She's rewriting the rules of philanthropy in New Orleans
Updated Sep 21; Posted Sep 21 https://www.nola.com/300/2018/09/linetta_gilbert_new_orleans_30.html
A portrait of Linetta Gilbert by artist Jessica Strahan of Where Y'Art, as commissioned by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune for its "300 for 300" celebration of New Orleans' tricentennial. (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
By Contributing writer
NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting 300 people who have made New Orleans New Orleans, featuring original artwork commissioned by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune with Where Y'Art gallery. Today: community activist Linetta Gilbert.
The icon: Linetta Gilbert.
The legacy: Linetta Gilbert is rewriting the rules of philanthropy, showing us that it isn't restricted to people with fat checkbooks who donate to already-flush organizations. Through her years of experience, including nearly a decade with the Ford Foundation, Gilbert -- whose areas of concern including housing, violence prevention, health and education policies, and child-welfare services -- has worked to strengthen community-based philanthropic organizations, such as the Greater New Orleans Foundation, to build community strength and enhance the overall quality of life. In addition to getting money to organizations that need it, Gilbert also works to strengthen the boards that run these enterprises, to enhance the diversity of board membership and to make New Orleans a better, strong and more resilient city.
The artist: Jessica Strahan.
The quote: "She talked about how philanthropy is re-tooling -- that issues around social justice are again up for conversation and that we have more assets and resources than in the past. ... She told us to always look at an issue from the standpoint of the local level, stretch yourself, recognize that our jobs are to be talent scouts (and to) err on the side of the person who has a good idea." -- Jennifer Shanks, writing about Linetta Gilbert on www.epip.org, the website of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy
Explore more of Strahan's work online at WhereYart.net and in person at the Where Y'Art gallery, 1901 Royal St.
TRI-via
- She founded Gilbert & Associates, a New Orleans-based firm that shows companies how to achieve their goals. She is its managing partner.
- During nearly a decade as the Ford Foundation's senior program officer for social justice, Gilbert used $1 billion to strengthen community-based philanthropic organizations.
- As vice president of programs for the Greater New Orleans Foundation, she not only designed and implemented grant-making programs but also expanded the types of organizations and causes that would receive such gifts.
- Gilbert was the New Orleans-based consultant for the Annie E. Casey Foundation for its Neighborhood Transformation Initiative. The foundation was established to improve children's lives.
- Her clients have included Baptist Community Ministries, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
- Gilbert was a founding board member of the Foundation for Louisiana, a statewide charity designed to build stronger communities; Agenda for Children; and the Louisiana Children's Museum. Among the boards on which she sits are those of the Amistad Research Center and the Old Algiers Main Street Corp.
By John Pope, contributing writer
Source: The Times-Picayune archives; www.epip.org, gopropeller.org; staff research
