New Orleans, LA | November 7, 2012 — The Greater New Orleans Foundation announced today it was awarded a $600,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation to support the Foundation’s role of strengthening nonprofit organizations in the Greater New Orleans area. The grant is specifically for the Foundation’s Organizational Effectiveness Initiative which was launched last year. “At the Greater New Orleans Foundation, we help build better nonprofits and try to hold ourselves to the same standards,” said Dr. Albert Ruesga, president and CEO. “There is a direct correlation between the health of our nonprofit community and the health of our region.”
“With nonprofit organizations facing funding cuts from local, state, and federal sources, they are going to have to work smarter and more efficiently. Our job is to help them do that,” said Joann Ricci, vice president for organizational effectiveness at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, who over the course of this year alone has conducted workshops, seminars, and trainings for over 150 organizations on such topics as fundraising, advocacy, and board governance. The grant from the Kresge Foundation will enable the Foundation to work closely with leaders in the social and human service organizations working tirelessly to improve conditions for our most vulnerable residents in the region. “We’ll collaborate with the leaders in the sector to listen, strategize, and then invest in solutions that work for everyone,” said Ruesga.
“The Greater New Orleans Foundation is a natural local partner for this work,” said Guillermina Hernandez-Gallego, program director at the Kresge Foundation. “They have in-depth knowledge of the nonprofit community, plus the leadership to form strategic alliances and collaborations.” Forty percent of all Louisiana’s nonprofit organizations are in the Greater New Orleans area and approximately 60 percent of those are in the health and human services sector.
About the Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation is a $3 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations by creating access and opportunity in underserved communities, improving the health of low-income people, supporting artistic expression, increasing college achievement, assisting in the revitalization of Detroit, and advancing methods for addressing climate change.
About the Greater New Orleans Foundation
The Greater New Orleans Foundation is the community foundation serving the 13-parish Greater New Orleans region. We design and lead initiatives that improve the region, connect donors to community needs, identify and support great nonprofits, and strengthen civil society.
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