The Foundation for Entertainment Development and Education, Inc. is a 501 C-3 non-profit organization created in 1990 to fund projects and programs that acknowledge the profound importance of the performing arts to the culture and economy of the New Orleans area. The Foundation recognizes and supports activities that nurture talented youth, that offer continuing education to professionals, or otherwise improve and enhance the future of the performing arts in our region. The focus for grants is education in music, theatre and dance. Previous recipients of Foundation grants include: The Center for Dance a N.O.R.D./New Orleans Ballet Association partnership project, The Fred J. Palmisano Memorial Scholarship Fund at the UNO Department of Drama and Communications, the Louisiana Philharmonic Scholarship Program, the Music Business Institute, the NOCCA Institute, and All Kinds of Theatre.

The Foundation is supported by proceeds from two annual awards shows, the Big Easy Entertainment Awards (est. 1988), an annual evening gala featuring national and local celebrities presenting more than 45 awards in music and theatre; and the Tribute To The Classical Arts luncheon offering awards for classical music, opera and dance (est.1994). The Foundation also receives contributions from other activities and events including the Reds, Whites, and The Blues, a Wine, Food & Music Event (est. 2002) held in City Park in October.

The Foundation is housed at Gambit Weekly, New Orleans’ alternative weekly newspaper with a readership of 112,000 per week in the metropolitan area. Publisher Margo DuBos serves on the board of directors of the Foundation and is the founder and Executive Producer of the Big Easy Entertainment Awards, the Tribute to the Classical Arts and the Reds, Whites & The Blues, Wine, Food & Music Event.

Gloria Powers serves as Executive Director of the Foundation and Coordinator of the events it sponsors (since 1991). A cultural anthropologist and project consultant, Gloria has coordinated events, festivals, international cultural heritage conferences and art exhibitions for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the City of New Orleans, and the Latin American Chamber of Commerce. She was a staff member of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival for seven years, a member of the Music & Entertainment Commission of New Orleans for three terms, and was Project Director for the Professor Longhair Square public art project. She is a stage manager each year for the Louisiana Folklife Festival, a member of the production team for the Voodoo Music Experience, and is the Project Director/Company Manager for the Louisiana Living History Project, a theatre company which brings authentic characters from Louisiana history to visit the French Quarter each December sponsored by the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation.