Here at the Greater New Orleans Foundation, we stand united with the people of Charlottesville and with those of all races, religions and backgrounds who recognize in the events of Charlottesville the indignities and discrimination they have faced in their own lives.
The trustees and staff of the Greater New Orleans Foundation strongly and unequivocally condemn the vile racism, hate, and bigotry and the murderous act that shook the City of Charlottesville over the weekend of August 12th. Our hearts are with the victims, their families and the people of Charlottesville as they seek to reclaim their community as a place of peace. But we cannot and will not stop there.
We know that for the disenfranchised, even the strongest words prove weak when not backed by action. So we are rolling up our sleeves and doing our part to make sure our communities live up to the promise of our country’s founding documents—where all are created equal and all secure the blessings of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation has embraced equity as a core value in our mission to create a vibrant, sustainable and just region for all. Accordingly, we must serve on the front lines repairing the social fabric of our communities, and our conviction is only fortified by recent events across the nation.
Among our grant making, we proudly provide support for improving public education, building high-quality affordable housing and resilient infrastructure, supporting advocacy and citizen engagement, connecting under- and unemployed men and women to jobs that pay family-sustaining wages and offer a career pathway, and giving citizens returning home from prison a second chance. Our Center for Philanthropy serves as a gathering place for community leaders to exchange ideas and learn from one another as well as a place where we build the leadership capacity of nonprofit organizations serving on the front lines.
The making of a more perfect union with liberty and justice for all remains America’s unfinished business, but it is no one’s job but our own. We must hold ourselves and our neighbors accountable for doing this hard work in each and every community across our great nation.