Louisiana Green Corps

Nonprofit | Workforce Development

Retainer client since February 2020

 

“I trust Gray Ink 100% to help us reach and exceed our fundraising goals and advance our critical mission. In partnership with the Gray Ink team our annual budget has essentially quadrupled, allowing us to serve more students and meet the needs of those we serve.”

Ryan Mattingly, Executive Director

Louisiana Green Corps (LAGC) is a workforce development organization that works with low- income New Orleans residents to train them for the growing green construction and water management industries. They were the first green infrastructure and flood water management job training organization in New Orleans.

Gray Ink started working with LAGC in February 2020, when the organization brought on a new Executive Director. Initially, we were focused on supporting the transition of the new Executive Director and strengthening their fundraising pipeline. But within weeks of starting work, the pandemic created a fiscal cliff for the nonprofit.

In the decade prior to the pandemic, the organization had grown reliant on government contracts through the Workforce Investment Opportunity Act. But the funding was managed by local workforce development boards, which were deeply impacted by the confinements and remote work orders. As a result, LAGC went eleven months without seeing any payments on those contracts.

Client Goals

  • Diversification of revenue away from local government contracts

  • Increase funds raised to be able to provide deeper support to job seekers in the program

  • Increase the number of job seekers LAGC could serve on an annual basis.

How We Support

  • Opportunity identification and qualification

  • Cultivation strategy, coaching, and execution support

  • Proposal development and submission

  • Executive coaching

Achievements

  • Secured emergency funding to ensure continued operations first through the pandemic and then in the wake of Hurricane Ida

  • Identified and supported the cultivation of dozens of new partners

  • Increased LAGC’s operating budget from $350K to $1.4M, substantially increasing the number of job seekers LAGC serves annually

  • Raised $10.7M to date to support the operation and expansion of their mission