NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Business Alliance announced that its COVID-19 relief fund to support unemployed gig economy workers has amassed more than $640,000 in contributions, significantly surpassing its initial $500,000 goal. Significant supporters include:
- Kresge Foundation
- Gayle Benson Community Assistance Fund
- Baptist Community Ministries (BCM)
- Grubhub
- Blue Cross and Blue Shield (BCBS) of Louisiana
- JPMorgan Chase Foundation
- Verizon
- Gulf Coast Bank & Trust
- Capital One
On April 4, NOLABA, French Quarter Festivals, Inc., and WWL-TV hosted a virtual concert event, “Live from the Porch,” which featured a series of social media performances from iconic New Orleans musicians to raise money for the gig workers fund. Upon conclusion of the broadcast, NOLABA had received nearly $8,500 in donations.
Additionally, several local organizations and business owners have stepped up to provide special services and items for purchase with proceeds benefiting the relief fund. These include:
- Pitch Well (100% of fees from virtual conference)
- Dirty Coast/Screens for Good (percentage of t-shirt sales)
- Crescent City Football Club (percentage of t-shirt sales)
- G. Douglas Adams (100% of online photo gallery sales)
- Give Back Tulane (33% of donations)
- Bitter Southerner (5% of all sales and new membership sign-ups on March 25)
- Monica Kelly Art (15% of poster sales on April 8)
Meanwhile, individual donors have contributed nearly $50,000 to the fund.
“At a time when so many are struggling to stay afloat, it’s truly remarkable how many New Orleanians found a way to donate to support their friends and neighbors in need,” said NOLABA President and CEO Quentin Messer, Jr. “The community’s response reaffirmed what we’ve always known to be true: nowhere in the world is as strong or resilient as the City of New Orleans! We’re immensely grateful to all the individuals, organizations and businesses who joined us in this endeavor as a way of saying thank you to our gig economy workers. A lot of work and heartache remain; however, because of your generosity, there is far greater hope that we will get through this and create a better economy post-COVID-19.”
To date, over 200 people have been approved to receive relief grants through the fund. In an effort to be able to reach all of those who apply for assistance, NOLABA is urging the entire community to donate at nolaba.org/relief-fund.
