Friends of New Orleans

We are looking for a million friends to declare their support for New Orleans and surrounding parishes.

Friends of New Orleans is a private, non-profit, non-partisan, membership organization for people in the U.S. and abroad who care about the region. Our mission is to advocate for New Orleans and its surrounding parishes, inform people of those key issues that are shaping the national debate and decision making of the rebuilding effort, link individuals who want to help with the communities in the devastated areas and motivate people to take part in the rebuilding effort.

"Why New Orleans Needs Saving", Time, March 6, 2006, by former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and John M. Barry, author of Rising Tide and The Great Influenza

BRAF

Dear Prospective Member/Donor:

All online contributions for Friends of New Orleans are managed courtesy of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. (This saves us time and money!)

To join FONO and donate online, please click the button below and you will be brought to the Baton Rouge Area Foundation's web site in order to complete this secure transaction:

If you do not wish to contribute online and prefer to mail your donation, please send your check to: Friends of New Orleans, 4536 North 25th Rd., Arlington, VA 22207.

Thank you!

P.S. All your online donations are deposited to the Friends of New Orleans Fund which supports all of our efforts on behalf of New Orleans and surrounding parishes. All FONO donations are tax deductible.

Since Katrina hit the coast of Louisiana and the levees broke, Friends of New Orleans has helped the city and its surrounding parishes by:

1. Advocating for the Region and Informing Policymakers
Every year FONO hosts educational briefings and panel discussions for policymakers, congressional staff and decision makers, to discuss the progress made by New Orleans and surrounding parishes, post-Katrina, and the challenges that still lie ahead.

2. Linking Local Leaders/Organizations with Donors that Care to Create Opportunities for Action
FONO provides opportunities for neighborhood leaders and local organizations from New Orleans to meet donors and discuss what is working in the recovery efforts, as well as the continued needs of the communities. FONO organizes and hosts educational donor events all across the country.

3. Putting a National Spotlight on the City and Giving Local Leaders a Voice
FONO events highlight key issues for the region's recovery - such as better levees and coastal restoration, good schools and adequate healthcare, safe and vibrant neighborhoods - that generate national media attention. FONO makes it possible for local leaders to tell their stories of how they are making New Orleans a better place to live, and the challenges they face on the road to recovery.

Learn about all of FONO's efforts towards New Orleans' Rebirth during the past 4 years by clicking this link: FONO 4 Year Report

"New Orleans - The Business and Social Entrepreneur Revolution" 2010 FONO Events Will Celebrate What People with Vision and Passion Can Accomplish on April 6 in San Francisco and April 7 in Los Angeles

The purpose of these April FONO California events is to educate business leaders, investors and donors in California on the business and social entrepreneur movement in New Orleans that is capturing everyone's imagination. (Made the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine - "New Orleans: Four Years After Katrina, Entrepreneurs are Reconstructing the Iconic City" Aug 09, NY Times - "Entrepreneurs Leverage New Orleans's Charm to Lure Small Business" Jul 09, Wall St. Journal - "Entrepreneurs Take to Big Easy" Aug 09.) The two back-to-back FONO events will highlight the cool and exciting things that are happening in New Orleans and, in the year of the 5th anniversary of Katrina, will celebrate how far the city has come. The LA event will feature James Carville (CNN Political Strategist and FONO Founder), Taylor Hackford (Academy Award Winning Film Director and FONO Board Member) and Harry Shearer (Comedian, Actor, Musician and FONO Board Member). New Orleans leaders behind the business entrepreneur movement who will be highlighted at both events include: Michael Hecht (President of GNO Inc.), Tim Williamson (President of Idea Village), plus the CEOs of 4 local startup companies that have gone national including Matt Wisdom of TurboSquid, Robbie Vitrano of NAKEDPizza, Chris Laibe of the Schedulist and Stacey Danner and Lea Keal of Sustainable Environmental Enterprises. Social entrepreneurs that FONO will also highlight at both events include: Beth Galante (Executive Director of Global Green New Orleans), Pat Cooper (President of the Early Childhood and Family Learning Center Foundation) and Phyllis Landrieu (Leading NOLA Early Learning & Child Advocate), Kyle Wedberg and Sally Perry (President/CEO and Executive Director of the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts), and Dr. Benjamin P. Sachs (Dean of the Tulane Medical School and leader behind the Tulane Community Health Clinics).

