The Power We Built Together
Flozell Daniels, Jr. is Chief Executive Officer of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation.
As my tenure as Board Co-Chair of the Greater New Orleans Funders Network comes to a close, I have been reflecting on the vision that brought us together: to build relationships and learning rooted in trust, align our resources and influence, deepen our commitment to impact, and strengthen our collective capacity to advance the wellbeing, power, and prosperity of the people, communities, and region we serve.
We did so in a place we love, a region where resilience is ancestral, where joy and grief coexist, and where the wisdom, sacrifice, and leadership of those who came before us continue to guide us forward.
Together, we set out to build something larger than any one institution: a network capable of aligning talents and intentions, providing consistent leadership, and supporting the generational work that must endure beyond political cycles, changing administrations, and shifting philanthropic priorities. We sought to invest in Southeast Louisiana in ways that strengthened the cultural, political, and social power of communities and expanded their ability to shape the decisions that affect their lives.
To guide that work, we grounded ourselves in five enduring principles: Equity First, Community at the Center, Systems-Level Change, Increased Impact, and Trusted Accountability.
Looking back, our impact highlights the power of centering equity, trust, and collective action, inspiring pride in our shared progress.
Together, we have helped shape a different kind of philanthropy, one that recognizes people-centered power as foundational to a responsive democracy and racial justice. One that listens to its people and organizes resources, influence, and leadership in service of their aspirations.
Over the last decade, we have witnessed the beauty and brilliance of this region time and again. Through every challenge, communities have continued to create, organize, celebrate, and imagine new possibilities. Like the wetlands that still sustain Louisiana, we have adapted and renewed ourselves, drawing strength from the people, cultures, and traditions that make this place unlike any other.
At the same time, we know there is unfinished work before us. The work of expanding opportunity, advancing racial equity, and building shared prosperity continues to call us forward, demanding both persistence and imagination.
The social and economic fabric of New Orleans remains strained, underscoring the urgent need for continued collective effort and resilience.
According to the data and lived experience, Louisiana continues to lead the nation in ways that should concern us all; from mass incarceration to policies that undermine the wellbeing of Black and Brown families, rural communities, immigrant communities, and others who have been essential to the making and rebuilding of New Orleans.
These are not abstract policy debates. They are central to our analysis, our priorities, and our work.
We know this because we hear it every day from community leaders, nonprofit partners, and residents across the region. We know it because we live here, work here, and care deeply about the future of this place and its people.
The challenges before us are significant, but they are not unfamiliar. They require the very capacities this network was created to cultivate. GNOFN was built for moments like this: to bring institutions together around a common purpose, organize our community investments, and pursue the long-term transformation that no single funder could achieve alone.
I am deeply grateful for your leadership, partnership, candor, and commitment. Thank you for helping shape not only what GNOFN has become, but what it can continue to be.
May we continue to lead with unwavering conviction in our values. May we continue to lead with purpose and act with the courage the people of the Greater New Orleans region deserve today. And may we invest in the collective future, the collective future all of our ancestors dreamed of, and the dreams I hold for my granddaughter's children.
As we move forward, let us continue resourcing this network as the strategic infrastructure it was designed to be. Let us invest in the relationships, analysis, and partnerships that enable us to respond effectively to the region's needs. Let us deepen the impact of our action tables and special projects, the vehicles through which shared learning becomes meaningful action. And let us continue to strengthen the fellowship and community that make this network strong.
Most importantly, let us trust the power we have built together.
