The Forstall Foundation · Flagship Program
Elevate NOLA
One school. One year. Everything we've got. Our year-long partnership with Leah Chase School — a growing New Orleans elementary school — launching for the 2026–27 school year.
One school. One year. Everything we've got. Our year-long partnership with Leah Chase School — a growing New Orleans elementary school — launching for the 2026–27 school year.
Most school giving is scattered — a check here, a drive there, a banner at a game. Elevate NOLA works differently. We've partnered with Leah Chase School, a growing New Orleans elementary school named for the Queen of Creole Cuisine, and we commit everything to it for the full academic year.
That means funded programs kids actually use, a signature day the whole community circles on the calendar, and a Foundation that's present — not a logo on a flyer, but people in the building. When the year ends, the school keeps the instruments, the library books, the momentum. And our founding sponsors get a full accounting of the difference they made.
The partnership launches with the 2026–27 school year — and founding sponsors will be there from day one.
We sit down with school leadership and teachers to shape the year together — where the programs land, what the classrooms need, and how the community joins in.
The Young Musicians Program puts instruments in small hands, the Tutoring Lab opens with books and reading buddies, and the Food Lab fires up its first lessons.
Teacher appreciation luncheons and classroom grants land mid-year, and Athletics & Clubs gear up teams for the spring season.
One Saturday, one school, one community — a feast from New Orleans' most beloved kitchens, a headline speaker, student performances, and a neighborhood clean-up around the school.
Every founding sponsor receives a full year-end report: where every dollar went, what it funded, and what Leah Chase School keeps going forward.
Each program can be sponsored by name at the Champion level — your business, attached to the work kids feel most. Your donations go toward:
New instruments, after-school music classes, and whatever it takes to keep the sound of New Orleans alive in its schools — starting with its youngest players.
Sponsor this program →Leah Chase's kitchen comes to life — hands-on lessons in Creole cooking, nutrition, and the culture that raised this city, taught in honor of New Orleans' best chef.
Sponsor this program →Catered luncheons, classroom grants, and recognition awards for the educators doing the hardest work in the city — all year, not just one week in May.
Sponsor this program →Libraries, tutoring, and reading buddies — so every child has the tools, the help, and the head start to succeed.
Sponsor this program →Uniforms, equipment, and coaching for the sports and clubs kids love — because belonging to a team changes how a kid sees school.
Sponsor this program →A celebration of food, family, and future. Named for the Queen of Creole Cuisine, it's built on the belief that guided her life — a shared table can change a community.
Each year, families, students, and neighbors gather for one unforgettable day — sharing a meal from the city's most celebrated kitchens and hearing a headline speaker who draws all of New Orleans out. Between courses, prospective families discover their child's future at Leah Chase School.
One Saturday. One school. One community — all at one table.
Our partner is a growing New Orleans elementary school that carries one of the city's greatest names. Leah Chase fed presidents and freedom riders from the same kitchen and believed a shared table could change a community — and the school named in her honor carries that spirit into its classrooms every day.
Through Elevate NOLA, we stand beside its students, teachers, and families for the full school year — and on Leah Chase Day, we set the table for the whole neighborhood.
Sponsors who join before the 2026–27 launch are permanently recognized as Founding Sponsors — the names that set the table for Leah Chase School's first Elevate NOLA year.
An initiative of the Forstall family — the team behind the Law Offices of Chip Forstall, taking care of New Orleans since 1997.