New Orleans Grants for Nonprofits

Women's Development Grants Program

We are committed to investing in efforts that increase education and economic opportunities for citizens in our operating communities. In particular, we want to ensure that women have suitable, relevant, functional opportunities to be full participants in economic development and attain greater levels of prosperity. When women gain skills, they gain confidence, increase their productivity, mentor others, raise their income levels and reinvest in their children’s education, their family’s health, and economic activities at the community level.  

The Freeport-McMoRan Women’s Development Grants support organizations providing women and girls with opportunities to:

• Advance attainment, matriculation or graduation via college/career readiness and/or leadership/character development
• Create or expand businesses via small business development training and access to capital programs
• Increase financial capability and employment via education or workforce skills training

Purpose

Since it was founded nearly 60 years ago, Turner Industries has grown to be one of the nation’s leading heavy industrial contractors. Founder Bert S. Turner (now deceased) and his wife, Sue, and their children have taken an interest from the very beginning in steadily investing charitable dollars back into the communities in which the company works. As the company has grown in size and number of locations across the country, so have the number of recipients the company has been able to assist. Turner Industries benefits workforce development and community improvement as it relates to health and education.

The Turner Industries Fund at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation invites you to apply for grant funding for your organization through this process. The Fund committee meets on a semi-annual basis to review grant requests and will look forward to reviewing your submission.

Values

Organizations eligible for funding should have values consistent with those of Turner Industries:

• A top priority of everyone is to honor commitments, both personally and professionally. 
• The workplace atmosphere is one of openness and fairness where everyone communicates directly and honestly, and is governed by the same rules.
• A goal of everyone is to grow, personally and professionally, and to contribute to the achievement of the organization.
• The importance of innovation is recognized and peak performers are rewarded.
• The value of excellence in produce quality, customer service and financial performance is stressed.

Pratt-Stanton Manor Fund

Pratt-Stanton Manor helped older adults to live independent lives for over forty years, as a nonprofit assisted living facility for older adults in New Orleans. Recent trends show an increase in the number of adults 65 and over who fall below the poverty line. This is occurring at the same time that funding for older adult services is declining. We believe that, while it is important to invest to reverse this trend, it is also important to invest to help older adults live independently and with dignity. Pratt-Stanton Manor worked hard to provide high quality services. It created a happy and healthy environment for its residents so that they could enjoy fruitful and meaningful lives. As a fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, Pratt-Stanton Manor seeks to continue this legacy through partnerships with organizations that share this vision.

Goal

Help older adults to live dignified, meaningful, and independent lives.

Objective

Leverage existing resources available to organizations serving older adults by awarding grants, up to $40,000, annually. In special circumstances the Pratt-Stanton Manor advisory committee can recommend larger grants.

Priority Areas

Priority will be given to organizations in three areas of work:

• serve older adults, especially those living below the region’s median income level;
• serve the most frail and dysfunctional older adults who are living independently; and
• address most basic needs, including food, housing, long term care, activities for daily living, improving general quality of life, and delaying the onset of disability.

Specific Guidelines

Requirements necessary to keep older adults living independently cut across project, program, and capital needs.

The following are examples of project or program needs:

• To provide informal caregiver support–initiatives that support the work of unpaid caregivers, including friends and family.
• To provide services and supports–basic needs and interventions designed to prevent or delay hospitalization.
• To promote economic security–initiatives that help older adults manage their resources, or connect with benefits available to them.

The following are examples of capital needs:

• To provide housing rehabilitation and repair services–home repairs and home modification programs designed to help older adults lead independent lives in their homes, or in independent care facilities.
• To provide capital support for residential care and community-based facilities–capital projects aimed at developing a friendly home-like environment, including senior centers, adult day programs, and other facilities that provide non-institutional setting.

GNOF Exxon-Mobil Fund

The purpose of the GNOF Exxon-Mobil Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is to improve the quality of life for people in Algiers and St. Bernard Parish. An advisory committee of business and civic leaders meet annually to review grant requests in all program areas relative to the designated areas.

For St. Bernard Parish, the Committee typically recommends grants that do not exceed $10,000, although larger grants may be made in extraordinary circumstances. For the designated area in Algiers, the Committee typically recommends grants that do not exceed $4,000. View Algiers boundaries here.

The Fund will provide for the following types of funding:

• Grants that support new, creative, or beneficial programs;
• Capital fund grants for new construction or major renovations;
• Seed money grants to help start a new organization which responds to an important opportunity in the community;
• Bridge grants to sustain organizations experiencing financial hardship.

Impact Grants

To support the region in the following categories: arts & culture, education, youth development, health, and social services.

Purpose

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.

Priority Areas

Our priorities are informed by thoughtful analysis of pressing community needs, corresponding data, service delivery gaps, and best practices, as well as by available funding. We draw from the collective wisdom of our nonprofit partners, our staff, and the field of grantmaking. Accordingly, we have developed a theory of change statement for each area of funding. These theories of change statements guide our investments in the five program areas described below.

