Keller Family Foundation

The Keller Family Foundation is a closely held family foundation with more than 75 years of continuous commitment to New Orleans philanthropy. Originally established in 1949 as the Lincoln Foundation by Charles Keller Jr. and Rosa Freeman Keller — civic leaders focused on affordable housing and public facility integration for the African American community — the foundation today operates under the stewardship of the Zervigon family. Luis C. Zervigon serves as President, Carlos L. Zervigon as Secretary and Treasurer, Andres M. Zervigon as Director, and Mary K. Zervigon as a former President. Thomas K. Loughlin rounds out the board as an outside director. All officers serve without compensation, and the foundation employs no program staff.

This volunteer, family-led governance model is the single most important factor shaping how applicants should approach the foundation. Decisions are made by full board consensus at semi-annual trustee meetings in April and November — not by a program officer reading proposals in isolation. That means every element of your application must resonate broadly across a multi-generational board with diverse professional interests, not just a single gatekeeper. There is no back-channel relationship-building path here; the written proposal is the primary communication vehicle.

The application is entirely online and structured as a two-stage screen: a concise Stage 1 submitted by February 10 (spring) or August 15 (fall), followed by a full Stage 2 proposal for invited applicants. Interviews occur only by trustee invitation and are the exception, not the rule. The foundation's administrative contact, David Conroy, can be reached at (504) 207-8541 for basic eligibility questions, but applicants should not expect detailed guidance on proposal positioning.

First-time applicants should prioritize three elements: (1) demonstrable focus on Greater New Orleans communities, since applications from outside this geography require an existing trustee relationship to be seriously considered; (2) program alignment with education, youth development, human services, or civic affairs — the four areas the board has publicly cited as priorities; and (3) credibility signals such as organizational longevity, prior community recognition, or existing relationships with New Orleans anchor institutions. The foundation's published grant list shows repeat appearances by established institutions including United Way of Greater New Orleans, Audubon Nature Institute, Second Harvest Food Bank, and Audubon Charter School, suggesting that proven track records and community embeddedness matter to the board.

The Keller Family Foundation holds $20,738,763 in assets (FY2025) and distributes approximately $855,000–$1,060,000 annually in grants. Total grants paid have risen steadily from $641,066 (2012) to $1,058,165 (2022), a 65% increase that reflects the foundation's dramatic asset growth from $6.5M in 2012 to over $20M by 2019. A major capital infusion in 2014 — $10.5M in total revenue that year, primarily from investment income — catapulted the asset base and enabled the step-up in annual giving since 2019. The foundation's payout rate has consistently hovered near 5% of assets, which is at the IRS minimum threshold for private foundations.

Individual grant sizes range from $250 to $50,000, with the majority of awards concentrated between $5,000 and $30,000. The most detailed publicly available grant cycle (Fall 2009) distributed 27 grants totaling $372,500, yielding an average grant of approximately $13,800. The concurrent Spring 2009 cycle awarded 16 grants totaling $251,000, averaging approximately $15,700 per grant. At current giving levels of ~$950,000 per year across two cycles, the foundation likely distributes 30–40 grants per cycle with a median award in the $12,000–$18,000 range.

Education and youth development command the largest awards. Both Audubon Charter School and the Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education received $50,000 (the apparent maximum) in a single spring cycle. Civic institution grants — such as Audubon Nature Institute ($30,000) and United Way of Greater New Orleans ($50,000) — also reach the upper range. Social service and human services organizations (Second Harvest Food Bank, Unity of Greater New Orleans, Louisiana SPCA) typically receive $20,000–$30,000. Smaller organizations working in arts, environment, and targeted community programs tend to receive $2,500–$10,000.

