The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation is a New Orleans-based public charity that supports youth through culinary, nutrition, and arts education, with an emphasis on life skills development. Founded in 2002 by Chef Emeril Lagasse and Alden Lagasse, it says its programs support thousands of youth each year.
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation at a glance
In short: The Emeril Lagasse Foundation gave $1.2M across 24 grants in 2025 (avg $50K), top state Louisiana. 17% of 2025 grantees were new. Source: 2025 IRS Form 990.
- Annual giving (2025)
- $1,211,885
- -17.3% vs 2024
- Grants made (2025)
- 24
- +26.3% vs 2024
- Average grant
- $50,495
- -34.6% vs 2024
- Median grant
- $32,250
- Total assets
- $6,462,634
- +18.5% vs 2024
- New grantees (estimate)
- 17% first-time grantees (4 of 24, 2025; small sample)
- Primary geography
- Louisiana (46% of itemized 2025 grant dollars)
- Latest 990 filing
- Form 990, 2025 View filing
Data from IRS Form 990, 2025; updated October 2026. New grantees are estimated by matching recipient names across years (methodology).
How to apply to The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
- Contact
Mailing address: 3801 Canal St 300, New Orleans, LA 70119
Phone: (504) 212-2222
Website: https://emeril.org
Application details from Grantable's research on the foundation's public materials; confirm on its website before applying.
Open Grants
7 open opportunities from The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund - Aarón Sánchez Scholarship
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund - Human Service Grant
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
Amount
Up to US $20,000
Deadline
Deadline not published
Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund - Human Services Grants Program
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
Amount
Varies
Deadline
Deadline not published
Who The Emeril Lagasse Foundation funds
How this funder distributes its grants
Top Recipients
Top 10 recipients in 2025
The largest 2025 recipient was Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Inc ($230K). Together the top 10 received $910K.
Grant Size Distribution
116 grants across all recorded years
The most common grant size was under $50K: 66 grants of 116 (57%).
Geographic Focus
Where this funder awards grants
Community Grants are available in Greater New Orleans, Austin, Greater Fort Lauderdale, the Gulf South, Greater Houston, Southern California, Las Vegas, Napa/Sonoma, Orlando, and Washington, D.C. The foundation’s Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen partner locations are Austin, Chicago, New Orleans, Washington, D.C., and Watsonville, California.
In 2025, grant dollars went to recipients in Louisiana (46%), Florida (21%), Illinois (21%), Texas (9%), and California (3%).
Grant Distribution by State
Share of 2025 grant dollars across all 24 itemized grants.
States
Cities
Is The Emeril Lagasse Foundation open to new grantees?
17%
first-time grantees, 2025
In 2025, 4 of 24 grantees (17%) were first-time recipients. With only 24 grantees, that is a small sample: one grantee more or less moves the share by about 4 points. First grants averaged $72K; repeat grants $46K. How we count
Medians: $25K first-time, $36K repeat.
Estimate from itemized grant lists in IRS Form 990 filings (2019–2025). Recipient names are matched across years, so a renamed or misspelled grantee can look new; grants to individuals are left out. Methodology.
Giving History
Giving Over Time
Total grant dollars and number of grants per year
From 2019 to 2025, annual grant giving ranged from $454K (2022) to $3.1M (2019). In 2025 it made 24 grants totaling $1.2M.
Grants by year
Grant recipients and amounts by year
| Recipient | Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Inc Chicago, IL | Culinary and Nutrition Education | $230,000 |
| New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute New Orleans, LA | Culinary and Nutrition Education | $213,490 |
| Son of a Saint New Orleans, LA | Life Skills Development | $100,000 |
| Sinfonia Gulf Coast Miramar Beach, FL | Children's Education | $71,076 |
| Ingram Lee Foundation Houston, TX | Life Skills Development | $62,827 |
| Second Harvest Food Bank New Orleans, LA | Feeding/Hunger Programs | $50,000 |
| Cafe Hope Marrero, LA | Culinary and Nutrition Education | $50,000 |
| Partners for Education Agriculture and Sustainability Austin, TX | Children's Education | $50,000 |
| Arc Broward Sunrise, FL | Life Skills Development | $42,250 |
| Youth Empowerment Project New Orleans, LA | Life Skills Development | $40,000 |
Ready to take the next step with The Emeril Lagasse Foundation?
