Congratulations to the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s 2026 LGBTQ Fund Grand Recipients!
Today, the Greater New Orleans Foundation announced $100,000 in grants to 23 area nonprofits from our LGBTQ Fund. Since its inaugural year in 2016, the Foundation’s LGBTQ Fund has awarded 160 grants totaling $952,000 to 57 nonprofits across our region. The grants are recommended by the Foundation’s LGBTQ committee and support organizations that increase the quality of life and access to opportunity for LGBTQ individuals and families, particularly the most vulnerable members of the community, including elders, transgender youth and adults, people of color, low-income people, and persons who are disabled
In 2019, the Greater New Orleans Foundation Board of Directors voted to ensure that our LGBTQ work is sustained on a permanent basis by establishing an endowed fund that will make grants on an annual basis in perpetuity. With an initial fundraising goal of $2.5 million that has now been met thanks to generous contributions from donors, the LGBTQ Fund ensures that there will always be grant funding for local LGBTQ-led and LGBTQ-serving nonprofits. The Foundation continues to raise funds for the LGBTQ Endowment, particularly through planned gifts, knowing that community needs will continue in the future.
The recent round of grants to local nonprofits will enhance support to the LGBTQ community by expanding access to critical services, strengthening community connections, providing education and advocacy, and creating safe, affirming spaces where people can thrive.
Contributions to the LGBTQ Fund were made possible by support from dozens of generous local donors and grants from Funders for LGBTQ Issues, a collaborative that awards matching and planning grants to catalyze locally driven funds that address the needs and strengthen the assets of LGBTQ communities in the South.
To help support this effort, click here to donate to the LGBTQ Endowed Fund.
Foundation Hosts Community Foundation Partners from Alabama and Alaska
Community Foundations, like the Greater New Orleans Foundation, are uniquely positioned to lead in disaster response by leveraging relationships with donors, nonprofits, and public officials to quickly raise money, identify urgent needs, and deploy grants to help the most impacted communities. As the go-to philanthropic disaster fundraising and response leader in Southeast Louisiana, with many disaster and emergency responses under its belt, the Foundation has long-recognized the importance of participating in peer learning opportunities to exchange information and expertise with other community foundations as an important way to build our own capacities and better prepare the field.
Most recently, we coordinated and facilitated a disaster response-focused learning opportunity with the Community Foundation of South Alabama (CFSA) and the Alaska Community Foundation (ACF) as members of a Community Foundation Climate Collaborative Peer Exchange. The purpose of the Peer Exchange was for community foundations to learn from each other to strengthen fundraising and improve and streamline disaster response to increase impact and better support nonprofits and communities impacted by disasters.
The ACF has been in active disaster response due to severe storms, including Typhoon Halong, that devastated Alaska’s western coast last October. The CFSA is building disaster response systems to be best positioned to respond when a disaster occurs in Alabama. The Greater New Orleans Foundation undertook a dual effort: engaging Peer Exchange colleagues in meaningful and productive engagements, while simultaneously conducting a thorough review and updating of our own internal disaster grantmaking framework, grant processes, protocols and procedures.
Over the past six months, the Foundation and colleagues from CFSA and ACF have regularly connected to share best practices for each organization to hone its disaster response procedures. These connections culminated with a May in-person gathering in New Orleans. Having recognized the commonality of land loss, especially for Indigenous peoples across the three Foundations’ geographies, we made site visits in the Bayou region to connect with Greater New Orleans Foundation disaster grantee partners. Our colleagues heard from the United Houma Nation, a Next 100 Years Challenge winner, about its $56 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant to implement their comprehensive plan to advance climate resilience; visited with the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe to hear about its partnership with Lowlander Institute to increase fresh water access with support from the Foundation’s federally funded Community-led Green Infrastructure Program; and toured New Isle, the Isle de Jean Charles Resettlement project, with Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative.
A graphic recording expressing the impact and purpose of the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative Peer Exchange | Courtesy of Rio Holaday
Highlights from the Peer Exchange in-person convening include:
- Learning about how community foundations can support long-term recovery and resilience efforts, as Greater New Orleans Foundation has done with the Next 100 Years Challenge and Community Lighthouse investments, and the importance of technical assistance and capacity building supports, which can be just as helpful as grants, in advancing community resilience.
- Having in-depth discussions with multiple foundation departments about how to best prepare for disasters in times when the organizations are not responding to a disaster and the key roles that finance, donor relations and communications departments play in supporting response.
- Sharing real-life examples of how trust and long-term, close relationships with community-based organizations can lead to improved processes to quickly get grants to communities that most need them in emergencies.
