$1 million plus in Wisner Trust Funds transferred to non-profit that removed monuments

Mitch Landrieu used the Wisner Land Trust Grant to promote himself and his initiatives at the expense of other non-profits.

Who funded the Removal of the statues?  Was something expected in Return?  Or were funds donated to the city to feed the homeless and fund the arts misused?

At the same time of these expenses, Mitch Landrieu was re-engineering how the Mayor could spend the grants of the Wisner Land Trust Donation to the City of New Orleans. 

The WISNER LAND TRUST established was established in 1915 by Edward Wisner to create an annual distribution for New Orleans Non-Profits from the rents and royalties form 50,000 acres of reclaimed land. It was re-engineered by Mitch Landrieu 2014 to fund Landrieu’s priorities. This was during a time (2016 & 2017) that BP OIL provided major cash distributions of $10,000,000.00 to the Wisner Land Trust. Landrieu awarded those funds to new non-profits he directed for his own projects such as the 2018 Nola Foundation. 

Mitch Landrieu declined approximately  $2,000,00.00 in grant applications from New Orleans Non-profits during 2017 & 2018.

During 2017 to 2018, he awarded $2.5 million to the 2018 Nola Foundation which included the Galas at Gallier Hall in late April 2018.

During 2016 & 2017 while denying non-profits grants, Mitch Landrieu was transferring $1,250,000.00 to the Foundation for Louisiana who paid $1,100,000.00 towards the removal expenses of the statues.

In 2017, Landrieu transferred $2,500,000.00 to a non-profit he seems to have created or directed with Mark Romig called the 2018 Nola Foundation.  The Foundation originally applied for $500,000.00 but received $2,500,000.00.

This was 100 times the average award of Wisner Funds in 2015.

One Million Dollars of this Transfer went to the Mitch Landrieu’s Tri-Centennial Galas: One each for International Mayors and one for Domestic Mayors the weekend of April 21 & April 22nd.

It appears $250,000.00 of the grant was spent on the Slave Trader Markers and Tour App recently implemented in New Orleans.

A Spreadsheet showing the $2,500,000.00 Award and how it was spent.

When responding to a Public Records Request from the Mayor’s Office, the response only reported $1,000,000.00 awarded to the 2018 Nola Foundation not the $2.5 Million.