For more information on these incredible NOLA entrepreneurs and the fascinating work they are doing, Click Here.

The San Francisco after work reception and talk on April 6 is by invitation only and will be limited to Bay Area business leaders and investors, in addition to corporate, foundation and individual donors who are interested in learning more about what is happening in New Orleans. The Los Angeles VIP reception and benefit dinner on April 7 will take place at a Hollywood home and will be open to all FONO donors and sponsors. Sponsorship levels for the Los Angeles VIP reception and benefit dinner are available at the $1,000 and up levels. For information on how you can sponsor and/or attend these events, please contact FONO Acting Executive Director and Founding Board Member, Denise Byrne at prdenise@aol.com.

FONO Visits with Leaders Behind the Central City Renaissance - October 24-30, 2009

From October 24-30, FONO Acting Executive Director, Denise Byrne met with the key neighborhood leaders and organizations that are doing work in Central City plus the funders that are supporting this work. Right now the Central City area of New Orleans is undergoing a renaissance of sorts thanks in part to the major investments being made by large national foundations such as Ford and Kellogg, in addition to local and regional funders such as the Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) and the Foundation for the Mid South. During this visit FONO met with the following nonprofit and neighborhood leaders to learn more about what is happening with Central City so that FONO can begin to put a spotlight on their work and get others to get involved. These included: Phyllis Cassidy/Good Work Networks - They do micro enterprise development with an equity focus. Kysha Brown and Saundra Reed/Central City Renaissance Alliance - Think of themselves as the leaders and conveners in the neighborhood. Carol Bebelle/Ashe Cultural Arts Center - Vibrant African American cultural arts center and a key player in the neighborhoods development. Lynette Colin/OC Haley Blvd Merchants Assoc - Working to make the OC Haley Corridor a cultural, historical, business corridor and the "spine" of the neighborhood. Craig Cuccia and Sister Mary Lou/Café Reconcile - Best place to have lunch and a key player rehabilitating the neighborhood and putting people back to work. Douglas Evans and Jay Banks/Dryades YMCA - Run one of the neighborhood's charter schools and provide training and support to families so that they can become self-sufficient. Patrick Cooper/Mahalia Jackson Early Learning Center - Renovating an existing building into an early learning center with a neighborhood resource center which will do outreach work to every family in Central City. Una Anderson, Linda Pompa, Shawn Escoffery and Jocquelyn Marshall/CJ Peete -This is a huge mixed income housing development project in the heart of Central City where the CJ Peete projects stood before. Audrey Browder/Central City Partnership - This is the neighborhood association for Central City.

Funders involved in Central City that FONO met with and spoke to about Central City include: Dr. Albert Ruesga and Ellen Lee - Greater New Oreans Foundation (GNOF), Joan Coulter - Reily Foundation, Patty Riddlebarger - Entergy, Flozell Daniels - Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF), Byron Harrell - Baptist Community Ministries, Ashleigh Gardere - JP Morgan Chase, Dr. Ivye Allen - Foundation for the Mid South, William Buster - Kellogg Foundation and Jerry Maldonado - Ford Foundation.

FONO Board Members and Local Partners Present at The Great Mississippi River Symposium - New Orleans, October 25, 2009

The Great Miss. River Symposium was an international event organized by the Greek Orthodox Church and included dignitaries and attendees from all over the world. FONO Board Members, John Barry and Denise Byrne were asked to present as panelists. There were also several FONO local partners that also made presentations during the conference including: Anne Milling/WOS, King Milling/America's Wetland, Beth Galante/Global Green New Orleans, Charles Allen/Holly Cross Neighborhood, and Sandy Rosenthaal/Levees.org.