Geographically, 100% of confirmed grantees are Louisiana-based, consistent with the foundation's stated Greater New Orleans focus. Revenue is primarily investment-driven — net investment income has historically comprised 75%–90% of total annual revenue — meaning grant budgets fluctuate with market returns. The strong FY2024 revenue year ($4.1M) and stable FY2025 performance suggest the foundation is well-positioned to maintain or modestly increase giving through the 2025-2026 cycles.

The five asset-matched peer foundations all fall within the $20.73M–$20.75M range, making Keller Family Foundation representative of this asset tier within the Philanthropy & Grantmaking NTEE category.

Keller Family Foundation stands out sharply among its asset-size peers: it is the only foundation in this cohort operating a fully public, documented online application portal with published deadlines, grant guidelines, and a historical grantee list. The other five foundations maintain no public websites or active solicitations, making them effectively invitation-only funders unreachable through conventional prospecting. This transparency makes Keller an unusually accessible opportunity for New Orleans-area nonprofits seeking grants in the $10,000–$50,000 range from a mid-sized, growth-trajectory foundation.

No major leadership changes, new program announcements, or high-profile grants have been publicly disclosed for 2025 or 2026. The foundation does not publish a news feed, issue press releases, or maintain active social media, which is typical of small family foundations with no dedicated communications staff.

The most current financial data, filed with the IRS and tracked by ProPublica, shows the foundation closed FY2025 with $20,738,763 in assets — its highest recorded level — and distributed approximately $976,590 to charitable causes. This follows an exceptional FY2024 marked by $4,129,352 in total revenue, the strongest single-year performance in the foundation's recent history, driven by favorable investment returns and asset sales. The FY2024 revenue surge did not produce a proportionate increase in grant disbursements ($980,430 in expenses vs. roughly the same giving total), suggesting the board maintains a conservative, steady-payout philosophy rather than making windfall distributions.

Governance has remained stable across multiple years of IRS filings, with the Zervigon family maintaining consistent leadership roles. The foundation's published grant guidelines were last updated in May 2018 (per the metadata on the KFF guidelines PDF, authored by 'lzervigon'), and the public grants list on the website still references 2009 award cycles — neither signals organizational decline, only a low-communication operating style. The consistent, predictable semi-annual grant cycle is the strongest indicator of institutional health and continued active grantmaking.

Timing is the single most consequential tactical factor for Keller Family Foundation applicants. The foundation runs exactly two grant cycles per year with fixed, non-negotiable deadlines: Stage 1 is due February 10 (spring) or August 15 (fall) at midnight. Missing a deadline eliminates your application from that cycle, and the foundation's prohibition on multiple applications per calendar year means a missed spring deadline pushes you to the following spring at the earliest — a full year delay.

For Stage 1, write for a non-specialist reader who will skim. Clearly state your 501(c)(3) status, describe the specific New Orleans community you serve, name your program area using the foundation's own language (education, youth development, human services, or civic affairs), and specify a realistic request amount between $5,000 and $30,000. Do not request scholarships, religious programming, or event sponsorships — these are explicitly excluded. Do not apply from outside the Greater New Orleans area unless you can document an existing personal relationship between your organization and a named KFF trustee.

If invited to Stage 2, the program narrative is hard-capped at three pages per the KFF guidelines document. Structure those three pages around three questions the trustees will be asking: What specific New Orleans problem does this address? Why is your organization uniquely positioned to solve it? What measurable outcomes will the grant produce? Quantify your impact claims — number of students served, meals provided, households stabilized — rather than relying on qualitative mission language.

Common mistakes to avoid: (1) applying without checking the calendar-year limit on applications; (2) requesting above $50,000, the stated maximum; (3) submitting materials by email rather than through the online portal; (4) skipping the KFF guidelines PDF review before Stage 2, since the narrative format requirements are specific. A brief pre-application call to David Conroy at (504) 207-8541 is appropriate to confirm eligibility — keep it to three minutes and confirm 501(c)(3) status, geography, and program area fit. Do not solicit proposal feedback by phone; the consensus board process means no single contact shapes outcomes.