NEW ORLEANS – Today, the Greater New Orleans Foundation announced the award of $505,000 to nonprofits in Southeast Louisiana providing assistance to families with young children, grassroots community health outreach, support for incarcerated and returning citizens, opportunity youth serving organizations, and supports for workers and small minority-owned business in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“We have learned over the years that the needs of a community vary at different stages of disaster response and recovery,” said Andy Kopplin, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. “The generosity and partnership of our donors enable GNOF to play a critical role in helping the region stand back up in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. These grants to a diverse group of our region’s nonprofits not only reflect immediate needs, but highlight areas of short and long term priorities.”
Since the start of this pandemic, GNOF’s Disaster Response and Restoration Fund has awarded $1.8 million to nonprofits serving our 13 parish region. This round of Disaster Response and Restoration Fund grants is made possible due to the generosity of many individuals and families, including leading contributions from the Walmart Foundation, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Ford Foundation, Baptist Community Ministries, United Way of Southeast Louisiana, The Hearst Foundation, Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, as well as Janet and Barry Lang.
Round V Disaster Response and Restoration Grant recipients include: Junior League Diaper Bank, Agenda for Children, Crescent City Family Services, Family Justice Center, Sankofa, Healthy Community Services, Deep South Center, RicRack, Bastion Community of Resilience, Justice and Accountability Center, First 72+, Operation Restoration, Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights, New Orleans Youth Alliance, Café Reconcile, Youth Empowerment Project, Cowen Institute Earn and Learn, Urban League/Operation Spark, Liberty’s Kitchen, Covenant House, Louisiana Green Corps, Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, LCMC, Thrive NOLA, Fund 17, Idea Village, Propeller, Goodwill, Urban Strategies, and Junebug Productions.
A description of the enhanced services that will be made possible by these grants are below.
Assistance for Families with Young Children
- Junior League Diaper Bank – Providing support due to an overwhelming demand from families impacted economically by COVID-19
- Agenda for Children – Providing support for the coordination of childcare for essential workers
- Crescent City Family Services – Supporting WIC and diaper distribution program
- Family Justice Center – Providing food pantry and supports for undocumented women and children impacted by domestic abuse
Grassroots Community Health Outreach
- Sankofa – Food pantry, gardening program, and community health outreach
- Healthy Community Services – Gardening program and community health outreach
- Deep South Center – Community health outreach and virtual supports for essential workers
- RicRack – Grassroots production of PPE
- Bastion Community of Resilience – Virtual supports and programs for veterans and the intentional community that Bastion developed in Gentilly
Support For Incarcerated and Returning Citizens
- Justice and Accountability Center – Supporting navigation of the criminal justice system and virtual legal clinics for expungement
- First 72+ – Providing re-entry support
- Operation Restoration – Supporting vulnerable women and girls who have been impacted by incarceration and are particularly vulnerable
- Louisiana Center for Children’s Rights – Providing advocacy for children in the juvenile justice system
Opportunity Youth Serving Organizations
- New Orleans Youth Alliance – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Café Reconcile – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Youth Empowerment Project – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Cowen Institute Earn and Learn – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Urban League/Operation Spark – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Liberty’s Kitchen – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Covenant House – Supporting opportunity youth program participants and alumni who are vulnerable to job and/or stipend loss
- Louisiana Green Corps – Supporting current training program participants have equitable access to the technology necessary to complete the training program and employer internship partners on local Green Infrastructure and Construction projects, and so that program alumni can be supported during the pandemic
Supports For Workers And Small Minority-owned Businesses
- Southeast Louisiana Legal Services – Supporting COVID-19 legal aid that helps workers access benefits and avoid eviction
- LCMC – Training Patient Care Technicians (PCT) aligned to LCMC’s training standards to create new career pathways for laid-off hospitality workers and others
- Thrive NOLA – Providing technical assistance and PPP application support for very small businesses
- Fund 17 – Providing technical assistance and PPP application support for very small businesses
- Idea Village – Supporting high-growth startups to navigate COVID-19 challenges and assistance with meeting pandemic related market needs
- Propeller – Supporting entrepreneurs, many of whom are people of color, to weather COVID-19
- Goodwill – Supporting low-wage workers, as well as training program graduates and participants
- Urban Strategies – Supporting low-wage and gig workers who live in redeveloped public housing – particularly with benefits applications and unemployment system navigation
- Junebug Productions – Supporting out-of-work artists via a platform fund to support out-of-work
Donations can be made to the Disaster Response & Restoration Fund by visiting www.gnof.org.