Guatemala: Initiatives focused on smaller to mid-sized (up to $1 million organizational budgets) programs serving girls/women and/or education, largely in the Pre-K through 12 space. New Orleans: Education-focused organizations of small/mid size (less than $1 million budget) that are focused on children and youth living within the greater New Orleans area.

At present, the foundation supports organizations providing direct services in Guatemala and New Orleans. The foundation also supports several thematic networks dedicated to coordinating the efforts of smaller organizations in Guatemala. In Guatemala, we are exploring ways of moving “upstream” with grantees to support advocacy efforts for education reform.

Guatemala: The foundation focuses largely on girls/women, with a particular interest in Indigenous populations. Our “sweet spot” tends to be initiatives that serve this population with formal educational programming. New Orleans: The foundation currently supports initiatives providing innovative education-focused services to underserved children and youth.

Flexible/Learning: The Ward Foundation aspires to be flexible to meet the needs of its partner organizations as we learn together. We aim to provide more than funding by providing technical support (when relevant) and connections. Trust-based Partnerships: We subscribe to the tenets of Trust-Based Philanthropy, which allows us to engage in positive, honest relationships. The Ward Foundation provides support for general operating expenses as well as capital improvements and projects for former and existing grantees.

Size: One of our weaknesses is that the Ward Foundation is not large. We distribute around $1 million per year between New Orleans and Guatemala (about 20% NOLA and 80% GT). This limits our ability to provide more significant gifts. We also have just one full-time staff person.Inexperience: The foundation is only 5-6 years old, and we really only have 3-4 years of active engagement in grantmaking. We are therefore still defining our areas of focus and the best ways to serve our partners.We are not a well-recognized foundation. We aspire to help challenge and move some of the more traditional philanthropic practices; but, as a new foundation, we lack name recognition and clout in the foundation space.