NEW ORLEANS – The fourth annual GiveNOLA Day – a community-wide, online giving day to raise funds for 717 nonprofits throughout the Greater New Orleans region – will take place on Tuesday, May 2, from 12:00 a.m. – 11:59 p.m. To celebrate the day of giving, the Greater New Orleans Foundation will be hosting the first-ever GiveNOLA Fest – a free outdoor concert from 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. on Lee Circle, at the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s new Center of Philanthropy, 919 St. Charles Ave.
“GiveNOLA Day is a day we can all come together and support the plethora of nonprofits that support our region,” said Greater New Orleans Foundation (GNOF) President and CEO Andy Kopplin. “GiveNOLA Fest is a way to celebrate the spirit of giving that is so strong in our community. We look forward to helping raise $4.5 million for nonprofits that do so much to make this a thriving community for all.”
Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Irma Thomas and Rebirth Brass Band will headline GiveNOLA Fest, and food and drink will be available from multiple restaurants including Company Burger, Taceaux Loceaux and Blue Oak BBQ. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the GiveNOLA Day “Lagniappe Fund,” a local pool of incentive dollars raised by sponsors that will be proportionally shared with every participating nonprofit. The Fest will also feature GiveNOLA Day’s traditional real-time leaderboard, which will display the millions of dollars being donated through the generosity of the giving community and a donation station for on-site giving.
“We have a lot of festivals in our region, but GiveNOLA Fest, a festival to celebrate giving, is a first,” said Mark Romig, president and CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. "Participating in this event provides an outlet for all of us in the community to celebrate our common humanity."
New to GiveNOLA Day this year, donors do not have to wait until Tuesday, May 2, to give to their favorite organizations. People started scheduling their donations yesterday on the GiveNOLA.org website. In the past three years, GiveNOLA Day has raised more than $10 million for regional nonprofits. This year, with the help of its new technology partner, CiviCore, GNOF hopes to raise $4.5 million from 30,000 donations for the participating nonprofits.
“We are excited to announced that donations will be accepted for the week leading up to GiveNOLA Day, and will be counted on May 2,” said Kopplin. “However, making your donation during any hour on May 2 will make your nonprofit eligible for additional awards and prizes.”
All donations made on the GiveNOLA.org website or at the donation station at GiveNOLA Fest go directly to participating nonprofits working on a broad range of issues: arts and culture, animals, community improvement, education, environment, health, housing, human rights, human services, public safety and crime and youth development.
GNOF does not collect any fees from contributions in order for the nonprofit organizations to receive the maximum benefit.