Join Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans Today!
Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans (EPNO), a program of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, was created to engage our region’s next generation of philanthropists—and we’re looking for our next cohort members now!
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 strategic, effective, and lifelong nonprofit supporters to benefit 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. EPNO is building on a strong legacy and expanding opportunities to support Southeast Louisiana’s next generation of philanthropists.
Applications for the 2026–2027 EPNO cohort are open now. Don’t miss your chance to be part of a powerful network of emerging leaders committed to making a difference.
Apply Here!New Orleans East Hospital Unveils the Ronald Sr. and Sheila Burns & Family Prayer and Meditation Chapel
Courtesy of New Orleans East Hospital
Greater New Orleans Foundation Trustee Ronald V. Burns, Sr., his wife Sheila Burns, and their family were honored at New Orleans East Hospital on June 2 with the dedication of the Ronald Sr. and Sheila Burns & Family Prayer and Meditation Chapel. At the announcement, New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, Archbishop James Francis Checchio, and a host of community and business leaders gave remarks. The chapel will welcome everyone who walks through the doors of the hospital to take a quiet moment to pause and will serve as a lasting reflection of faith, service, generosity, and a deep commitment to the New Orleans East community. Mr. Burns was appointed by former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to lead the New Orleans East Hospital Service District, overseeing the hospital’s construction and opening. Serving as Chair of the Hospital’s Board of Commissioners since it opened in 2014, Mr. Burns has played a critical role in restoring healthcare access to New Orleans East, later overseeing the hospital’s operations.
To learn more, click here.
Remembering Richard Freeman, Jr., Co-Creator of the Freeman Challenges at the Greater New Orleans Foundation and Former Foundation Trustee
Courtesy of NOLA.com
Richard West Freeman, Jr., a civic leader, philanthropist, and business executive who ran Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Co. passed away on June 10 at 88 years old. A longtime resident of the New Orleans area who reigned as Rex, king of Carnival, in 2003, Freeman had been president of the bottling company that his grandfather A.B. Freeman led. Freeman joined the firm after serving in the Navy in the early 1960s and was president when the business was sold to Coca-Cola’s Atlanta-based parent company in 1984.
Freeman was born in Chicago. He attended the Isidore Newman School and graduated from Culver Military Academy and Tulane University, where he majored in business. The business school has since been named for A.B. Freeman, and Richard Freeman was named its Outstanding Alumnus in 1988. Freeman chaired the Vieux Carré Commission and two family foundations — the Ella West Freeman Foundation and the RosaMary Foundation. Freeman also chaired the board of the Ochsner Clinic Foundation. In 2008, Freeman received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ochsner Health System. He also was a member of Tulane’s Board of Administrators and the Culver Educational Foundation, and he sat on the boards of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Hibernia National Bank, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. To learn more about the life of Richard Freeman, Jr., click here.
Join Us in Celebrating a National Day of Charitable Giving and America’s 250th Anniversary!
Since our country’s founding, giving back to our neighbors and communities has been part of who we are. And we know donors in the Greater New Orleans region are some of the most generous people in the country. Typically, charitable giving occurs during the end of the calendar year, which leaves nonprofits without critical resources they need throughout the year. As our country celebrates 250 years on July 4, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to establish July 4 as a new national day of charitable giving is presenting itself. Giving 4th asks that the generous people in our country make their charitable gifts now as we approach our nation’s anniversary.
As your community foundation, we are proud to serve as your philanthropic partners for this region, and your trust and support are the platform for our collective success. Our successes are only possible thanks to the generous partners who support the Foundation’s work. We hope that you will consider a gift to our annual Partners In Philanthropy campaign on Giving 4th to support our ongoing efforts to strengthen this place we love so dearly.
We partner with donors to provide and leverage critical resources, especially when they’re needed most. And we’re able to say “yes” in the moments that matter because of the people and systems already in place at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. That kind of leadership is made possible by generous supporters like you—people who choose to fund “the work behind the work.”
Please contact Nathan Alvarez at nathan@gnof.org or 504.620.5264 with any questions or for assistance.
Make a Gift HereNonprofit Spotlight: Impact 100 Winners Hotel Hope and People’s Housing+
Courtesy of CityBusiness
Recently, Hotel Hope broke ground on an affordable housing project called Hope Family Housing with their development partner and construction manager, People’s Housing+, at 3931 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Both organizations (Hotel Hope in 2021 and People’s Housing+ in 2025) are past winners of transformative $100,000 grants from Impact 100, the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s women’s giving circle, awarded each organization. Together, the two created the new Hope Family Housing initiative and are now building the first two duplexes.
