The Pro Bono Publico Foundation, charitable arm of the Rex organization, has pledged another $1.6 million to New Orleans public schools and nonprofits, continuing its philanthropic efforts to improve local education.
The commitment marks the eighth consecutive year that the organization has pledged more than $1 million to local education groups, the foundation announced Saturday morning at the Rex float den.
“From the beginning, our core belief has been that all New Orleans area school-aged children should have access to a quality education,” said Merritt Lane, a Pro Bono Publico Foundation board member.
$13 million in 16 years
Over the past 16 years, the Pro Bono Publico Foundation, founded by Rex members after Hurricane Katrina, has given more than $13 million to local institutions. It has targeted operational grants that enhance annual budgets, “allowing them to further enrich their students’ experiences,” Lane said.
Tori McRoberts Hoffpauir of YouthForce NOLA and her children, Lucia, 3, left, and Joshua, 5, look at Mardi Gras floats in the Rex den in New Orleans on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023.
The 2023 commitment was celebrated with king cake and coffee as representatives of Rex and the benefiting organizations wandered around the floats that will roll on Mardi Gras.
This year, Rex’s floats pay homage to the Palio, a horse race held twice each summer in Siena, Italy. The floats represent Siena neighborhoods such as Leocorno, depicted as a unicorn surrounded by dazzling orange leaves, and Bruco, a green caterpillar perched on a thorny rose stem.
“Like Siena, New Orleans is a city of neighborhoods,” said James Reiss III, a chairman for the Rex organization, formally called the School of Design.
Computers, curriculum
Lane said grants in recent years have been particularly effective in light of education challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, from truancy to learning loss and recruiting difficulties.
Of the $1.6 million, $913,000 will fund 65 annual operational grants, and $241,000 goes to first-year commitments of strategic grants. Another $725,000 in previous pledges funds two multi-year strategic grants to the Greater New Orleans Foundation and New Schools for New Orleans.
Tanya Bryant, CEO of ReNEW Schools, speaks during a ceremony at the Rex float den in New Orleans to announce that the Pro Bono Publico Foundation is granting $1.6 million to support education on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023.
Tanya Bryant, CEO of ReNEW Schools, said past grants let her charter operator provide students with take-home computers, curriculum for English language learners and other tools to help children catch up from pandemic-related learning loss.
“Being innovative became commonplace during the pandemic, and collaboration was happening at every turn,” Bryant said. “Pro Bono has supported us in so many ways along this journey, not just during the pandemic but over the last 12 years.”
Andy Kopplin, president and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, said his organization will use grant money to expand its training for nonprofit board members, focusing on charter school boards. He congratulated Pro Bono Publico on its longtime investments in the charter system.
“It makes a huge difference to our national partners to invest in these schools. They’re always wanting to see a local commitment,” Kopplin said.
People listen to speakers during a ceremony at the Rex float den in New Orleans to announce that the Pro Bono Publico Foundation is granting $1.6 million to support education on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023.
