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Greater New Orleans Foundation
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Greater New Orleans Foundation Publishes Draft Protocol for Distribution of New Year’s Day Tragedy Funds and Announces Town Hall Meeting
NEW ORLEANS – (January 21, 2025) Today, the Greater New Orleans Foundation (Foundation) and the New Year’s Day Tragedy Fund Steering Committee (Steering Committee) published a draft protocol for how the funds will be distributed to families who lost loved ones as well as others who were severely injured or impacted by the New Year’s Day tragedy. The public is invited to review the draft and provide feedback in person or online at a town hall meeting at the Greater New Orleans Foundation (919 St. Charles Avenue) on January 27, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. The public may also submit written comment on the draft protocol. For more information, to submit written comment, and to register for the town hall meeting, or to view the draft protocol ahead of the town hall meeting, click here.
On January 1, 2025, following the news of the mass casualty incident that took place on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street, at the request of New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell and in partnership with other community leaders, the Foundation launched the New Orleans New Year’s Day Tragedy Fund. One hundred percent of donations to the New Year’s Day Tragedy Fund will go to the families of those whose lives were taken or to those who were severely injured or impacted in the attack on Bourbon Street on January 1.
To date, the Fund has received over 2,500 individual donations including major gifts from Mrs. Gayle Benson and the New Orleans Saints, the NFL, Ochsner Health, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Raising Cane’s, Apple, Zion Williamson, Antonio Brown, Cox Communications, Baptist Community Ministries, the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region, Entergy Corporation, Cam Jordan, the NBA, the Helis Foundation, the Wasserman Family Foundation, the Hawai’i Community Foundation, P. J. Morton and the Dew Drop Inn, and the Physician’s Group Laboratories, LLC.
On January 15, 2025, the Foundation announced the establishment of a volunteer steering committee to oversee the grantmaking process and disbursement of the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s New Orleans New Year’s Day Tragedy Fund. The Foundation also announced a partnership with the Mass Violence Survivors Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to distributing contributions following mass casualty crimes. This effort is led by its executive director Jeffrey R. Dion, an attorney, homicide-survivor, and nationally-recognized victim advocate who has previously administered 31 similar funds, including: the Las Vegas Harvest Festival Shooting; the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting; Walmart shooting in El Paso, TX; Top’s Supermarket in Buffalo, NY, and the Robb Elementary Shooting in Uvalde, TX. Most recently, Mr. Dion administered the relief fund for the victims of the Fordyce, Arkansas shooting in partnership with the Arkansas Community Foundation.
Funds to cover the Mass Violence Survivors Fund’s administrative costs will be paid for by personal contributions from the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Board of Directors and will not come from donations received to the New Year’s Day Tragedy Fund.
Members of the Steering Committee include:
- Co-Chair David Barksdale | Principal of Alluvian Capital LLC and Chair, Greater News Orleans Foundation Board of Trustees
- Co-Chair Kim Boyle | Managing Partner at Phelps Dunbar and Former Greater New Orleans Foundation Board Member
- Dr. Jennifer Avegno | Director of the New Orleans Health Department
- Rabbi Katie Bauman | Senior Rabbi, Touro Synagogue
- Dr. Regina Benjamin | 18th Surgeon General of the United States and Endowed Chair in Public Health Sciences, Xavier University of Louisiana
- Lynne Burkart, CPA | Partner, EisnerAmpner and Board Member and Audit Chair, Greater New Orleans Foundation
- James Dabney, PhD. | Executive Director of the New Orleans Youth Alliance and former Director and Regional Vice President of the Posse Foundation
- David F. Edwards | Partner, Jones Walker LLP and Former Greater New Orleans Foundation Board Member
- Cynthia Hayes | President and CEO of Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of New Orleans
- Taryn Horton | Victim Advocate, survivor of a mass casualty crime
- Cam Jordan | Defensive End for the New Orleans Saints, 2025 Bart Starr Award Winner
- Pastor Fred Luter, Jr. | Senior Pastor, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church and first African American President of the Southern Baptist Convention
- Ronald P. McClain JD, LCSW | Executive Director, Institute of Mental Hygiene
- Alden J. McDonald Jr. | Chief Executive Officer, Liberty Bank
- Melanie A. Talia, J.D. | President & CEO, New Orleans Police and Justice Foundation
- Ret. Judge Dennis Waldron | Retired Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge
To read more about the steering committee, click here.
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About the Greater New Orleans Foundation:
With roots extending over 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 by championing charitable giving, strengthening nonprofits, and leading civic projects 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 an economically and culturally vibrant, sustainable, and just region for all. Learn more at www.gnof.org.
About the Mass Violence Survivors Fund:
The Mass Violence Survivors Fund is a 501(c)(3) created by the families of dozens of mass casualty crimes, and dedicated to ensuring that 100% of donations go to survivors. The staff of the Mass Violence Survivors Fund have worked on 31 relief funds which have collected and distributed over $150 million for victims of mass violence. Learn more at www.massviolencesurvivorsfund.org.