Second Harvest Food Bank

One in five households in Louisiana is at risk of hunger. Across our state and region, the rising cost of food, housing, and utilities, coupled with high unemployment and low-wage jobs have increased the need for emergency food assistance. Many families are asking for help for the first time. When bills loom and impossible decisions must be made, grocery lists are often cut first. Meals are skipped. Parents go without to make sure their children are fed.

Second Harvest Food Bank leads the fight against hunger in South Louisiana by providing food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response. Second Harvest provides food and support to 700+ community partners and programs across 23 parishes. Our staff and volunteers distribute the equivalent of more than 32 million meals to 210,000+ people a year. 

Through their food distribution programs, community kitchen meal service, nutrition education, and public benefits assistance, they are helping to create pathways out of poverty. Every year, Second Harvest secures millions of pounds of food that otherwise would have gone to waste. Their work helps ensure that these meals make it to the dinner tables of thousands of families struggling with hunger in South Louisiana.

Click on the image to find out more; to donate, click here.

New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness

New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness (NOAAHH) provides grants to local organizations that feed and shelter people in metro New Orleans.  With an all-volunteer board and no overhead, they fulfill the dreams of music legend Allen Toussaint, who along with Aaron Neville, created NOAAHH in 1985.  Their goal was simply to get people in need the help they need.  Over the years, NOAAHH has given more than $3 million to feed and shelter our neighbors. To date, NOAAHH has assisted more than 50 charitable groups that are experienced in providing food and shelter to those in need. Join NOAAHH in keeping the legacy of caring alive! Click on the image to find out more; to donate, click here.

Voice of the Wetlands

Voice of the Wetlands was established in 2004 as a volunteer-based non-profit, focused on driving awareness about the loss of the wetlands in southern Louisiana. VOW was started by musician Tab Benoit who was born and raised in Houma, LA – one of the communities born of the wetlands. A coalition of local artists and business leaders recognized the urgency to save their homes and the culture of southern Louisiana.

Since its inception, VOW has hosted a number of efforts including an annual free, 3-day festival since 2004, and a bold initiative of taking over 50 New Orleans musicians to perform at the 2008 Democratic and Republican National Conventions. In addition, VOW has been represented to the federal government by Tab Benoit during sessions on Capitol Hill in 2008. The sessions focused on the urgency of restoring and the need to preserve the Louisiana wetlands.

Voice of the Wetlands takes an active role in driving awareness to restore the wetlands from a local to a national level. The organization prides itself in maintaining a mission that addresses all aspects, causes and solutions.Voice of the Wetlands is the only cultural preservation and wetlands restoration organization comprised of members who were born and raised and continue to live in the communities created from Louisiana’s wetlands.

Click on the image to find out more; to donate, click here.

George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts

George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts (GRFA) advocates the importance of the arts in the development of our youth. GRFA encourages the use of art within all curriculums and supports a variety of art educational programs. Student success at any age depends on self-confidence, specifically the belief in one’s own ability.  Research proves that personal growth benefits from creative expression and that artistic accomplishment provides students the self-esteem needed for success in all areas of life. However, due to budget shortfalls and misconceptions, schools find it increasingly difficult to incorporate art in education.  GRFA wants to reverse this trend. As a young boy George dreamed of being an artist, and as an adult he credited the support of his parents and teachers with helping him realize that dream. Over the years, Rodrigue assisted numerous non-profits, not only in the arts, but also humanitarian organizations, disaster relief, animal welfare and others. In 2009, George Rodrigue (1944-2013) formed GRFA as a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Today, the Rodrigue family and the Rodrigue Foundation's primary focus is to encourage the use of art in education, hoping to inspire in others an early and on-going creative passion similar to George's. Click on the image to find out more; to donate, click here.

Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MACCNO)

Since 2012, the Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans (MACCNO) has been organizing, empowering, and advocating with New Orleans’ musicians, artists, traditional culture bearers, and other members and allies of the cultural community.

