Over objections of heir, Wisner committee awards $2 million to nonprofits, city programs
Mark Peneguy, who's not on the committee, said the city is wasting Wisner money on its anti-violence efforts.
Tag: NOLA for Life Fund grants
Part of NOLA for Life effort ends grants; results from last year still unclear
Program is bringing together 20 service providers to plan for a pilot project to reach young men at risk of killing or being killed.
Bills mount as stalled community center becomes another eyesore in New Orleans
The Family Center of Hope has received more than $2 million in taxpayer money to open a community center. The project ran over budget and work stopped in 2012. Since then, the building has fallen into disrepair. According to the city, the politically-connected nonprofit is now seeking FEMA money to fund its completion.
Despite public funding, NOLA for Life Fund grantmaking to continue in private
Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration says that it controls the source of its NOLA for Life Fund money, which it hands off to a private foundation to disburse. The Landrieu administration says the grantmaking doesn’t have to occur in public, but other nonprofits have been told they must let the public observe discussions about spending taxpayer dollars.
Wisner advisers narrowly give blessing to city’s plan for disbursing grants
With legal logjam mostly broken, city moves ahead with 2013 payments of $1.5 million.
Live blog: City Council discusses funding, effectiveness of NOLA for Life programs
Councilwoman Stacy Head said a previous hearing "was more of a PR presentation."
Opaque process used to dole out grant money in NOLA for Life homicide-reduction effort
In touting his reforms to the process of awarding city money, Mayor Mitch Landrieu has repeatedly said, “It’s not about who you know. It’s about what you know.” But when it comes to determining how $500,000 was given out through the NOLA for Life Fund, the public knows very little. The city set it up was involved in picking the grantees, but it's shielded from typical public scrutiny and accountability because a private foundation administers it.
NOLA for Life grants paying for CD production, field trips and concerts
One group hopes to offer overseas travel; links to violence prevention appear tenuous.
NOLA for Life grantee fails to live up to promise of building publicly-financed community center
Several years ago, The Family Center of Hope received more than $2 million to build a community center. Now it's just another half-finished project, beset by cost overruns and legal disputes. The city has decided to give the group $40,000 to provide counseling services as part of its NOLA for Life anti-violence campaign.
Live blog: Council to evaluate anti-violence measures — but lacks data from city
Councilwoman Guidry has asked for city records showing program costs and impact.
