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.
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 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), Sarah Usdin (President and Founder of New Schools New Orleans), and Dr. Benjamin P. Sachs (Head of the Tulane Medical School).
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
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.
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."
FONO Hosts Nonpartisan Benefit Events at National Party Conventions - August and September 2008
During the week of the third anniversary of hurricane Katrina, Friends of New Orleans hosted benefit events at both the Democratic and Republican national party conventions to showcase the best of Louisiana food and music, while calling attention to the ongoing rebuilding effort and the immediate need to prevent further loss of Louisiana's coastal wetlands.For more information on the events, click here.
Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans Receives FONO's 'Hero of the Storm' Award - June 27, 2008
FONO today announced that Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, a local group responsible for many successful regional reforms post hurricanes Katrina and Rita will receive FONO's 'Hero of the Storm' award.
Formed shortly after the storms in November 2005, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans is a voice for change and renewal for Greater New Orleans and Louisiana. The group serves as a platform and resource for citizens to take action to rebuild Greater New Orleans. Its founders, a group of citizens who were enraged after the state legislature failed to pass levee board reforms after the storms, have brought about positive regional change.
Briefing on Efforts to Save Louisiana's Coast - June 17, 2008
FONO teamed up with Environmental Defense Fund for a day of activities on Capitol Hill to bring attention to the urgent need to restore Louisiana's disappearing coastline. The series of events included a briefing in the Senate Russell Building on the status of coastal Louisiana wetlands restoration, and efforts to restore the damage caused by the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO).Continue reading "Briefing on Efforts to Save Louisiana's Coast - June 17, 2008"
St. Bernard Project Receives FONO's Hero Award - May 3, 2008
Today, at a construction site for local nonprofit St. Bernard Project, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) presented the organization with a Hero of the Storm award for its efforts to help the residents of St. Bernard parish rebuild and move back to their homes post hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The St. Bernard Project has been chosen as the fourth recipient of the award by Friends of New Orleans (FONO), a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that advocates for New Orleans and its surrounding parishes.
Continue reading "St. Bernard Project Receives FONO's Hero Award - May 3, 2008"
DC Briefing on New Orleans' Cultural Recovery - February 12, 2008
Experts and leaders from community groups driving the effort to preserve the distinctive architecture, arts, music and cuisine of Louisiana shared their perspectives on the state of the region's cultural recovery in a Washington, DC briefing organized by FONO on February 12, 2008. The briefing took place one week after Mardi Gras, after visitors from all over the world traveled to New Orleans to take part in the celebration, and enjoy the traditional food, music and art found only in this region.Continue reading "DC Briefing on New Orleans' Cultural Recovery - February 12, 2008"
The Clock Is Ticking for the Wetlands
In his article The Clock Is Ticking for the Wetlands, Times Picayune reporter Bob Marshall outlines what Governor-elect Bobby Jindal should do to immediately address the issue:-- He should lead an effort to give the CRPA quick-take authority over private property so projects that have been -- and will be -- delayed for years can move forward quickly enough to make a difference.
-- He should quickly move forward a plan to sell bonds on the future offshore revenue so the state will have money on hand to move forward projects without waiting for federal funding.
-- He should move aggressively to tap even more sources of revenue from energy industries that transport their riches through our state.
-- He should quickly increase the budgets and staff on the state agencies that research land titles, as well as those that will have a hand in planning and building projects.
-- He must quickly lead our congressional delegation in a national effort to have Louisiana's coastal projects taken out of the Water Resources Development Act and moved through Congress as a separate piece of legislation.