As we seek to be responsive and strategic, we will refine and adjust our priorities over time. Feedback and guidance are always welcome.

Arts & Culture

Support is available to organizations and programs that help preserve and grow Greater New Orleans’ unique, rich cultural heritage.

Priority will be given to work that aims to:

• Improve the quality of life and economic opportunities for indigenous culture bearers, artists, and performers.
• Advocate to preserve existing public support for the arts.

Social Services

Support is available to organizations that form and promote strategic partnerships to meet the needs of low-income individuals and families and help them move towards self-sufficiency.

Priority will be given to work that aims to:

• Provide high quality and well-coordinated social services related to crisis management and treatment; intake assessment and screening; early intervention; and job skills training, career planning, job retention, and career advancement.
• Improve communication, coordination, and collaboration between social service organizations so that individuals and families can be provided with comprehensive, wrap-around services through strong referral networks and shared practices. 

Health

Support is available to organizations that increase access to healthcare services for low-income, disabled, and older adult individuals and organizations that work to increase access to mental health services.

Priority will be given to work that aims to:

• Help increase Medicaid/LACHIP, Medicare, or Affordable Care Act Marketplace enrollment for low-income, disabled, and older adult individuals in Louisiana.
• Advocate for equal access to quality primary care, behavioral health, and preventive healthcare for all.
• Increase access to trauma-informed and culturally relevant mental health services.

Youth Development

Support is available to organizations that ensure youth have access to high quality programs that extend learning beyond the classroom and build connections to caring adults, education, and employment.

Priority will be given to work that aims to:

• Provide youth workers with the education, tools, and professional development opportunities that will help improve their knowledge, skills, and attitudes in the areas of social-emotional learning, trauma informed care, equity, and healing.
• Increase the advocacy capacity of youth serving organizations on issues such as juvenile justice reform, workforce training, appropriate educational options, and transition supports for opportunity youth— individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 who are not connected to education or employment.

Education

Support is available to organizations that ensure all young people enrolled in public K-12 schools receive a rigorous, high quality education that prepares them for post-secondary education and entering the workforce. GNOF also supports organizations that advocate for adult literacy.

Priority will be given to work that aims to:

• Support the equitable provision of social-emotional academic instruction, trauma informed approaches, and mental health services to students in school settings.
• Advocate at the local and state levels for equitable policies regarding special education, school discipline, and diverse educational options that meet the needs of underserved students.
• Increase college matriculation, graduation, or post-secondary training and completion by encouraging students to explore options and supporting them through the enrollment process and beyond.

Amount

The average grant size is $20,000; grants may be larger or smaller.

Grants Types

IMPACT will support:

• General operations
• Programs
• Advocacy, including legislative, judicial, or executive advocacy; community organizing; community leadership development; and policy development

Special Funding

Grants will also be awarded in four special funding categories: Kahn-Oppenheim Trust, Michael R. Boh Fund, Gulf States Eye Surgery Fund, and Harold W. Newman Jr. Charitable Trust.

Harold W. Newman, Jr. Charitable Trust (up to $220,000) – Funding for organizations that provide health care assistance to residents of New Orleans whose U.S. adjusted gross income for the preceding tax year, when added to any tax-exempt income and income from a spouse for that same year, is at least $75,000 but not more than $200,000. The health care assistance must be for cancer, heart disease, or Alzheimer’s.

Kahn-Oppenheim Trust (up to $130,000) – Funding for the development and/or improvement of public health outreach and education programs to inform people about ways to prevent diseases like asthma, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, HIV/AIDS, and others, insofar as these programs involve physical, nutritional, or dietary regimens.

Gulf States Eye Surgery Fund (up to $40,000) – Funding for organizations that defray the expenses of poor or indigent patients requiring or receiving eye surgery, care, or treatment.

Michael R. Boh Fund (up to $80,000) – Funding for organizations that help children and their families who have been rejected by the institutions that most children rely on for their development.

Priority will be given to organizations that demonstrate one or more of the following:

• Strong leadership at the staff and board level
• Good fiscal management
• Growing track record of success
• Commitment to equity for communities and populations in high need
• Thoughtful involvement of community members as leaders and advisors
• Key contributions to the health and vibrancy of the communities they serve
• Advocacy on behalf of underserved communities at the community, legislative, judicial, and/or executive levels
• Creative engagement of multiple stakeholders to promote the creation of new public sources of support for nonprofit work
• Integration of individual, family, and community views into the assessment of needs and services as well as needed policy and advocacy initiatives

For over 30 years, the Greater New Orleans Foundation has been connecting donors to community needs. We help create a resilient, sustainable, vibrant community in which individuals and families flourish and the special character of our region is preserved, celebrated, and supported.

Program Areas

To improve the lives of people in the Greater New Orleans area. The Selley Trustees review grant requests in the following program areas:

• arts & culture,
• education, and
• the environment.