MACCNO’s roots lie in a community meeting called by prominent musicians in order to address a crackdown on small New Orleans music venues carried out in advance of New Orleans hosting Super Bowl XLVII.  At this meeting, it quickly became clear that the problems extended far beyond the silencing of a few music clubs.  Complaints included an unclear permitting process and overly restrictive zoning ordinance that drastically limited live music citywide; police harassment of brass bands and street musicians; widespread financial instability and lack of economic opportunity for the cultural community; political disenfranchisement of musicians, artists, and culture bearers, and many more. Realizing that such a broad range of topics could not be adequately resolved in even several such meetings, a core group of participants continued to meet weekly to strategize, and MaCCNO was born.

Today, MACCNO maintains their grassroots ethos and approach as they work at the intersection of culture, policy, and social justice.  While they continue to address immediate issues like the loss of live music permits and the inconsistent enforcement of street performance laws, they know that for New Orleans’ culture to survive and thrive—and for musicians, artists, and traditional culture bearers to enjoy a good quality of life—they must address the larger systemic issues they face, like the lack of affordable housing, low wages, and a massive income disparity.  They also know that no one knows the issues the cultural community face, and the solution to those issues, better than the members of cultural community themselves.  They work everyday to make sure those voices are heard, and that the solutions become reality.

The Music and Culture Coalition of New Orleans is a registered 501c3 non-profit corporation, and all donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Click on the image for more information, and to donate, click here.

Friends of City Park

Friends of City Park is a regional, non-profit organization whose mission is to maintain and increase the value and importance of City Park as a place of natural beauty, culture, recreation and education for the public. All monies raised by Friends of City Park will be used for the capital needs of City Park at the discretion of the FOCP Executive Board.

At 1,300 acres, New Orleans City Park is one of the largest and most beautiful urban parks in the country. The park houses the largest collection of live oaks in the world and acres of wildlife and community attractions, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and more. Annually, City Park must raise 89% of its operating budget which leaves little to no resources for park capital improvements. Friends of City Park is vital and important to the Park’s growth. Over the years, Friends has given millions of dollars to City Park for capital improvements.

In the 1970s, lack of local and state funding sent the Park into a state of disrepair. Vice president of City Park’s Board of Commissioners, J. Barbee Winston teamed up with the dynamic Mrs. Henry J. “Peggy” Read to organize the first fundraising organization for the park. Mrs. Read recruited volunteers, drafted a charter and bylaws, and at the urging of the Board of Commissioners President, Waldemar S. Nelson, Friends of City Park was born in 1979. Mr. Nelson selected Mrs. Read as the organization’s first president.

Friends of City Park sustains its efforts from its robust membership program that offers benefits to Friends’ members. The three major fundraisers are Lark in the Park, our premier fundraiser; Martini Madness, our wildly popular martini tasting; and Ghosts in the Oaks, our spooktacular family bizarre! The efforts of Friends of City Park sparked a catalyst for change and improvement and started a rebirth of City Park.

Click here for more information.

Preservation Hall Foundation

Since its founding in 1961, Preservation Hall has been dedicated to preserving New Orleans musical traditions. From its inception, founders Allan and Sandra Jaffe fostered a community of inclusion, committed to the preservation of New Orleans Jazz and to caring for elder musicians. More than 150,000 visitors attend memorable shows 360 nights each year. While the building may not have changed much over its history, the Hall ensures that musical traditions are revered and celebrated, while allowing it to breathe and evolve with the contributions of subsequent generations, and raise up those who play and appreciate it.

The Preservation Hall Foundation, founded in 2011, is based on the ethos, values and practices of Preservation Hall and brings them to life in classrooms, detention centers, concert venues, and community centers around New Orleans, the nation, and the world. The Foundation protects, preserves, and perpetuates the musical traditions and heritage of New Orleans through its four program areas: Education, Community Engagement, Legacy and Archives. We believe that tradition is not just a static body of knowledge, but it is the personal bond between generations of practitioners that allows culture to be transmitted and made meaningful in the present.

Education: primary activity is developing educational programming that targets troubled areas in new orleans with no current music programs in their schools. Outreach: extends traditional jazz music and culture outside of new orleans. Activities include free performances at schools, libraries and other public spaces as well as lectures and master classes in academic and professional settings. The long-term goal is to contribute to the larger body of knowledge and practice that protects the transmission of local cultural traditions worldwide. Click here for more information.

French Quarter Festivals, Inc.