Financial History
Multi-year comparison from IRS filings
| Filing year | Total Assets | Revenue | Expenses | Grants paid | Grants | Net Investment Income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $6,462,634 | $5,083,388 | $3,770,485 | $1,211,885 | 24 | $172,630 |
| 2024 | $5,453,643 | $3,148,432 | $3,250,668 | $1,466,284 | 19 | $61,869 |
| 2023 | $5,102,438 | $2,987,060 | $4,399,275 | $2,841,946 | 29 | $35,388 |
| 2022 | $6,404,684 | $3,394,228 | $1,448,092 | $453,699 | 16 | $68,219 |
| 2021 | $4,903,574 | $1,434,170 | $2,175,864 | $1,231,696 | 28 | $160,468 |
| 2020 | $5,947,936 | $3,805,236 | $3,213,040 | $2,072,622 | 27 | $1,104,901 |
| 2019 | $6,557,639 | $1,890,803 | $4,252,366 | $3,143,589 | 31 | $429,994 |
Research compiled by Grantable AI from public sources. Last updated October 2026.
Mission & Focus Areas
The foundation’s mission is to create opportunities to inspire, mentor, and enable youth to reach their fullest potential through culinary, nutrition, and arts education, with a focus on life skills development.
Community Grants provide capital and programmatic support to nonprofit organizations. The foundation’s national Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen program integrates gardens and teaching kitchens in schools. The Aarón Sánchez Impact Fund supports culinary arts education and human services programming for Latino youth; its website describes a scholarship and a human services grants program focused on food access and nutrition education.
Grantees’ own stated missions illustrate the range of organizations supported. The Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation says it builds the future hospitality industry through career exploration, workforce development, and scholarships. Son of a Saint says it serves fatherless boys through mentorship, emotional support, life-skills development, and constructive experiences. Second Harvest Food Bank Greater New Orleans and Acadiana says it works to fight hunger and build food security through food access, advocacy, education, and disaster response.
Grantmaking
In filing year 2025, the foundation reported 24 grants totaling $1,211,885. Grant amounts ranged from $7,500 to $230,000, with a median of $32,250. The largest awards included $230,000 to Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Inc. for culinary and nutrition education; $213,490 to New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute for culinary and nutrition education; and $100,000 to Son of a Saint for life-skills development. Other awards included $71,076 to Sinfonia Gulf Coast for children’s education and $50,000 each to Second Harvest Food Bank for feeding and hunger programs, Café Hope for culinary and nutrition education, and Partners for Education Agriculture and Sustainability for children’s education.
Community Grants are available to eligible 501(c)(3) organizations delivering culinary, nutrition, and arts education with a focus on life-skills development. The foundation says grants are by invitation only, but organizations that believe they are a match may submit a concept paper of no more than three pages. It should include the applicant’s name and email address, organization name, geographic location served, organizational background, a 200-word project summary, statement of need, and financial request. Applicants must be 501(c)(3) organizations that do not discriminate by race, religion, sex, age, or national origin. The foundation gives preference to organizations working toward its vision of “More Kids Working Toward their Full Potential” in communities where board and advisory committee members live and work.
The Culinary Garden & Teaching Kitchen program has separate requirements. Its main grant is for a 501(c)(3) K–8 school with an established school garden and/or culinary education program, capacity to build a teaching kitchen, and commitments that include staff, training, curriculum use, and specified hours of garden and culinary instruction. Cultivator Grants are for qualifying schools, districts, or nonprofits in communities with existing foundation school partners; applicants must have an existing food education program serving at least 50 children annually and meet training and curriculum requirements.
Leadership & Key People
Leadership team and compensation from IRS filings
The 2025 filing lists Emeril Lagasse as chairman and founder and Alden Lagasse as co-founder. It also lists Bridget Harrell as treasurer, Paul Frank as director, and Suzanne Pride Bryan, Robert Goldstein, William Hines, Andi Oustalet, Mark Romig, and Gary N. Solomon as board members.
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation is led by Brian Kish, President on every filing since 2019; 3 of 15 officers listed in 2025 are compensated.
Officers on the 2025 filing
Brian Kish
President
On filings since 2019
40 hrs/week
$246K (2019) → $293K (2025)
Emeril J. Lagasse III
Chairman & Founder
Chairman → Chariman, 2021
Chariman → Chairman & Founder, 2024
On filings since 2019
2 hrs/week
No compensation reported
Paul Frank
Director
Treasurer → Director, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Antonia Keller
Former Vice President
Vice President → Former Vice President, 2025
On filings since 2023
40 hrs/week
$113K (2023) → $103K (2025)
Katie Mularz
Chief Impact Officer
New on the 2025 filing
40 hrs/week
$103K (2025)
Alden Lagasse
Co-Founder
Director → Officer, 2021
Officer → Co-Founder, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Bridget Harrell
Treasurer
Director → Officer, 2021
Officer → Treasurer, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Gary N. Solomon
Board Member
Secretary → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Michael C. Thompson
Board Member
Director → Officer, 2021
Officer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Suzanne Pride Bryan
Board Member
Director → Officer, 2021
Officer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
William H. Hines
Board Member
Director → Officer, 2021
Officer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2019
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Andi Oustalet
Board Member
Director → Officer, 2021
Officer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2020
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Mark Romig
Board Member
Officer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2021
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Aaron Sanchez
Board Member
Officer → Board Member, 2024
On filings since 2023
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Robert Goldstein
Board Member
On filings since 2024
1 hr/week
No compensation reported
Former officers (6)
- Former: Rob Goldstein (2019–2023) — Officer
- Former: Dan Kosta (2019–2022) — Officer
- Former: Molly Smith (2020–2022) — Officer
- Former: Eric Linquest (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Jim Pierce (2019–2020) — Director
- Former: Mark C. Romig Apr (2019–2020) — Director
Data from IRS Form 990 filings, 2019–2025. "On filings since" is the earliest filing we hold that lists the person; hours are average hours per week as reported.