The Selley Foundation (Selley) is a donor-advised fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

Selley supports nonprofits serving the greater New Orleans area with an emphasis on capital needs, but occasionally will consider programmatic requests. In the area of education, the Fund will support capital items and special programs for higher learning institutions and high schools with a record of excellence. In the arts & culture, the Fund will support organizations that strive for excellence.

Purpose

The purpose of the Gert Town Community Fund, a Donor Advised Fund of The Greater New Orleans Foundation, is to enhance the quality of life for people in the Gert Town Community. An advisory committee of business and civic leaders meet annually to review grant requests in various program areas. Program areas include: children and youth; housing; older adult services including transportation; community leadership capacity building; adult education; and legal services (successions, taxes, or other housing matters).. In addition, the committee is interested in community beautification projects (i.e. tree planting, greenspace maintenance, and neighborhood cleanup). 

Are We a Match?

Do you envision a world where every child and family sees the road to success? Where a community’s future is determined by the people who live there?A world where:

• All kids receive nurturing early care and education.
• Health care for mothers, birthing people and babies is readily available where they live.
• Good food is a given, along with support for the people who grow it.
• Parents and caregivers land career pathways that sustain their family
•   And where everyone can heal from the harms of racism and contribute to a more equitable world.

That’s the world we want to see, too!

Where We Fund

Across the United States, with generational commitments in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans. We also fund in Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico and in central and southwest Haiti.

Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation 

Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation was established in the Last Will and Testament of Collin’s C. Diboll dated August 13, 1984. The foundation’s mission is to provide charitable and educational benefits for the New Orleans community. 

The Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation (the "Foundation") is a private charitable foundation operating in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Foundation primarily makes grants to charitable organizations that have been recognized by the IRS as being described in Section 501(c)(3) and 509(a)(1) or 509(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Program Areas

The Foundation supports programs that work to strategically resolve societal problems and promote the arts, education and health.  

Grants range from $1,000 to $250,000 annually. Applicants may apply for one-year or multi-year grants for their project.  

Community Partnership Grants

Since 1979, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has invested proceeds directly into the community with grants to fund projects that support the Foundation’s mission.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is now accepting requests for funding of up to $5,000 to support music and art education programs, cultural events put on by Louisiana arts-based nonprofits, new artistic works that interpret Louisiana culture, and other projects that support the Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s mission.

Through the Community Partnership Grants program, the Foundation provides grants to schools, artists, and arts-based nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Over the last decade, more than $13.5 million in grants have been distributed to Louisiana communities.

Jazz & Heritage In-School Education Programs in Music, Arts, and Cultural Traditions

This category supports music and arts education in the schools by funding music and art instruction that takes place at Louisiana K-12 schools during the regular school day or after school. Schools (public or private) may apply for money to pay for instruments, instrument repair, sheet music, visual art supplies, or other needed materials to support arts instruction as part of the school’s curriculum. Only one application per school is allowed- teachers must verify with their principal, CEO, or School leadership and colleagues before submitting an application to make sure that no one else in the school is submitting one.

Community Partnership Grants

Since 1979, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has invested proceeds directly into the community with grants to fund projects that support the Foundation’s mission.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is now accepting requests for funding of up to $5,000 to support music and art education programs, cultural events put on by Louisiana arts-based nonprofits, new artistic works that interpret Louisiana culture, and other projects that support the Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s mission.

Through the Community Partnership Grants program, the Foundation provides grants to schools, artists, and arts-based nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Over the last decade, more than $13.5 million in grants have been distributed to Louisiana communities..

Jazz & Heritage Media: Documentation + Creation 

This category supports the creation, documentation, or exhibition of artworks that reflect, interpret, document, or preserve the indigenous culture of Louisiana. Individuals and non-profits may apply. Priority will be given to Louisiana-based applicants.

Community Partnership Grants

Since 1979, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has invested proceeds directly into the community with grants to fund projects that support the Foundation’s mission.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation is now accepting requests for funding of up to $5,000 to support music and art education programs, cultural events put on by Louisiana arts-based nonprofits, new artistic works that interpret Louisiana culture, and other projects that support the Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s mission.

Through the Community Partnership Grants program, the Foundation provides grants to schools, artists, and arts-based nonprofit organizations throughout the state. Over the last decade, more than $13.5 million in grants have been distributed to Louisiana communities.

Jazz & Heritage After-School and Summer Education Programs in Music, Arts, and Cultural Traditions

This category supports after-school and summer educational arts programs offered by nonprofit organizations. Organizations may apply for money only to pay the professional teaching fees of the artists or educators who provide arts instruction. Only nonprofit organizations in Louisiana may apply.

About the Greater New Orleans Foundation

With roots extending 100 years, the Greater New Orleans Foundation connects generous people to the causes that spark their passion. As one of the most trusted philanthropic organizations in the region, we work every day to drive positive impact through philanthropy, leadership and action in our thirteen-parish region. In addition to grantmaking, we convene people, resources, and ideas to create intelligent strategies and solutions to meet our region’s greatest challenges. We are proud to serve as a vocal civic leader with our partners to ensure a vibrant, sustainable, and just region for all.