For transcripts and videos of this entire conference go to http://www.rsesymposia.org.

FONO Works with Deutsche Welle Radio to cover New Orleans' Rebirth Story in Europe during the 4th Anniversary of Katrina - August 2009

FONO Acting Executive Director, Denise Byrne, met with Christina Bergmann, Washington DC correspondent of Deutsche Welle Radio, one of the most important radio station in Germany. FONO gave Christina information on key issues still faced by the residents of the NOLA metropolitan region on their road to recovery plus put the correspondent in direct contact with key NOLA leaders whom she interviewed the week before the 4th Anniversary of Katrina. These included: Janet Woodka (Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding), Sarah Usdin and Tony Recasner of New Schools New Orleans, LaToya Cantrell of Broadmoor, Father Vien of East New Orleans, Dr. Benjamin Sachs of Tulane Medical School and John Barry, Head of the New Orleans Levee board and FONO board member. As a result of these meetings, Deutsche Welle Radio ran three major stories on German radio the week of August 29, 2009 which ran all over Europe and were also covered in part by National Public Radio in the US.

To view these articles and hear the audio reports in German go to the following links:

Article #1: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4607813,00.html. Audio for Article #1: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/episode/0,,4490422,00.html?maca=de-podcast_fokus-welt-1698-xml-mrss

Article #2: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4607945,00.html. Audio for Article #2: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4602356,00.html.

Article #3: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4652179,00.html. Audio for Article #3:
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4655924,00.html

"Housing, Education and Health in New Orleans Today" FONO Event at the Aspen Institute in Colorado - August 12, 2009

This event helped to highlight the complex issues that the Greater New Orleans region still faces on the road to recovery, in addition to celebrating the progress that local leaders and residents have accomplished. Distinguished panelists included Dr. Benjamin Sachs (head of Tulane Medical School) and Dr. Jim Doty (Stanford University Professor of Neurosurgery, on boards of Tulane University and FONO) who spoke about the role of community health care clinics in giving residents much needed access to basic and preventative medical services. Tony Recasner (Chairman of the Board of New Schools New Orleans, and Vice Chair of the Greater New Orleans Foundation) and Dr. Albert Ruesga (President/CEO, Greater New Orleans Foundation) spoke about New Orleans transforming its schools and neighborhoods, and becoming a model for the rest of the nation. "The City had one of the nation's worst public school systems but, in the wake of Katrina, neighborhoods have been taking their schools back. Sixty percent of the city's children now attend a public charter school, neighborhoods have taken ownership of their schools and test scores are on the rise," Recasner said. Allison Plyer of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center said that 90% of pre-Katrina residents have moved back to their homes and Kristin Palmer (Executive Director of Rebuilding Together New Orleans) spoke about the incredible rebuilding effort that is seen throughout the city and the role of nonprofits and volunteer programs such as AmeriCorps in these efforts. Karen Gadbois (Carrollton Neighborhood Leader and Watchdog Blogger) and Harry Shearer (comedian, actor, musician, New Orleans resident and celebrity blogger) spoke about civic engagement and holding the government accountable for its actions and promises. The event was moderated by Walter Isaacson (President/CEO of The Aspen Insitute and FONO Founder) and the MC for the evening was Stephen DeBerry (CIO at Kapor Enterprises and FONO Board Chair). Janet Woodka, the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding, under the Dept. of Homeland Security, spoke about the new administration's efforts to better coordinate the release of funds and to reduce friction between local, state and federal agencies. Following the talk at the Aspen Institute, these New Orleans leaders were recognized and celebrated at a VIP reception and benefit dinner with FONO donors at the home of Alex Kaufman.