French Quarter Festivals, Inc. (FQFI) annually produces three festivals: French Quarter Festival, Satchmo SummerFest, and Holidays New Orleans Style. FQFI is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote the Vieux Carré and the City of New Orleans through high quality special events and activities that showcase the culture and heritage of this unique city, contribute to the economic well-being of the community, and instill increased pride in the people of New Orleans.

French Quarter Festival was first produced in 1984 as a way to bring residents back to the Quarter; following the World’s Fair and extensive sidewalk repairs in the French Quarter. More than 20 stages throughout the French Quarter celebrate local music and represent every genre from traditional and contemporary jazz to R&B, New Orleans funk, brass bands, folk, gospel, Latin, Zydeco, classical, cabaret, and international.

New Orleans great restaurants serve food and beverages in Jackson Square, the Jazz Museum at the Mint, JAX Brewery, and Woldenberg Riverfront Park during French Quarter Festival weekend; Satchmo SummerFest hosts New Orleans restaurants with Louis Armstrong-inspired dishes and great local cuisine. Louisiana restaurants are invited to participate in these festivals. FQF employs more than 1,700 local musicians during Festival weekend, and hosts over 60 local restaurants which make up the “World’s Largest Jazz Brunch” at the Festival. FQF employs only local companies during the Festival (sanitation, stages, sound, security, etc.). All money spent to produce the festival stays within the local economy.

French Quarter Festival has been consistently voted “favorite festival”, “favorite food festival”, and “favorite event open to the public” by locals. Click here for more information.

Save Our Cemeteries

Save Our Cemeteries is dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and protection of New Orleans’ historic cemeteries through restoration, education, and advocacy. In 1974, a plan was proposed to demolish the wall vaults surrounding St. Louis Cemetery No. 2 and replace them with chain-link fencing. The preservation community was incensed. Local preservationist Mary Louise Christovich and group of dedicated citizens formed Save Our Cemeteries as an advocacy organization in response to the proposal. Eventually, Save Our Cemeteries partnered with the Archdiocese by assisting with fundraising, creating awareness, and recruiting professional masons to assist. Demolition was halted, and the walls were not only saved, but stabilized and repaired. Save Our Cemeteries quickly realized the problem of cemetery neglect was not limited to just one cemetery and began working towards restoring tombs and vaults throughout the city.

Click here for more information.

Backstreet Cultural Museum

The Backstreet Cultural Museum exists to preserve and perpetuate the unique cultural traditions of New Orleans' African American society through collections, exhibitions and publications, public programs, and performances. These cultural traditions include Mardi Gras Indians, Skull and Bone gangs, Baby Dolls, jazz funerals, social aid and pleasure clubs, and other related activities, rituals and celebrations.

The vision of the Backstreet Cultural Museum is to foster the appreciation of New Orleans’ African American processional traditions as important to American history and contemporary visual culture. The Backstreet Cultural Museum is a gathering place of memory, celebration, and communion that uses art and culture to enrich and sustain its community. Click here for more information.

City Park of New Orleans

City Park is as magical and unique as the city of New Orleans. The 1,300-acre outdoor oasis has enchanted New Orleanians since 1854, making it one of the nation’s oldest urban parks. Today’s park is home to ancient oaks, modern art and everything in between. Our team is on the ground ensuring we continue to take care of the Park so that it remains beautiful and magical. You matter to us. The Park is one of the region’s treasures - it is the people’s Park. Help us keep the Park clean and vibrant.

City Park is independently self-funded, generating 90% of its own revenue. Our ability to care for the Park’s historic oaks, beautiful gardens, family-friendly playgrounds, nature trails, golf courses, tennis courts, fountains, festival grounds, and pavilions is dependent on individuals just like you. You can help by donating funding, a tribute, or memorial, or sponsoring a tree, bench, picnic table or bridge.

City Park is here for you. Now, more so than ever, parks are vital to our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Click here for more information.

New Orleans Museum of Art

New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA), the city’s oldest fine arts institution, opened on December 16, 1911with only nine works of art. Today, the museum hosts an impressive permanent collection of more than 40,000 objects. The collection, noted for its extraordinary strengths in French and American art, photography, glass, and African and Japanese works, continues to expand and grow, making NOMA one of the top art museums in the South.