This pilot project, adjacent to Hotel Hope’s existing campus, aims to introduce a new model for nonprofit-led affordable housing in New Orleans by utilizing the city’s Small Multi-Family Affordable zoning and adopting FORTIFIED Gold construction standards. This design approach aims to mitigate long-term storm damage and maintenance costs, which is significant for insurers and investors interested in New Orleans’ housing resilience.
People’s Housing+, which has developed more than 250 affordable housing units across New Orleans, is overseeing site selection and construction management while also providing financial education, homebuyer training and hurricane preparedness services for tenants. The creation of People’s Housing+ resulted from the strategic merger, funded and facilitated by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, of three New Orleans-based community development organizations, established to achieve greater scale and impact with an unabashed focus on advancing racial equity in community development.
This project is set to develop two duplexes offering four rental units tailored for single-parent families and seniors aged 55 and over. As part of a larger vision, the partners plan to expand the Hope Family Housing initiative to 20 duplexes, totaling 40 units, over the next five years in Central City and Hoffman Triangle. This scalable model presents an interesting template for affordable housing development, making the pilot a focal point for community land trusts and mission-driven development strategies in the city. To learn more, click here.
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.
In the News: Leaders for a Better Louisiana Announces New Members, Including Foundation President and CEO Andy Kopplin
Recently, the nonprofit, Leaders for a Better Louisiana, named Andy Kopplin, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, as a new member. Launched in 2025 and created through the merging of the Council for A Better Louisiana and the Committee of 100 for Economic Development, the nonprofit gathers experts in business and state politics to find ways to drive economic growth in the state.
Applications Are Open for the 2026-2027 Emerging Leaders Cohort
Emerging Leaders provides an opportunity for passionate nonprofit leaders to elevate their skills, perspectives, and networks to become our region’s next nonprofit executive directors and senior leaders.
This seven-month (September 2026 – March 2027) intensive training program equips participants with the technical and relationship-building skills, as well as the critical systems-level thinking, necessary to lead strong, healthy, and impactful nonprofits. In response to the Foundation’s survey identifying a racial leadership gap among greater New Orleans area nonprofits, the Foundation is especially encouraging Black and Indigenous leaders and other leaders of color to apply to join this learning community which affirms their strengths, experiences, and the unique challenges they face. Those who work in youth-serving organizations are also encouraged to apply. Space is limited. Applications are due on July 7.
Apply Here!Check Out Our Summer NLE Offerings For Nonprofit and Charter School Board Members!
This summer, the Foundation’s Paulette and Frank Stewart Board Governance Institute, part of our Center for Nonprofit Leadership and Effectiveness, is offering several workshops and webinars! Check out the list of opportunities below:
- Tuesday, June 23 | 11:30 am – 1 pm – Board Officers and Committee Chairs: Roles and Responsibilities (A part of Stronger Boards Means Stronger Nonprofits: A Governance Webinar Series in partnership with JPMorganChase)
- Thursday, August 20 | 11:30 am – 1 pm – How to Plan, Design, and Facilitate a Great Board Retreat – (A part of Stronger Boards Means Stronger Nonprofits: A Governance Webinar Series in partnership with JPMorganChase)
Courtesy of NOLA.com
New Louisiana Civil Rights Trail Marker Honors 4 New Orleans Civil Rights Icons
Ahead of Juneteenth— a day that honors freedom, resilience, and the enduring contributions of Black communities to our region and nation—state officials unveiled the 14th Louisiana Civil Rights Trail marker at 1001 Canal Street where four students were arrested in 1960 for sitting at a lunch table at McCrory’s Five and Dime in violation of the city’s Jim Crow segregation laws.
The group of sit-in protesters went on to be known as the ‘CORE Four,’ a reference to the civil rights organization, the Congress of Racial Equality. Students Rudy Lombard, Cecil Carter, Oretha Castle Haley, and Sydney “Lanny” Goldfinch would later be praised as pivotal to the Civil Rights Movement in New Orleans. The four students’ case gained national attention, and the U.S. Supreme court overturned their convictions. In response, activists boycotted 75 stores on Canal Street and demanded an end to segregation in restaurants and eating areas. The protesters gave those establishments 75 days to hire 90 Black employees, a demand the businesses met after more than two years had passed.
The Civil Rights markers are life-sized figures cut from steel that stand over 6 feet tall. They have been placed in areas across the state where civil rights activism took place. Each statue also features a sign that describes the location and the activists’ role in the movement. Learn more about the Civil Rights Trail here.
Thanks for joining us for this edition of The Greater Good.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation Team