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News from the Greater New Orleans Foundation
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Hispanic Population in Louisiana Booms;
Foundation and Nonprofits Pivot to Increase Outreach
Over the years, the Greater New Orleans Foundation has increased its grantmaking support of Latino/a/x-serving nonprofits to ensure local communities are recognized, appreciated, and supported. For example, during the height of COVID-19 lockdowns, while many individuals received federal aid to help make ends meet, undocumented residents did not. With support from a generous donor, the Foundation stepped in and worked with nonprofit partners, like Familias Unidas en Accion and Nuestra Voz, to distribute over $700K in grocery store gift cards to families in our region as part of our $8M overall response to the pandemic.
In terms of demographics, since 2000, Hispanic populations have risen 144% in Jefferson Parish, 109% in Orleans Parish, and 340% in St. Tammany Parish. In this time, Louisiana gained more Hispanic residents than members of any other racial or ethnic group. According to Nola.com, the rapid growth is largely owed to an influx of construction workers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters. Given this trend, it is important to note that Latino/a/x-serving nonprofits are severely underfunded. According to the most recent data compiled by Candid and Hispanics in Philanthropy, a mere 1.3% of philanthropic dollars between 1999 and 2009 were awarded in support of Latino/a/x communities. You can visualize trend breakdowns here.
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Foundation Announces Kristina Kent as
New Director of Workforce Programs
Kristina joins the Foundation from Baptist Community Ministries (BCM), where she served as Program Director, Public Safety Grants wherein she designed, managed, and monitored strategic grantmaking initiatives aimed at improving public safety outcomes, including a focus on creating workforce opportunities for returning citizens. She has also served as Director of Juvenile Justice Initiatives for NOLA Public Schools, and as a staff attorney in the Judicial Administrator's Office of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
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Our Greater Region
News and events from around the 13-parish region.
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- It is our civic responsibility to vote, so don't let pesky logistics get in the way. The deadline to register to vote in-person or by mail is October 11, and the deadline to register online is October 19. If you are not currently registered to vote in Louisiana, or need to check the status of your voter registration, click here.
- The Jefferson Community Foundation, a supporting organization of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, recently announced the creation of the “Jefferson First” Philanthropy Award to recognize an individual who is making a significant contribution to Jefferson Parish through philanthropic giving, time, actions, talents, and dedication. Nominations are open through September 30. The recipient will be announced at the JCF Gala Celebration presented by The Feil Family Foundation on Oct. 28. To submit a nomination or learn more, click here.
- On September 25, RTA updated their network of bus routes to improve access, frequency, and travel times to better serve Regional Transit Authority riders! The majority of bus routes and bus stops changed to enable these new benefits to riders. Learn more here. The Foundation has long supported improved public transit, including founding support for RIDE New Orleans, the local transit advocacy group that has helped advocate for these updates.
- Foundation grantee Healthy Community Services has been selected for the U.S. Water Prize for Outstanding Nonprofit Organization by the U.S. Water Alliance for their “Water Wise 7th Ward” project. Healthy Community Services won for focusing on resident-led green infrastructure education in a majority-Black New Orleans neighborhood plagued by chronic flooding. The U.S. Water Prize recognizes individuals and organizations that are driving innovation in the water sector and imagining new possibilities in water. Eight winners were selected from a pool of more than 160 nominations.
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People of Philanthropy
We believe that everyone can be a philanthropist. Meet the people, grantmakers, and nonprofits that are making it a reality.
Meet Sherina Clavier, our Director of Finance, who is about to celebrate three years at the Foundation next month!
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Name: Sherina Clavier, CPA
Role: Director of Finance
Organization: Greater New Orleans Foundation
Walk us through your career path, and how you figured out what you wanted to do for a living? I originally planned to double-major in Economics and Finance, but I didn’t do very well in Calculus (which I needed for Economics), so I changed to a double-major in Accounting and Finance. I think I may have been swayed a bit by my Principles of Accounting professor who told the class that accounting was a good career path because “you’ll always have a job.”
What's one thing folks may not know about you? I can play drums.
How do you wind down after crunching numbers all day? I spend most of the work day sitting at my desk, so I try to do some physical activity when I can. I usually go to the gym for a walk/run and use the weight machines, but when there’s good weather and daylight I also enjoy swimming laps or going for a long bike ride.
Can you explain what you and your team do at the Foundation? Some of the key tasks that the Finance Team is responsible for include processing donations from donors, issuing payments to nonprofit grantees and vendors, and accounting for the Foundation’s investment and banking activity, which is spread over 1,100 different funds at the Foundation. At certain times of the year, we are also busy putting together fund statements for fundholders, preparing for our annual audit and working on tax returns for the Foundation, 12 supporting organizations, and several charitable trusts.
GiveNOLA Day, hosted by the Foundation, is the largest community giving day in our region, with over $7.9M raised in 2022. How do you tackle the millions of dollars coming through the door that day? GiveNOLA Day takes a lot of planning and preparation from every department in the Foundation. Much of the work that Finance does for GiveNOLA Day does not begin until after GiveNOLA Day, which is when we start tallying non-profits’ donation totals, allocating prizes, and double-checking grantees’ banking and contact data. Once all the verifications are complete, we do the most important part of GiveNOLA Day--distributing the GiveNOLA Day proceeds to all the participating nonprofits!
Finance is often thought about as being quite corporate. How does Finance within the nonprofit sector differ to that of the corporate world? I don’t think they are as different as people might think. I have worked for different types of companies (privately-held, SEC, etc.) and while there may be differences in profit motives, the primary objective of any finance or accounting department is still the same. It enables good stewardship of an organization’s resources by keeping accurate and reliable records of historical transactions, which allows financial statement users to understand what has happened with an organization’s resources and helps management to make plans for how to use those resources in the future.
What's one tip you would give to nonprofit organizations and/or individuals hoping to improve their financial stability? Set conservative, realistic budgets and stick to them, then be ready to adapt if things don’t go according to plan.
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The Good Word
What we’re reading and being mindful of this month.
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- September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. It is a time to raise awareness of this often stigmatized topic, which may affect individuals regardless of age, gender, or background. In an effort to make the life-saving line more accessible, you can now dial or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. The Foundation is proud to support organizations like VIALINK and NAMI in their efforts to provide crisis and mental health support.
- Don't miss NPR reporter and author Anya Kamenetz at Octavia Books on Thursday, October 6. She'll be presenting and signing her new book, "The Stolen Year: How COVID Changed Children's Lives, and Where We Go Now. Kamenetz is an award-winning education correspondent for NPR, and a native New Orleanian. Learn more about the event here.
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Lagniappe
At the Foundation, we are ramping up for the 10th year of our women's giving circle, Impact 100. Impact 100 is a group of over one hundred women who commit every year to making a single transformative grant to a local nonprofit.
Watch the video below to see our 2021 Impact 100 winner, Hotel Hope, be notified of their win! Hotel Hope is an organization that moves families from homelessness to self-sufficiency through a three-stage service model that involves providing crisis intervention services, residential stability, and help in achieving economic self-sufficiency. |
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Thanks for joining us for today's edition of The Greater Good.
Until next time!
The Greater New Orleans Foundation Team
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