Cultural Funding

Grants & Creative Economy Posture

1 Life 1 Family Ent. is a New Orleans cultural producer whose work preserves and extends the city's jazz, hip-hop, and bounce lineage. This page summarizes our alignment with public arts funders and the creative-economy grant landscape.

Mission

To create, document, and broadcast Black New Orleans music — bridging four decades of jazz craftsmanship with the next generation of producers, artists, and engineers, and reinvesting revenue into local studios, education, and editorial work.

Public impact

  • Free and low-cost studio time for emerging Louisiana artists at The Box Studios.
  • JUPE Magazine — long-form editorial preserving oral histories of NOLA musicians.
  • The "10,000 Hours" mentorship pipeline for young producers and engineers.
  • "Bag Getter" creative-culture program supporting artist entrepreneurship.

Aligned funders

  • National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) — Grants for Arts Projects (Music) and Challenge America.
  • South Arts — Jazz Road, Express Grants, In These Mountains–style regional touring support.
  • Louisiana Division of the Arts — Decentralized Arts Funding Program (DAF), Artist Services, and Folklife.
  • New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation — Community Partnership Grants and Music Heritage programming.
  • Mid-South / regranting partners — Music industry, archive digitization, and youth education tracks.
  • Private foundations — Mellon (cultural heritage), Ford (creativity & free expression), Surdna (thriving cultures), Doris Duke (Performing Arts).

Eligibility highlights

  • Louisiana-based, Black-owned cultural enterprise.
  • Active fiscal sponsorship pathway available for 501(c)(3)-restricted programs.
  • Multi-year track record of public-facing releases and editorial output.
  • Audited financials and W-9 available on request.

Funder contact

Program officers and panel reviewers — please reach Byron L. Jupiter Jr., Principal, at sales@leasethebox.com with "Grant Inquiry" in the subject. A capabilities statement, project narrative template, and budget shell are available within 48 hours.