Greetings fellow Louisiana music, culture, and history aficionados! Despite the heat and humidity we are facing, it is an exciting time to be living here in New Orleans. Both Jazz Fest and French Quarter Festival were record setting this past spring, and I cannot and will not contain my enthusiasm about Sir Allen Toussaint being on the cover of the current issue of Louisiana Cultural Vistas. This magazine is a tour-de-force chronicler of the LEH story, which I often describe to people as one of “service to the kids, culture, and classrooms of our great state.”

In my realm—the development field—there is also much to be excited about. I am gratified and deeply thankful for the response we have received to date to our 2009–2010 Annual Fund. The feedback we are receiving regarding our new Annual Fund premiums is excellent. If you have not yet made your voice heard in this important campaign, please visit our website www.leh.org and click on the red “Support the LEH” tab on the home page. The Annual Fund offers an easy option for anyone to support our core mission and programming.

—Jeff A. Hale, Ph.D.
Director of Institutional Advancement

LEH Meets Money Magazine’s Top Criteria for Selecting a Charity
The 2009 Money magazine issue “Money 100: The Rankings,” lists the most important questions that one should ask a charity before deciding to make a donation. See the chart below, as well as the applicable answers pertaining to the LEH. The information confirms that the LEH delivers a very high return on investment for donors of all types.

1. AN EDUCATED, LITERATE WORKFORCE IS A “BOTTOM LINE” PROFIT AND COMPETITIVENESS ISSUE
Quality of education (i.e., workforce development) rates consistently among the top factors influencing new business relocation to Louisiana. The LEH’s nationally-recognized PRIME TIME FAMILY READING TIME is the nation’s leading family literacy program (19,000 graduates in LA alone; 33,000 nationally). In addition, our award winning Teacher Institutes for Advanced Study have trained 4,200 K-12 educators (500,000+ Louisiana students are impacted annually).

2. LOUISIANA’S HUMANITIES (ARTS AND CULTURE) ARE PIVOTAL TO RECRUITING AND RETAINING WORKERS AT ALL SKILL LEVELS – AND ALSO DRIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Through its programs, the LEH has invested in excess of $50 million statewide in more than 3,100 locally-initiated public humanities programs. LEH-supported programs such as the Smithsonian Institution’s “Museum on Main Street” and the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival enhances quality of life for all Louisianians, while also attracting visitors from outside the state. Recent Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism data document that access to historical and cultural attractions is among the top reasons that visitors travel to the state.

3. THE PRIVATE SECTOR UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Since its inception in 1971, LEH programming support has been matched by local communities by more than 200%. Our statewide grants program leverages 430% in community matching for every dollar invested. LEH public programs, including media, have reached an audience in excess of 75 million people. Overall, the LEH’s economic impact has been in excess of $200 million.

SINCE 1971, OUR BOTTOM LINE HAS IMPACTED YOUR BOTTOM LINE
Experienced in all 64 Louisiana parishes and supported by the award-winning Louisiana Cultural Vistas magazine (50,000 readership), the LEH invites creative partnerships that promote mutual interests (e.g., high visibility philanthropic investment, targeted public relations enhancement, etc.). For more information, please contact: