Community Partnership Grants
2026-2027 Grant Recipients
Since 1979, the Jazz & Heritage Foundation has invested proceeds from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival presented by Shell directly into the Louisiana’s communities with grants to fund projects that support the foundation’s mission.
The 2026-2027 cycle of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation’s Community Partnership Grants program has awarded over $2 million to individuals and organizations across Louisiana. The Foundation funded mission-aligned funds projects: music and arts education, documentation of Louisiana cultural traditions, and presentation of local artists and performers.
2026-2027 Grant Statistics
- More than 500 Louisiana organizations, culture creators, and bearers received a Community Partnership Grant.
- 100% of the Education In-School applicants received funding.
- Applications were received from across the state, from Caddo Parish all the way to Plaquemines Parish.
- This year, awarded grants ranged from $1000 to $7,500; the average grant award was nearly $4,000.
2026-2027 Community Partnership Grant Recipients
Education In-School grants were awarded to schools providing arts instruction as part of the school day.
| Music | Arthur Ashe Charter School | Orleans |
| Music | Belle Chase Academy | Plaquemines |
| Dance | Chalmette High School | St. Bernard |
| Music | GEO Next Generation High School | East Baton Rouge |
| Theatre | Little Oaks Middle School | Pearl River |
| Music | Ponchatoula High School | Tangipahoa |
| Music | St. Augustine High School | Orleans |
| Visual Arts, Photography | The Good Shepherd School | Orleans |
| Multidisciplinary | William Pitcher Junior High School | St. Tammany |
| Music | Young Audiences Charter School | Jefferson |
Education After-School grants were awarded to non-profits that present after-school and summer educational programs in the arts.
| Multidisciplinary | Autism Society of Greater New Orleans | New Orleans |
| Multidisciplinary | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Louisiana | Lake Charles |
| Other | Creole Wild West | New Orleans |
| Theatre | Cutting Edge Center for the Arts, Inc. | Slidell |
| Music | Ellis Marsalis Center for Music | New Orleans |
| Music | Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestras (GNOYO) | New Orleans |
| Multidisciplinary | Lafourche Parish Public Library | Thibodaux |
| Dance | New Orleans Ballet Association | NOBA | New Orleans |
| Creative Writing, Literary, Spoken Word | Purpose L.I.N.K.S | Denham Springs |
| Music | Sound Mind Music Conservatory | New Orleans |
Jazz & Heritage Presenting grants were awarded to Louisiana-based non-profit organizations that present festivals and other cultural events and hire local performers.
| Music Festival | Abita Springs Busker Festival | Abita Springs |
| Cultural Heritage | Bayou Arts Fest | Houma |
| Music Festival | Bogalua Blues & Heritage Festival | Bogalusa |
| Other | Black Tech NOLA | New Orleans |
| Music Festival | New Music on the Bayou Festival | Monroe |
| Other | 2026 New Orleans Film Festival Cultural Ambassador Program | New Orleans |
| Multidisciplinary | Words & Music Festival 2026 | New Orleans |
| Music Concert | Shreveport Symphony in Caddo Common Park | Shreveport |
| Music Performance Series | The Living Legacy Concert Series | New Orleans |
| Cultural Heritage | 15th Annual United Houma Nation Disability Awareness Powwow | Houma |
Louisiana Cultural Equity Arts & Creation grants were awarded to Louisiana-based non-profit organizations, artists, and others who create new artistic works or otherwise document or exhibit artworks that reflect, interpret, document, or preserve the indigenous culture of Louisiana.
| Multidisciplinary | Ellis Anderson | Quarter Kaleidoscope Community History Project: Outreach, Production Assistance and Publication |
| Archiving, Web, Oral, Podcasts | Devin Bailey-Nicholas | Honor Our Mothers by Not Forgetting Their Medicines |
| Archiving, Web, Oral, Podcasts | Robin Barnes | Louisiana Love: Preserving Culture Through Music, Storytelling & Community |
| Photography | Nathaniel Barron | Baby Dolls UnMasked: A Photographic Exhibition of New Orleans Baby Doll Culture |
| Art Creation | Elenora Rukiya Brown | Stitching the Spirit: Healing, Masking, and Freedom Through Fiber Art |
| Exhibition / Performance | Eric L Cager | Down Below: The River, The Port, and the Four Pillars of South Louisiana Identity |
| Documentation | Freddi Evans | Jerome Smith Book |
| Music Recording | Trevarri Huff-Boone | It Lies Beyond Infinity |
| Film | Brian Nelson | Hail To The Queens: Cost of the Crown |
| Documentation | Ariel Roy | The Black Louisiana Heritage Archive: Documenting African American Historic Places |
Media: Documentation & Creation grants were awarded to Louisiana-based non-profit organizations, artists, and others who create new artistic works or otherwise document or exhibit artworks that reflect, interpret, document, or preserve the indigenous culture of Louisiana.
| Multidisciplinary | Baldwin & Co. Foundation | Bearing Witness: Portraits and Oral Histories of Black New Orleans |
| Multidisciplinary | Congo Square Preservation Society | Preservation in Action:Drum and Dance Workshops |
| Exhibition / Performance | Freedom to Grow | Crafting Resistance Exhibition |
| Visual Art | Jefferson Parish Schools – Talented Art Department | Third Annual – Black History Talented Art Exhibition |
| Documentation | Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities | “Listen-up” Columns: Sharing Louisiana’s Musical Treasures and Heritage in 64 Parishes Magazine |
| Music Recording | The Next Generation Jazz Band of New Orleans | Passing The Torch Vol. 3 |
| Archiving, Web, Oral, Podcasts | Our Voice Nuestra Voz | Remembering Our Roots |
| Multidisciplinary | The Idea Village | METRONOME: Louisiana Music Innovation Showcase & Exhibition |
| Music Recording | Tremé Heritage and Culture Foundation | Youth Development Music Heritage Outreach Program |
| Archiving, Web, Oral, Podcasts | Vieux Carre Commission Foundation | Vieux Carre Virtual Library |