The twelve-acre Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden at NOMA is one of the most important sculpture installations in the United States, with over 90 sculptures situated on a beautifully landscaped site amongst meandering footpaths, reflecting lagoons, Spanish moss-laden 200-year-old live oaks, mature pines, magnolias, camellias, and pedestrian bridges.

NOMA is committed to uniting, inspiring, and engaging diverse communities and cultures through the arts — now more than ever. As a non-profit, the museum relies on admission sales, membership, and donations to execute this mission. You can support NOMA by donating; your gift will make a direct and immediate impact in the museum’s ability to care for its staff, collections, and community. Click here for more information.

Trombone Shorty Foundation

In New Orleans, music is everywhere: the clubs, the churches, the streets, the schools, and in the air. It’s celebrated as an essential part of life—past, present and future. Louis Armstrong said it best: “What we play is life.” America’s original musical art form—jazz—originated here, and over time so did many other styles-rhythm and blues, funk, and rock and roll. Through the years these traditions have been handed down from one generation to the next. New Orleans musicians understand the importance of teaching the younger ones this heritage, allowing them to carry on the city’s vibrant musical culture that continues to make our city such an exceptional place.

The Trombone Shorty Foundation proudly contributes to this time-honored tradition of passing it on. Although many kids in New Orleans play an instrument, it’s a select few like Troy “Trombone Shorty” who have the opportunity to pursue music as a career on a national stage. The Foundation strives to preserve and perpetuate our way-of-life by instilling an understanding of the importance of our musical culture in the next generation of New Orleans musicians—empowering them to play it forward. Click here for more information.

WWOZ 90.7 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Community Radio Station

WWOZ's mission is to be the worldwide voice, archive, and flag-bearer of New Orleans culture and musical heritage.

WWOZ 90.7 FM is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station, a community radio station operating out of the French Quarter in New Orleans. They are a listener-supported, volunteer-programmed radio station. WWOZ covers many events live in and around the city and across the United States. We also broadcast live from the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival annually.

Friends of WWOZ, inc. operates a noncommerical, educational radio station which celebrates the cultural diversity of New Orleans and its surrounding regions through music and information. The station is funded mainly by federal and state grants, support from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, community fundraising and underwriting contributions.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation

In 1970, the Foundation was set up as the nonprofit owner of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – Jazz Fest – with a mission to sow the seeds of our unique culture for generations to come.

In the early days, the festival wasn’t the world-famous event that it is today – one that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to New Orleans and pumps $350 million a year into the local economy. It is often said that at the first Jazz Fest there were more performers onstage than people in the audience. But the founders believed that Jazz Fest would one day grow into a major success. Everyone involved wanted to make sure that the festival’s proceeds would be redistributed into the local community. To that end, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established with the following 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.”

In service of this mission, the Foundation has developed numerous programs and assets. Click here to learn more about them, and here to contribute to the Foundation’s efforts.

WWOZ 90.7 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Community Radio Station

WWOZ's mission is to be the worldwide voice, archive, and flag-bearer of New Orleans culture and musical heritage.

WWOZ 90.7 FM is the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Station, a community radio station operating out of the French Quarter in New Orleans. They are a listener-supported, volunteer-programmed radio station. WWOZ covers many events live in and around the city and across the United States. We also broadcast live from the famed New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival annually.

Friends of WWOZ, inc. operates a noncommerical, educational radio station which celebrates the cultural diversity of New Orleans and its surrounding regions through music and information. The station is funded mainly by federal and state grants, support from the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation, community fundraising and underwriting contributions.

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation

In 1970, the Foundation was set up as the nonprofit owner of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival – Jazz Fest – with a mission to sow the seeds of our unique culture for generations to come.

In the early days, the festival wasn’t the world-famous event that it is today – one that attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors to New Orleans and pumps $350 million a year into the local economy. It is often said that at the first Jazz Fest there were more performers onstage than people in the audience. But the founders believed that Jazz Fest would one day grow into a major success. Everyone involved wanted to make sure that the festival’s proceeds would be redistributed into the local community. To that end, the Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established with the following 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.”

In service of this mission, the Foundation has developed numerous programs and assets. Click here to learn more about them, and here to contribute to the Foundation’s efforts.