About Hancock Whitney

Since the late 1800s, Hancock Whitney has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, and Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Hancock Whitney offices and financial centers in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas offer comprehensive financial products and services, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; private banking; trust and investment services; healthcare banking; and mortgage services. The company also operates combined loan and deposit production offices in the greater metropolitan areas of Nashville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.

Hancock Whitney Opportunity Grant

Hancock Whitney, in partnership with the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is accepting competitive grant applications starting October 2, 2024, from eligible nonprofit organizations that promote access to affordable housing by providing homebuyer resources and supports, access to disaster preparedness and mitigation services for current homeowners, and home rehabilitation resources for current owners to maintain and preserve affordable housing.

Collaborative Grants

In 2014, United Way of Southeast Louisiana embarked on a journey to renew our approach to creating lasting change. The journey began with a carefully orchestrated listening process, including community conversations across our seven-parish service area. Participants discussed their aspirations and the challenges they face. Some of the barriers that emerged included low wages, limited education, inadequate health care, and unaffordable housing.

Through research and engagement, it became clear that poverty is the fundamental issue in the region.

We introduced our Blueprint for Prosperity – our plan to eradicate poverty informed by community voices and validated by external research – to present a compelling path toward a stronger, prosperous, and more equitable Southeast Louisiana for us all. As a part of the Blueprint, we also introduced our programmatic grants – designed to support distinct programs or projects – in alignment with our new prosperity outcomes framework (see below).

Today, our grantmaking is rooted in addressing the complex interplay of symptoms and drivers of poverty in the region and supports the vision of equitable communities where all individuals are healthy, educated, and economically stable.

In 2022, we hosted another series of community conversations to listen to residents and refine the most pressing issues in our communities and pathways to maximize local impact. Once again, we were able to identify the emerging barriers to prosperity for households across each of our seven parishes.

As a result, we’re launching our second cycle of collaborative grant process – rooted in equity, community voice, and data – to foster systems-level change across the region. 

Criteria

UWSELA seeks grant requests across five priority areas aligned with our Blueprint’s prosperity outcomes that we believe will produce long-term change to sustain our mission of to end poverty. In particular, we will consider proposals that focus on one or more of our four outcomes and five priority areas and align with our guiding principles.

Prosperity Outcomes

Data, community conversations, and partner convenings conducted in 2014 and 2015 resulted in four interrelated outcomes that describe the region United Way and residents want to see.

• Stability Today: Families have the skills, resources, & opportunities to access basic needs.
• Prosperity Tomorrow: All families have the social, emotional, and financial assets to create a better future.
• Personal Wellness: People of all ages enjoy a high quality of life and well-being.
• Vibrant Communities: All communities are safe, equitable, and thriving.

Priority Areas

Additional community conversations held drilled down into the four prosperity outcomes, resulting in five priority areas for each parish. Once again, we will give priority to those programs that address these areas for each parish.

• Youth Development: Investing in organizations with a primary focus on serving youth, including both academic and recreational programming, to support the learning, well-being, and prosperity of our next generation.
• Mental Health: Investing in organizations that provide direct counseling and substance abuse treatment to expand the capacity of local providers supporting those facing mental health challenges and to create a more supportive and healthy community.
• Financial Empowerment: Supporting workforce development, community-level economic development, and emergency assistance programs to provide all residents pathways to attaining the skills, opportunities, & supports that undergird economic stability for communities and families.
• Access to Resources: Investing in personnel and community-facing platforms to ensure residents are aware of and able to access existing local supports & resources.
• Coordinating & Convening: Supporting efforts to drive coordination between community-serving organizations with the goal of enhancing accountability, information-sharing, and referrals across the ecosystem, resulting in holistic services and solutions for residents.

Guiding Principles

The following six guiding principles represent the core values of our work and, by extension, the work we want to see from and with our partners:

• Connectivity: We coordinate our efforts to create pathways of prosperity that are trusted, culturally appropriate, accessible, and without bias.
• Equity: We strive to lift up all people and to eliminate systemic barriers to prosperity.
• Lived Experience: We amplify the voices of those we are serving and allow their needs and aspirations to guide our work.
• Long-Term Commitment: We commit to continuing our work until the cycle of poverty is broken, communities are thriving, and people are living prosperously.
• Shared Responsibility: We believe success requires the unique contributions of the entire community, including individuals, families, schools, nonprofits, the faith-based community, funders, governments, and the private sector.
• Systems Change: We embrace our work as holistic and dynamic, impacting people, place, practice, and policy.

Funding

Eligible collaboratives must support a group of organizations and stakeholders taking a unified approach to systems change. The grants may be used for: 

• Planning: Up to $25,000 in funding to help collaboratives come together to create a steering committee, common agenda and working groups.
• Infrastructure-Backbone: Up to $50,000 in funding to support backbone organizations or functions.
• Infrastructure-Shared Measurement: Up to $50,000 in funding to support shared measurement systems.
• Implementation: Up to $100,000 in funding to support systems-change strategies developed by working groups.
• Continuous Improvement: Up to $50,000 in funding to conduct evaluations. 