For a video recording of this FONO event "Housing, Education and Health in New Orleans Today" please go to the following link http://vod.grassrootstv.org/vodcontent/8362-1.wmv

An article on this event by the Aspen Daily News can be viewed at http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/136071

Broadmoor Improvement Association
www.broadmoorimprovement.com

Central City Renaissance Alliance
www.myccra.org

East New Orleans / Mary Queen of Vietnam CDC
www.mqvncdc.org

Gentilly Civic Improvement Association
www.gcia.org

Holy Cross Neighborhood Association
www.holycrossneighborhood.org

Lakeview Civic Improvement Association
www.lakeviewcivic.org

Mid City Neighborhood Organization
www.mcno.org

Plaquemines Community Foundation
http://www.gnof.org/index.php/initiatives/category/plaquemines

St. Bernard Community Foundation
http://www.gnof.org/index.php/initiatives/category/st_bernard

To connect with a partner organization, click here.

America's Wetland
www.americaswetland.com

Barataria Terrebone National Estuary Program
www.btnep.org

Beacon of Hope Resource Center
www.lakewoodbeacon.org

Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans
www.citizensfor1greaterneworleans.com

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
www.crcl.org

Global Green New Orleans
www.globalgreen.org/neworleans/

Greater New Orleans Foundation
www.gnof.org

Greater New Orleans, Inc. (GNO, Inc.)
www.gnoinc.org

The Idea Village
www.ideavillage.org

Kingsley House
www.kingsleyhouse.org

Levees.org
www.levees.org

Market Umbrella
www.marketumbrella.org

Marsh Mission
www.marshmission.com

Neighborhoods Partnership Network (NPN)
www.npnnola.com

New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA)
www.nocca.com

New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau
www.neworleanscvb.com

New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation
www.jazzandheritage.org

New Orleans Video Access Center (NOVAC)
www.novacvideo.org

New Schools for New Orleans
newschoolsforneworleans.org

Operation Comeback/PRC
www.prcno.org/programs/operationcomeback/

Parkway Partners Program
parkwaypartnersnola.org

Phoenix of New Orleans
www.pnola.org

Rebuilding Together New Orleans
www.rtno.org

St. Bernard Project
www.stbernardproject.org

Tipitina's Foundation
www.tipitinasfoundation.org

Women of the Storm
www.womenofthestorm.net

To connect with a neighborhood organization, click here.

Local Organizations

Friends of New Orleans is proud to support and collaborate with the following local organizations:

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano queried by FONO on the future of South Louisiana - June 3, 2009

On June 3rd Janet Napolitano, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, spoke at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC. The talk "Homeland Security Today: Progress Made; Challenges Remain", was moderated by Clark Kent Ervin, a former FONO board member and current Director of the Aspen Institute Homeland Security Program. Before attending the event, FONO Acting Executive Director Denise Byrne solicited ideas for appropriate questions/comments from several Louisiana leaders working on coastal rebuilding and levee protection, and got suggestions from Ann Milling (founder, Women of the Storm) and John Barry (author, Rising Tide and FONO board member). Based on their feedback, Denise asked the following questions to the DHS Secretary: "Is keeping the New Orleans and surrounding parish residents safe a priority for you? Why hasn't the current administration shown that rebuilding New Orleans is important? The president has not visited New Orleans since he was elected. And right now there are $6-$8 billion in protection and rebuilding projects in the state, within 2 years of turning shovel, yet the administration has only committed $25 million for this specific purpose." Secretary Napolitano answered by describing her last trip to New Orleans with the HUD secretary, and she spoke about removing bottle necks to the federal dollars, the monies being put into housing and getting people out of trailers, etc. Unfortunately, not much was said about coastal restoration, levees or the Corps.

]]> To view a video of the entire talk, click here.

