Greater New Orleans Foundation is accepting grant applications from nonprofit partners in Orleans Parish to plant trees on public property across the city. The Tree Planting Grants will help the City reach its goal of restoring and expanding New Orleans’ urban forest with 40,000 new trees planted by 2030. Applicants are welcome to attend the informational webinar on April 28 at 2 pm. Sign up for the webinar here.
$146,500 available is available for this round of funding for the 2026-2027 planting season. Grant awards will be $15,000-$25,000. Applicants should submit their completed proposal via the Foundation’s online portal by May 15. To learn more, click here.
In the News: Beken Bio, in the BioDistrict New Orleans, Works to Turn Blood Draw into Early Ovarian Cancer Warning
Courtesy of Google Street View
Beken Bio, a biotechnology startup developing early-detection blood tests for aggressive cancers, recently cut the ribbon on a new laboratory inside the New Orleans BioInnovation Center in the BioDistrict New Orleans. The company says this move will speed up clinical work on its blood-based ovarian cancer test while laying the groundwork for a CLIA-certified (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified) facility. CLIA certification is the federal standard for laboratories that run human diagnostic tests and establishes personnel, quality control, and proficiency requirements labs must meet before offering patient testing. For Beken Bio, securing CLIA status at the new site would be a key step toward offering its ovarian cancer test as a clinical service. The space is expected to serve as the startup’s primary hub for clinical and operational work as it moves through regulatory review.
The expansion adds another wet-lab tenant to the city’s growing BioDistrict and could bring new biotech jobs to the area. 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 as one of the Foundation’s transformative community projects, with Andy Kopplin, Foundation President and CEO, serving as Chair of the BioDistrict’s board.
To learn more about Beken Bio, click here.
Emerging Leaders Completes Eighth Cohort
On February 25, the Foundation gathered its eighth cohort of Emerging Leaders for their final program session. Emerging Leaders is a leadership development program aimed at creating a pipeline of senior and executive leadership in the nonprofit sector of southeast Louisiana. This program equips participants with the technical and relationship skills, as well as the critical systems-level thinking, necessary to lead strong, healthy, and impactful nonprofits.
Because the Foundation’s research has documented a racial leadership gap in the greater New Orleans area, a gap witnessed in many regions across the country, Emerging Leaders elevates the voices of Black and Indigenous leaders and other leaders of color in this learning community and affirms their strengths and experiences and the unique challenges they face. To learn more about Emerging Leaders, click here.
Foundation’s Board Governance Intensive Returns in April
Effective board leadership is crucial to an organization’s success. To help organizations improve their board governance, the Foundation’s Paulette and Frank Stewart Board Governance Institute is hosting a Board Governance Intensive workshop. The day and a half-long workshop will take place on April 22 from 9:30 am – 4:00 pm and on April 23 from 9:30 am – 12:30 pm at the Foundation’s Center for Philanthropy. Attendance on both days is required. Organizations are required to register teams of 2-4 participants. This intensive will support teams of board members, executive directors, and senior staff who work closely with board members.
Join Us for a Nonprofit Governance Webinar Series Starting in April!
The Greater New Orleans Foundation, in partnership with JPMorganChase, is excited to present Stronger Boards Means Stronger Nonprofits: A Governance Webinar Series. Through this virtual, lunchtime series, new and experienced board members are invited to dive into timely and relevant governance topics to support them in fulfilling both their legal and ethical duties, particularly during times of uncertainty and change. The first session is about financial leadership for board members and will be held on April 28 from 12-1:30 pm. To register for this session, click here. While each webinar is free, registration is required to receive the links to participate. To learn more about the other sessions, click here.
Because the Foundation regularly holds training sessions and events that bring together large numbers of people in our Center for Philanthropy, we trained staff members in March and April to secure American Red Cross Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED certification so that our team is well prepared to assist our guests and colleagues should immediate first aid be required. The Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED course incorporates the latest science and teaches participants to recognize and respond to a variety of first aid emergencies, including basic First Aid, heat- and cold-related emergencies, and breathing and cardiac emergencies. This training prepared participants to assist victims of any age, including adults (about 12 years and older) and pediatric patients (infants and children up to 12 years old). The Foundation has first aid kits in our building as well as AED equipment for use in cardiac emergencies.
Thanks for joining us for this edition of The Greater Good.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation Team