UWSELA intends to be a long-term partner in supporting collaboratives. As such, at the end of a funding cycle, grantees will have the opportunity to reapply for a funding extension based on a successful evaluation of the work. Funding for the second and third year of the grant is contingent on available dollars and the funded collaborative's performance in the previous year.

Who We Are

The Pro Bono Publico Foundation takes its name from the motto of the Rex Organization, which means “For the Public Good.” The Foundation raises funds and makes grants to help organizations engaged in the rebuilding of the New Orleans region, with a special focus on education. Most grants have been awarded to schools and supporting organizations working toward the goal of assuring that all children in New Orleans have access to excellent schools.

Funding Priorities

Innovative and effective programs and organizations serving the citizens of the New Orleans region, with a special focus on education. Most grants in past cycles have been awarded to schools and supporting organizations working toward the goal of assuring that all children in New Orleans have access to excellent schools.

Louisiana Project Grants

Mission

The Louisiana Division of the Arts (LDOA) in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council (LSAC) is the catalyst for participation, education, development and promotion of excellence in the arts.

Vision

It is the responsibility of LDOA to support established arts institutions, nurture both emerging arts organizations and our overall cultural economy, assist individual artists, encourage the expansion of audiences and stimulate public participation in the arts in Louisiana.

Core Values

The arts are an essential and unique aspect of life in Louisiana to which each citizen has a right. Access to the arts should not depend on your geographical location, physical abilities, or income. All residents should have an equitable stake in the arts in Louisiana, which provide a wonderful quality of life and add to our rich cultural heritage.

LDOA Equity Statement: LDOA aspires to intentionally advance diversity, equity and inclusion in every aspect of our work. LDOA celebrates our state’s diversity and promotes the role of the arts to connect people, bridge our differences, and inspire an appreciation of our shared humanity. LDOA is committed to integrating DEI into the fabric of our organization and our work, from our internal culture to how we partner with communities and other organizations to how we use our resources. We continually seek ways to expand our impact and improve our performance on these measures.

Louisiana Project Grant (LPG) Goals

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Stimulate healthy competition in grant proposal submissions
• Increase the level of creativity, innovation and awareness of new trends in project development
• Encourage professional artists to undertake projects that have meaningful community involvement and collaboration
• Leverage additional local and national support for the arts in Louisiana

LPG Priorities

• Must be an ART project involving dance, design arts, folklife, literature, media, music, theatre, or visual arts
• Must show how the project accounts for the population of the region and promotes diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility
• Emphasis on Innovation and Artistry
• Risk Taking/Trying something new
• Focus on learning as an outcome as well as quantitative outcomes
• Cross-parish partnerships between larger, urban organizations and their rural counterparts or vice versa
• Projects that have a trajectory to continue to enhance the region beyond the funding period

Artistic Disciplines

Louisiana Project Grants provide funding for arts projects. The artistic disciplines described below are considered eligible art forms:

• Dance - Dance projects can focus on ballet, modern, jazz or ethnic dance. Dance project grants assist artists and organizations to make innovative dance programs that meet a need in their community and are accessible to all.

• Design - Design Arts projects can involve the design fields of architecture; landscape architecture; urban design; historic preservation and planning; interior design; industrial design; graphic design; and fashion design. This project area provides an opportunity for visual arts and design professionals to collaborate on projects involving design practice, media, theory, research, and education about design. Projects may include publications, audiovisual presentations, or conferences. Design arts do not include purchase of plantings, seeds, gardening equipment, construction equipment, or building supplies.

• Folklife - Folklife refers to traditions currently practiced within a community that have been passed down informally over time and not learned through workshops, classes, or magazines. Folklife includes Performing Traditions (music, dance, storytelling) and Traditional Arts & Crafts (occupational, festive and food ways traditions). See definition of folk artist in the glossary. Folk traditions are created within specific cultural contexts that need to be understood to be appreciated. Most folklife projects are greatly enhanced with the services of a professional folklorist or other trained cultural specialists such as those with academic training in folklore, cultural anthropology, ethnomusicology or other related fields. Cultural specialists should be involved in planning and implementation phases of a project. Folklife does not include historical re-enacting or living history. Folklife projects are evaluated for the cultural significance of the art form and the involvement of trained cultural specialists (folklorists, anthropologists, ethnomusicologists).

• Literature - Literature project grants are intended to support innovative projects that utilize the literary arts such as works of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction to meet a community need and promote diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition, the category supports not-for-profit small presses and magazines that publish fiction, poetry, creative prose, or literary criticism for production and distribution projects. Such magazines must have been published at least once.

• Media - Media project grants provide financial assistance to organizations and artists involved in film, video, radio, or related media. Projects should focus on the development of film, video, and radio as art forms where experimentation, technique and, creative processes are included in the project design.