After the Napolitano talk, Denise Byrne and FONO Founder, Walter Isaacson, met with Tim Fraser from the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding which is part of DHS. Tim informed them that his office is reaching out to the local people, neighborhood organizations and nonprofits first, in order to learn from them directly. The new Federal Coordinator, Janet Woodka, started in this position at the beginning of April. The good news is that she was formerly on Sen. Landrieu's staff and she is from New Orleans. Nevertheless, Walter urged Tim to recognize that the federal government must remove the barriers to the funding for levee rebuilding and coastal restoration, and that this was an urgent matter.

A big concern that many in New Orleans have is that Ms. Woodka's office (the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding) is funded through September of 2009. Tim Fraser said that feedback is very promising that it will continue to exist and be funded past September. Let's keep our fingers crossed. As Denise Byrne remarked, "We need to be patient. If this is the government's "go to" agency when it comes to New Orleans, I would rather deal with a group of people who want to reach out and listen to the local leaders." Anne Milling followed up with the following email comments back to Denise: "One of the major problems we all experience is the lack of real "power" in this Gulf Coast office. If we could get someone like Valerie Jarrett to have coastal restoration and hurricane protection in her portfolio...we might get the ear of the president. We must make the administration wake-up to the importance of south Louisiana and coastal restoration to the entire nation."

FONO surveys key New Orleans neighborhood and nonprofit leaders on the focus of their work and their needs moving forward - April 6-12, 2009

From April 6-12, 2009 FONO board members reached out to and met with leaders from 7 neighborhood groups representing various parts of New Orleans and surrounding parishes (Mid City, Lakeview, Plaquemines Parish, East New Orleans, St. Bernard, Holy Cross/Lower 9th, Broadmoor and Gentilly) and 13 local organizations working on education, rebuilding, coastal restoration and levee protection, economic development, green initiatives and more (New Schools New Orleans, Beacon of Hope, New Orleans Institute, Women of the Storm, Americas Wetland, Neighborhood Partnerships Network, Levees.org, Idea Village, New Orleans Creative Arts Institute, St. Bernard Project, Global Green, Operation Comeback/PRC, Rebuilding Together New Orleans). Information gathered from these meetings will help shape FONO's work and advocacy message moving forward.

In a letter to the FONO Board of Directors, Acting Executive Director, Denise Byrne stated the following observations: "There is a lot of excitement and energy throughout. In the words of Tim Williamson, President of Idea Village, the city of New Orleans is an incredible laboratory for social innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. All of these neighborhoods and nonprofits have been able to accomplish amazing things, under incredible stress and with scarce resources and a lack of capacity. Many have developed cutting edge models for how to do things right and they want to share it with others around the world. Whether we are talking disaster recovery, citizenry engagement and leadership, economic development, public school reform, green building, arts and science education, or the power of volunteerism, New Orleans is setting the trend for the rest of the nation to follow."

]]> Frustration is highest with the State of Louisiana. While everyone is disgusted with the Mayor's Office, these leaders feel that there is no vision or leadership coming out of Baton Rouge. Furthermore, they have all said they need resources and training so that they can do their own advocacy at the city, state and federal levels. Their greatest fear right now is that the incredible recovery that is taking place in the region will stall and run out of gas due to: a) the economic downturn, which is affecting their private funding; b) the nightmare of dealing with the City's dysfunctional bureaucracy; and c) the roadblocks to funds promised or controlled by the State."

Other observations made by FONO board members during this April visit include:

The high quality and number of AmeriCorps members now working in the city, and how this program has helped local organizations "leap frog" in their own organizational development, enabling them to expand their reach and level of services in a short period of time.
The high number of energetic and enthusiastic volunteers, from across the nation and beyond, that are still pouring into NOLA everyday and whose potential has not been harnessed effectively by local organizations in terms of PR, advocacy and fundraising.
The rich knowledge base that exists at the neighborhood level which needs to be shared and spread around the city and beyond. And the unfortunate tendency of human beings to work in "silos" because they are too stressed, trying to keep their own lives together, or they don't have the time to look around or reach out to others because they are too busy getting the work done in their own back yard.

To view Denise Byrne's notes on the April meetings with local partners, please click here.