The Wendell & Anne Gauthier Family Foundation

Supporting Coastal Louisiana

Areas of Focus

Cultural Economy

Coastal Louisiana has an outsized presence in the public consciousness. Leveraging this soft power is more than just fun and games; it’s a key path to building a better tomorrow for the region. The foundation supports the highest levels of performance excellence through grants to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS), and others while also supporting culture-makers more directly through Culture Aid NOLA and the George Rodrigue Foundation of the Arts.

Education

Education transforms lives. The Gauthier family’s largest contributions have been to provide chairs at Loyola and Tulane as well as spaces for learning, including a 16,000 sqft four-story wing of the Loyola University School of Law, an Auditorium at Tulane’s Law School, a section of the new Louisiana Children’s Museum in City Park, and a combination stairwell/art gallery at the Metairie Park Country Day School.

Equity

Equity is at the root of all the priorities of the foundation. However, it is given a special emphasis to honor the ways the Gauthier Family has greatly benefited from equal access to opportunity. In an effort to bridge equity gaps in our community, the Gauthier Family Foundation funds initiatives that ensure community members have access to needed services. In previous years, the foundation funded: Bridge House & Grace House, Culture Aid NOLA, Second Harvest Food Bank, Angel’s Place, New Orleans Women & Children Shelter, and Lighthouse for the Blind.

Urban Resilience

Coastal Louisiana consistently perseveres in the face of adversity, much in part to our communities’ resilience. The Gauthier Family Foundation is dedicated to investing in initiatives that strengthen the capacity for the Gulf South to flourish and thrive despite future challenges. The foundation recognizes that green space is an integral part of Urban Resiliency and supports  NOLA Trees Project, Friends of City Park, Audubon Nature Institute, and the New Orleans Botanical Gardens Foundation.

Grant Criteria

Our ideal candidate organization is a 501(c)(3) that aligns with one of our focus areas and serves coastal Louisiana, Acadiana, or the New Orleans metropolitan area. We prefer smaller grants ($500-$5,000) that more directly support individuals or specific projects.

Apply for a grant

Grant Request Form

The Foundation
in Numbers

2003

Year Founded

$141k

Granted in 2023

57

Charities Supported

A photograph of noted trial lawyer Wendell H. Gauthier
Wendell H. Gauthier (1943-2001)

In Memorium

Dedicated to the legacy and spirit of Wendell Gauthier.

This foundation was established to continue the spirit of the work from a life cut short. Wendell H. Gauthier was a people person from Iota, Louisiana, who made many of his initial contacts in New Orleans as a driving instructor. His rise to prominence came simply from litigating issues that were affecting his own community and friends. His most famous case, documented in the book, Cornered, Big Tobacco at the Bar of Justice, began with the personal tragedy of losing a friend to lung cancer.

Along with his partners, Wendell built a law firm full of great intellects who worked hard. However, it has to be said that the real driver of his success in the courtroom was that he remained a cajun boy through and through. His antics and persona remain legendary. Even his adversaries couldn’t help but want him to win.

A photograph of Michelle Gauthier in her restaurant, Mulberry & Vine
Michelle Gauthier (1968 – 2023)

Additionally honoring Michelle Gauthier’s legacy of hospitality.

Like many New Orleanians, Michelle Gauthier found her calling in the service industry, focusing on clean eating for families like her own. When she moved to Manhattan, she was committed to elevating the community’s dining experience with Mulberry & Vine’s whole ingredients and innovative recipes. Like Wendell, Michelle impacted her community by addressing its real needs. What truly marked her success was her unwavering passion for both food and people, a combination that turned skeptics into loyal customers and left an indelible legacy.

Board of Directors

Anne B. Gauthier

Board Member | Passions: Cultural Economy & Equity

Anne attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she started dating Wendell after he cold-called her to ask her out. Anne has had careers as an antiques importer, shop owner, and small restauranteur. She was once kidnapped and broke free on her own. She is a trustee of Loyola University New Orleans and serves on a number of local boards.

Cherie Gauthier

Board Member | Passions: Urban Resilience 

Mimi (as she’s known to her friends) has been active in political and charitable work for most of her life. A graduate of Loyola University, she has worked for several municipalities. Following Hurricane Ida, she became deeply involved with the recovery of the hard-hit town of Lafitte (pop. 1,000). Indeed, she was there so frequently that the community hired her to help direct the recovery. 

Celeste Gauthier, Esq.

Board Member | Passions: Cultural Economy

Celeste remains a partner at Gauthier, Murphy, and Houghtaling, the law firm Wendell started. She earned her J.D. from Loyola University Law School and graduated with honors while caring for an infant as a single mother. She continues to be active with the Jefferson Bar Association as well as several other volunteer groups. 

Advising Members

Kevin Lirette, Joey Lepow, Maddie Lirette, John Wendell “J.W.” Graham, and Rome Graham

Trenton Gauthier, AIA NCARB

Managing Advisor | Passions: Cultural Economy and Urban Resilience 

Trenton graduated from the Tulane University School of Architecture, where he also served as president of the Tulane Philosophy Club. He is a lifelong and passionate New Orleanian who, along with his mentor, Wayne Troyer, FAIA (1953-2019), renovated Margaret Place Hotel as a homage to everything he loves about the city. In addition to running the hotel, he is still a practicing architect and serves as the zoning chair for the Lower Garden District Association.

Jennifer Dinwiddie, CPA

Managing Advisor | Passions: Equity

Jen visited New Orleans as a child and fell in love instantly. She worked hard in school with the express goal of earning a full scholarship to Tulane University so she could return for good. Jen earned her degrees in finance and accounting and started working at Ernst & Young before moving to a smaller local practice and finally building her own practice. She splits her time between her practice, helping to manage Margaret Place, and advising the Family Foundation.

FAQ

A family foundation is one whose funds are derived from members of a single family. At least one family member, but usually more, serves as an officer or board member of the foundation. The family members play a significant role in governing and/or managing the foundation throughout its life. Family foundations tend to reflect the personal concerns of the individual families that govern them. Grantmaking areas and how funding is granted vary widely from one family foundation to the next.

The Wendell & Anne Gauthier Family Foundation is dedicated to preserving the history and culture of New Orleans and Coastal Louisiana through funding initiatives that support equity, education, the arts, and urban resiliency. The foundation does not undertake any work directly and instead works through grants to local organizations.

The foundation’s total distributions vary annually from approximately $100,000 to $225,000. This variability is one of the reasons why the foundation prefers to support well-defined one-off projects instead of annual gifts.

There is no formal process or scheduled time for the board to review grant applications. When applications are received, we’ll typically discuss them informally over email or in person and can often make decisions quickly. We try to spread our grants throughout the year.

The foundation is currently only able to directly contribute to 501(c)(3) organizations. It’s usually possible for individuals and smaller groups who don’t wish to become 501(c)(3)s to find allied organizations to accept a donation on their behalf.

We try to notify applicants that their application was rejected as soon as possible so that they can seek funding from elsewhere. We use the same response for all rejections:
“Thank you for your grant application. On behalf of the board of trustees of The Gauthier Family Foundation, we regret to inform you that your proposal has not been approved for funding. This could simply be because we have already allocated the funds for this period or because we have already supported too many initiatives in your selected focus area. Thank you for the time and effort you committed to submitting your application. We hope you continue to pursue your project, and we encourage you to submit another application for consideration at a later date.”

It can be as simple as us just mailing you a check.

Generally, no, though larger grants may come with additional caveats. Of course, most recipients do keep us up to date, but it can be informal.