• Music - Music project grants assist artists or organizations sponsoring musical programming or the presentation and development of musicians, composers, and/or music ensembles and orchestras in all genres, including band, chamber, choral, ethnic, jazz, new, opera, orchestral, popular, solo/recital.

• Theater - Theater project grants are intended to use dramatic and musical theater to engage the public, promote diversity, equity and inclusion and help meet a community need or support the development of nonprofit professional and community theater, puppetry, mime, and storytelling.

• Visual Arts and Crafts -Visual Arts and Crafts project grants are intended to support projects or services of museums, art galleries, art centers, and other community organizations concerned with visual arts. This includes drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, glass, ceramics, fiber, wood, metal, mixed media, and art in public places.

Our Mission & Our Purpose

Now in its fourth decade, the Arts Council New Orleans is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting arts and culture in the city. Our mission is to improve quality of life in New Orleans by supporting, activating, and investing in our city’s greatest natural resource: our artists, cultural producers, and creative community.

Our Vision: Art in Everything.

Building on the abundant cultural wealth and creativity of our community, the Arts Council envisions a New Orleans in which arts and culture play a pivotal role in all areas of policy, planning, and placemaking.

In pursuit of a more equitable, joyful, and resilient city, art and artists should be central to all community and economic development efforts – from public health to public safety, education to infrastructure.

More Joy Community Arts Grant

More Joy grants are available to support groups engaging the New Orleans community through parading, public performance and other free, street-based activities that have roots in or pay homage to the street parading culture of New Orleans. These are activities typically done by Black Masking Indians (also known as Mardi Gras Indians) and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs.

These funds seek to promote the continued success of street parades, examine the cultural traditions behind this local tradition, educate children under age 18 in specific traditions, and generally bring More Joy to the neighborhoods of New Orleans via the street parade. Exhibitions, workshops, and other presentations dedicated to the street parading traditions of New Orleans are also eligible for funding.

United Way of Southeast Louisiana (UWSELA) announces the availability of grants for summer programs to expand and deepen services for children and youth ages 11 to 24 in New Orleans over the summer of this year.

Understanding that the summer months can feel more volatile and youth may not have access to the supportive services traditionally provided in educational settings, UWSELA has made funds available for small, Black Indigenous, people of color-led youth-serving organizations to broaden or enhance their existing summer 2023 programming for low-income, vulnerable youth over the summer months. Such broadened supports may include, but are not limited to, reduced program cost to families, increased behavioral health supports, expanded summer nutrition/meals, and expanded hours or duration of programming and ensuring youth are connected with an educational, vocational, or employment when summer programming ends.

A project may focus on a wide variety of youth issues or may be very narrowly focused. Nevertheless, proposed projects must align with one of the six priority areas of focus of the New Orleans Youth Master Plan:

• Health and Wellbeing
• Youth Voice
• Learning
• Safety & Justice
• Space & Place 
• Economic Stability

Early Childhood Grants

IMH seeks to strengthen and sustain policies, programs, and providers focusing on early childhood and families with children ages birth to six years.

Early Childhood Program Grants

Through this grantmaking program, IMH will fund programs to increase the number of children ready for kindergarten by building their social and behavioral skills; to increase the social and emotional well-being of children in early childhood programs; to assist parents and caretakers in parenting their children; and to improve the effectiveness of parents and organizations in advocating for programs and policies that address the social and emotional needs of young children. In reviewing applicants, we look for the use of evidence-based approaches. IMH will also fund early intervention and treatment programs for young children with mental health issues.

Child Care Improvement Grants to Promote Diverse Delivery

IMH supports Diverse Delivery, the provision of LA 4 preschool and/or Head Start/Early Head Start services in child care centers. There are several examples of such partnerships in New Orleans. Both Head Start grantee agencies in New Orleans (Total Community Action and the Recovery School District) have contracted with child care centers to locate Early Head Start and Head Start classes within Child Care centers. The Recovery School District has also contracted with several child care centers to provide LA4 classes. In each case, these diverse delivery classrooms meet all the standards for each funding stream and setting involved, providing the highest quality option for the children served.

We are especially encouraged by partnerships between individual public schools and child care centers in their neighborhoods such as the partnership between Langston Hughes Academy and Wilcox’s Academy of Early Learning through which the school is providing LA 4 classes in a nearby child care center. Such partnerships offer many benefits. Children are better prepared for “big school” but located in a familiar and developmentally appropriate setting for pre-k, families are helped to prepare for the transition, schools are assured a class of children prepared to learn, and child care centers are recognized as partners in the larger effort to provide the best quality education for our children.

Additionally, diverse delivery offers the opportunity to braid the scarce funding streams available for early childhood education, maximizing the available state and federal dollars. Over time, we anticipate such partnerships will have the potential to help New Orleans move toward more neighborhood-based schools and provide greater access to high quality early childhood education for all children.

We are seeking proposals to promote such Diverse Delivery arrangements. We are open to creative proposals from any of the parties involved: local educational agencies, Head Start/Early Head Start grantee and delegate agencies, individual schools, child care centers, and organizations facilitating diverse delivery arrangements. We seek strategies to promote Diverse Delivery arrangements that can be self-sustaining over time.