Compensation Overview
From 2025 IRS filing
The highest reported compensation on the 2025 filing was $293K, to Brian Kish (President). 3 officers or directors reported compensation on that filing.
Frequently asked questions about The Emeril Lagasse Foundation
How much does The Emeril Lagasse Foundation give each year?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation gave $1.2M across 24 grants in 2025, according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. In 2024 it gave $1.5M across 19 grants.
What is The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's typical grant size?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's median grant in 2025 was $32,250, and its average grant was $50,495, across 24 grants on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Organizations receiving their first grant from The Emeril Lagasse Foundation that year got $72K on average.
Where does The Emeril Lagasse Foundation give grants?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's top state is Louisiana, with 46% of the grant dollars itemized on its 2025 IRS Form 990. The next largest states were Florida (21%) and Illinois (21%). The most frequent recipient cities were New Orleans, LA (8 grants) and Chicago, IL (2 grants).
Does The Emeril Lagasse Foundation give general operating support?
Not in 2025: none of the 24 grants with a stated purpose on The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's 2025 IRS Form 990 were described as general or operating support. Recurring purposes include "Life Skills Development" (8 grants), "Culinary and Nutrition Education" (6 grants) and "Children's Education" (6 grants).
Who are The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's largest grantees?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's largest 2025 grantees include Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation Inc ($230,000), New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute ($213,490) and Son of a Saint ($100,000), according to its 2025 IRS Form 990. Together they received 45% of its itemized 2025 grant dollars.
How large is The Emeril Lagasse Foundation?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation reported $6.5M in total assets on its 2025 IRS Form 990. Its revenue that year was $5.1M.
What does The Emeril Lagasse Foundation fund?
The foundation’s mission is to create opportunities to inspire, mentor, and enable youth to reach their fullest potential through culinary, nutrition, and arts education, with a focus on life skills development. See mission & focus areas ↑
How do I apply for a grant from The Emeril Lagasse Foundation?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation has no public application process in the sources Grantable reviewed. Check emeril.org for current guidelines, or contact the foundation directly before submitting a request.
What is The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's EIN?
The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's EIN (Employer Identification Number) is 42-1536915. IRS Form 990 filing data is available on this page for 2019–2025.
Data last updated October 2026. Sourced from IRS Form 990 filings. Research dossier generated October 2026.
Data update history
(8)
When this profile's IRS filing data changed on Grantable
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2019 (received by the IRS February 10, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2020 (received by the IRS December 14, 2020)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2021 (received by the IRS October 13, 2021)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2022 (received by the IRS January 13, 2023)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2023 (received by the IRS February 12, 2024)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2024 (received by the IRS February 13, 2025)
- Updated Form 990 for fiscal year 2025 (received by the IRS February 16, 2026)
- IRS filings on file for fiscal years 2019–2025
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Cite this profile
Grantable. (2026). The Emeril Lagasse Foundation funder profile. GrantGraph. Retrieved October 11, 2026, from https://grantable.co/funders/the-emeril-lagasse-foundation-morg_998f03439a65408881388432015ef28b
BibTeX
@misc{grantable_421536915_2026,
author = {{Grantable}},
title = {{The Emeril Lagasse Foundation funder profile}},
howpublished = {GrantGraph},
year = {2026},
url = {https://grantable.co/funders/the-emeril-lagasse-foundation-morg_998f03439a65408881388432015ef28b},
note = {Accessed 2026-10-11. Data licensed CC BY 4.0}
}The figures on this page are open data under CC BY 4.0: reuse them with credit to Grantable and a link. Download the data.
Figures come from The Emeril Lagasse Foundation's IRS filings (methodology). AI-written summaries, news items and logos are not covered by the open licence. Spot an error? Email hello@grantable.co.
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