RosaMary Foundation

In 1939, the RosaMary Foundation was established under the laws of Louisiana as a Charitable Trust. Alfred B. Freeman established the Foundation, which was one of the early family foundations to operate in the United States, and it was especially early for the New Orleans area. The name of the Foundation honors his daughters, Rosa (the younger) and Mary (the elder). Additionally, funds were received from the estate of Ella West Freeman, wife of A. B. Freeman, when she died a few years following the founding of the RosaMary Foundation. The original trustees were Freeman family members, some of whom resigned because of wartime duties. Following the war, they resumed their duties as trustees. Today, the trustees are descendants of A. B. and Ella West Freeman. The Foundation supports grant seekers within the Greater New Orleans area. We encourage projects that address our vision for a successful and vibrant city. Highest priority is given to grants in the following categories: - Education - Human service organizations - Arts, both performing and applied - Community development activities - Governmental oversight activities The Foundation supports both capital projects and programmatic requests. Capital projects require a history of operating stability and the financial capacity to maintain the new facilities. Capital grants require evidence of broad support from the private sector and are usually made contingent to construct the project. Operational support requires broad support from the private sector. The Foundation supports very few organizations' operations year-after-year. Short-term multi-year requests for operating support are preferred. The board never entertains any presentation in person at its meetings. Your proposal must speak for itself. Every proposal to be considered by the board is assigned a board member to be the go-between and provide a preliminary recommendation. In many cases, this board member may contact the organization to answer questions or seek a site visit.