Mission

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc. promotes, preserves, perpetuates, and encourages the music, culture, and heritage of communities in Louisiana through festivals, programs, and other cultural, educational, civic, and economic activities.

Community Outreach Ticket Program

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation’s Community Outreach Ticket program provides tickets to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell (Jazz Fest), the Foundation’s main fundraising event.

The purpose of Community Outreach Tickets is to provide access to Jazz Fest for those Louisiana residents who otherwise could not afford to attend the festival.

Community Outreach tickets are distributed through nonprofit social service organizations that provide direct, ongoing services to low-income residents of Louisiana. These may include educational, religious, government, and community agencies – but only those that provide direct, ongoing services to low-income clients.

Tickets are to be distributed based on financial need and availability, and, in certain approved cases, as rewards or incentives for the clients’ good behavior. Any organization granted Community Outreach Tickets that is found to violate Community Outreach Ticket guidelines will be permanently barred from receiving tickets through this program in the future.

Amazon Literary Partnership Grant: US

From the time we opened our virtual doors, Amazon has helped writers tell their stories and find readers. Since 2009, Amazon Literary Partnership has provided more than $17 million in funding to local, regional, and national organizations across the country that empower writers to create, publish, learn, teach, experiment, and thrive in order to reach their audiences.

Amazon Literary Partnership seeks to fund organizations working to champion diverse, marginalized, and underrepresented authors and storytellers. From New Orleans to Houston, Minneapolis to Salt Lake City, our previous grant recipients represent both local and national institutions of all sizes and include nonprofit writing centers, residencies, fellowships, after-school classes, literary magazines, national organizations supporting storytelling and free speech, and internationally acclaimed publishers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Writers supported by these organizations have become bestselling authors and literary award winners.

Grants are given to innovative groups whose core mission is to support diverse, underserved, and marginalized writers, develop emerging writers and/or build the careers of working writers to connect them with readers. We help writers across all genres and formats, fiction and nonfiction, including poetry and translation.

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day Grant

Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day honors the living legacy of civil rights activist Ruby Bridges. In 1960, six-year-old Ruby Bridges etched her name in history when she integrated all-white William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans. Since then, Ruby has become a national icon for her courageous action. Every November 14th, we celebrate Ruby’s courageous and historic act by encouraging students to walk to school and engaging in a day of dialogue about activism, anti-racism, and anti-bullying. The goal is to inspire kids to make positive changes in their school and community.

We are excited to offer grants in the amounts of $500 and $1000 to support your Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day celebrations this Fall.

Funding

Awards will be distributed based on the number of students reached.

• $500 grants will be awarded for events reaching less than 400 students.
• $1000 grants will be awarded for events reaching 400 students or more.

About The Community Arts Grant Program

Community Arts Grants (CAG) are funded by the City of New Orleans and administered by Arts New Orleans. 

Who We Are

The Arts Council of New Orleans, dba Arts New Orleans, envisions New Orleans as a city that integrates Art in Everything, where arts and culture play a pivotal role in all policy, planning, and placemaking.

We believe in the power of arts and culture to actively improve the quality of life in New Orleans and that the full spectrum of benefits should be equally accessible to all residents. Arts New Orleans advocates for expanded investment in the arts and culture ecosystem. We provide artists and culture bearers with vital training and economic opportunities while recognizing our commitment to equity in our sector and city.

New Orleans As Cultural Capital Category

New Orleans as Cultural Capital grants provide operating support to nonprofit arts organizations working in the following arts disciplines: dance, design arts, folklife, literature, media, multidisciplinary, music, theater, and visual art and crafts. Applicants should demonstrate artistic excellence and equitable practices. Funds can be used for administrative or overhead expenses, including but not limited to salaries, programming costs, marketing, supplies and materials, space rental, utilities, and insurance.

Funding

An eligible arts organization may apply for $14,000, $7,000, or $3,500 grants in accordance with funds it spent during its fiscal year. 

Amount Of Grant Request:

Applicants' expenditures for their fiscal year will be used to determine their request amount

Level 1 = To be considered for a level 1 grant of $3,500, the expenditures during the applicant's fiscal year must be $199,999 or less.

Activity Period

New Orleans as Cultural Capital grants are awarded for two years.  This grant will renew for the second year after receipt and approval of the organization's final report for the first year. 

About The Community Arts Grant Program

Community Arts Grants (CAG) are funded by the City of New Orleans and administered by Arts New Orleans. 

Who We Are

The Arts Council of New Orleans, dba Arts New Orleans, envisions New Orleans as a city that integrates Art in Everything, where arts and culture play a pivotal role in all policy, planning, and placemaking.

We believe in the power of arts and culture to actively improve the quality of life in New Orleans and that the full spectrum of benefits should be equally accessible to all residents. Arts New Orleans advocates for expanded investment in the arts and culture ecosystem. We provide artists and culture bearers with vital training and economic opportunities while recognizing our commitment to equity in our sector and city.

