Community Partnership Grants

Since 1979, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has invested proceeds from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell directly into the community with grants to fund projects that support the foundation’s mission. Over the last ten years, $9 million has been awarded in Community Partnership Grants. 

2021-2022 Grant Notification Update: Notifications regarding the 2021-2022 Community Partnership Grants have been pushed back to a later date this fall. Applicants will be notified via the email they provided on their award status. Please reach out to us if your contact info has changed at grants@jazzandheritage.org.

2020-2021 Community Partnership Grants

The Foundation awarded over $1,000,000 in funding to nearly 500 Louisiana artists and non-profit organizations, schools, arts education programs, and presenting organizations.  We also added a new category called the Louisiana Cultural Equity Arts Grant which supported new works from Historically Underrepresented creatives and from Historically Underrepresented arts organizations that reflect or document Louisiana culture.  We received a record number of grant applications and were able to fund 96% of the proposals.  

In the 2020-2021 grant cycle we saw a very diverse pool of applications from across Louisiana.  We made an effort to collect more quantitative data about our grant applicants. 

2020-2021 Grant Statistics

  • 98% of applicants are from Louisiana 
  • 68% of applicants identified as Black or African American 
  • 2% of applicants identified as Indigenous or Native American 
  • 51% of applicants identified as male. 
  • 73% of the nonprofits that applied report they have women in senior leadership positions 
  • We received applications from all over Louisiana- from Caddo Parish all the way to Plaquemines parish.  

Broken down by category: 

  • In-School – 98% funded 
  • After-School- 97% funded 
  • Presenting- 95% funded 
  • Media & Documentation- 97% funded 
  • Louisiana Cultural Equity Arts – 92% funded  

The Donald Harrison, Sr. Museum is a small community based one. The continuous support of the Jazz & Heritage Festival Foundation has been immeasurable in the museum’s ability to document, preserve, and present the indigenous cultural expressions of New Orleans to diverse audiences. We are most grateful for the funding of projects and programs that serve elders and children. Additionally, the application and reporting process are obviously designed to be inclusive and not burdensome to organizations and individuals who are from and work in communities that birth and nurture the unique cultural expressions that make New Orleans, New Orleans.

– Big Queen Cherice Harrison-Nelson