Foundation Grants
Community Vital Signs
About Us
"We want homes that last longer than eight to 10 years," says Avra van der Zee, COO of Hawaii-based nonprofit Elemental Excelerator, which has teamed up with New Orleans' Finance New Orleans to create a $2 million fund to create affordable, sustainable, and climate-responsive housing in the city.
The challenge, called the NOLA Affordable and Resilient Homes Challenge, is unique because it includes a community and stakeholder engagement phase that began in March to ensure there is meaningful local input in solution selection and deployment, reports the Times-Picayune.
After the community input has been gathered, technology applications would be explored.
The homes will feature innovative clean-energy and water-efficient technologies, including 3D printing, containers, and other nontraditional elements.
"We have a lot of good energy, a lot of faith," says FNO CEO Damon Burns.
"I feel good about where we're going."
The fund will be augmented by an investment of up to $200,000 from Elemental, including technology, and an opportunity for a larger investment of up to $1 million.
Together, the duo created a $2 million fund and launched the NOLA Affordable and Resilient Homes Challenge to obtain community-centered financing to deploy climate technologies in new and retrofitted single-family homes
Read the Entire Article
Selected Foundation News
A customized collection of news from foundations from around the Web.
Foundation: Ameriprise Financial
Ameriprise Financial announced nearly $2 million in donations to over 85 nonprofits across the U.S. as part of its first round of 2025 grants, along with $1.58 million in matching gifts from...more
Sustainergy is a worker cooperatives based in Cincinnati, Ohio.The co-op was founded in 2013 by two first generation immigrants.It provides free energy assessments for over 5,000 Cincinnati...more
Foundation: Headwaters Foundation for Justice, MacArthur Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation
This imbalance is all the more jarring given that Native communities are reeling from the Trump administration's draconian spending cuts.Funders with a track record of supporting Native American...more
Sphinx Works to Diversify the World of Classical Music as Funding Contracts.Sphinx has launched six successful classical ensembles, commissioned nearly 100 works by composers of color, and grown an...more
Foundation: Minneapolis Foundation
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to release $180 million in federal funding for environmental justice projects, including $60 million in the Pacific Northwest.The Environmental...more
Hollins said that this event was in line with one of the department's main missions: to elevate Virginia educators through the Elevate Virginia Educators initiative.The chamber presented 27 awards in...more
California must consider how to increase interest in teaching and lower the cost of and barriers to entering the profession.AB-1128, a bill under consideration in the legislature, proposes a...more
Encore Data Products is set to showcase its latest educational technology at the ISTE 2025 conference.The ISTE conference is known for bringing together educators and tech leaders to discuss the...more
Schools announces new leadership for 2025-26 school year.Dr. Lee Ziegler was announced as the new community superintendent of the North River Learning Community on June 23, 2025.Elaine Harper was...more
New research from MIT Sloan finds generative AI boosts employee creativity.But only for those who actively reflect on and adapt how they use it."To fully unlock their creative potential, employees...more
Social Entrepreneurship
Spotlight
When it Comes to Social Enterprises, Failure is the Best Platform for Innovation
In the world of social enterprises, failure is a cringe-worthy moment nobody wants to talk about. But, social entrepreneurs can benefit from their failures.