New Orleans As Cultural Capital Category

New Orleans as Cultural Capital grants provide operating support to nonprofit arts organizations working in the following arts disciplines: dance, design arts, folklife, literature, media, multidisciplinary, music, theater, and visual art and crafts. Applicants should demonstrate artistic excellence and equitable practices. Funds can be used for administrative or overhead expenses, including but not limited to salaries, programming costs, marketing, supplies and materials, space rental, utilities, and insurance.

Funding

An eligible arts organization may apply for $14,000, $7,000, or $3,500 grants in accordance with funds it spent during its fiscal year. 

Amount Of Grant Request:

Applicants' expenditures for their fiscal year will be used to determine their request amount

Level 2 = Expenditures during the applicant's fiscal year must be between $200,000 and $699,999. Grant awards will be $7,000.

Activity Period

New Orleans as Cultural Capital grants are awarded for two years.  This grant will renew for the second year after receipt and approval of the organization's final report for the first year. 

About The Community Arts Grant Program

Community Arts Grants (CAG) are funded by the City of New Orleans and administered by Arts New Orleans. 

Who We Are

The Arts Council of New Orleans, dba Arts New Orleans, envisions New Orleans as a city that integrates Art in Everything, where arts and culture play a pivotal role in all policy, planning, and placemaking.

We believe in the power of arts and culture to actively improve the quality of life in New Orleans and that the full spectrum of benefits should be equally accessible to all residents. Arts New Orleans advocates for expanded investment in the arts and culture ecosystem. We provide artists and culture bearers with vital training and economic opportunities while recognizing our commitment to equity in our sector and city.

New Orleans As Cultural Capital Category

New Orleans as Cultural Capital grants provide operating support to nonprofit arts organizations working in the following arts disciplines: dance, design arts, folklife, literature, media, multidisciplinary, music, theater, and visual art and crafts. Applicants should demonstrate artistic excellence and equitable practices. Funds can be used for administrative or overhead expenses, including but not limited to salaries, programming costs, marketing, supplies and materials, space rental, utilities, and insurance.

Funding

An eligible arts organization may apply for $14,000, $7,000, or $3,500 grants in accordance with funds it spent during its fiscal year. 

Amount Of Grant Request:

Applicants' expenditures for their fiscal year will be used to determine their request amount

Level 3 = Expenditures during the applicant's fiscal year must be at least $700,000. Grant awards will be $14,000.  

Activity Period

New Orleans as Cultural Capital grants are awarded for two years.  This grant will renew for the second year after receipt and approval of the organization's final report for the first year. 

Parks and Parkways Tree Planting Grant

Support for non-profit partners to aid Parks & Parkways in their citywide tree planting projects. These projects will help the City reach its goal of restoring and expanding New Orleans' urban forest with 40,000 new trees planted by 2030.

The Department of Parks & Parkways, through a one-time allocation from City Council, is providing funding to assist nonprofit partners in Orleans Parish in planting trees on public property in the City of New Orleans. This award will provide support for nonprofit partners to aid Parks & Parkways in their citywide tree planting projects and will help the City reach its goal of restoring and expanding New Orleans urban forest with 40,000 new trees planted by 2030.

The New Orleans Community Support Foundation, a supporting organization of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, is seeking an evaluator or evaluation team to support evaluation planning and execution for a new grantmaking program, “Green Infrastructure for Justice in Southeast Louisiana.”

Overview of Desired Evaluation

Leveraging its track record of environmental grantmaking, nonprofit capacity-building, and extensive relationships, the Foundation will distribute $1.75 million in grants to implement community-led green infrastructure projects in underserved communities at highest risk for the adverse environmental impacts. Through the grantmaking, as well as outreach, evaluation, and high-quality technical assistance, the Foundation will build community capacity to advance transformational and equitable adaptation and flood mitigation projects. These efforts seek to raise environmental awareness, strengthen community resiliency, and improve water management in communities most impacted by disaster and extreme weather. This RFP seeks an evaluator to develop and execute a monitoring and evaluation plan for the duration of the program, including qualitative and quantitative indicators.

Grantmaking Program Goals

The Green Infrastructure for Justice in Southeast Louisiana initiative will facilitate the following goals:

• Increase the resiliency of Southeast Louisiana communities as a result of the implementation of at least 12 stormwater and flood mitigation improvement projects.
• Ensure that at least 12 subawardees have improved their abilities to identify, successfully apply for, and effectively manage grants related to water quality improvement, and prevention, reduction, and/or elimination of pollution in vulnerable and underserved communities that are adversely and disproportionately affected by environmental and human health harms or risks.
• Increase the number of individuals with improved understanding of environmental issues in their community.

Potential indicators measuring the success of this program could include:

• Total number of stormwater management projects implemented in most vulnerable communities.
• The number of individuals who report, in post-workshop surveys, an increased ability to manage environmental grants.
• Total gallons of stormwater runoff mitigated by green infrastructure projects.