The New Orleans Community Resource Guide for Resistance and Renewal (NOCRG) is a nearly 100 page guide to free and low-cost resources across the Greater New Orleans area. The NOCRG is compiled annually, with each resource contacted by phone to verify all information listed. Simply put, it's a guide you can count on.
Last year we raised $714.74 to cover 142 copies of the guide. Imagine Water Works contributed $4,731.36 and staff time and space to print 1000 copies. We do not have funding this year to make up the difference.
That said, here's what your donation can do!
$5 = 1 printed copy of the guide
$30 = 6 printed copies of the guide
$50 = 10 printed copies of the guide
$100 = Help cover snacks for the Call-A-Thons, online hosting, purchase of an ISBN to get the guide into more public spaces, OR 20 copies of the guide
$500 and up = Our printing costs per guide decrease when we are able to print a larger quantity at once; help us cut costs and maximize donations by printing in bulk! With this size donation, we can commit to distributing multiple copies of the guide to local organizations and mutual aid groups who support women and girls, unhoused neighbors, folks living below the poverty line, and others in emergency who need this information in hand
Recurring Donation of Any Amount = Copies today AND a commitment to keep the NOCRG going in perpetuity. Our long term plan is to build a mighty krewe of donors who can collectively contribute $10,000/year to this project, ensuring that we will never be without a reliable, updated resource guide in the Greater New Orleans area, free from the confines of funding landscapes and organizational structures. If you'd like to see this future for the guide, please join the effort.
MORE ABOUT THE GUIDE:
The NOCRG is produced by a large network of workers and volunteers as a public service and is available free of charge for all people. The most recent edition can be viewed and printed here. During our annual update, organizations and service providers are specifically asked about funding options for uninsured patients, the availability of Spanish translation services, and their ability to provide services to transgender and nonbinary patients.
The guide is used extensively, with 1,500 - 2,000 printed copies distributed every year. In recent years, it's been used or distributed by: Louisiana Community Health Outreach Network (LACHON), Women With A Vision (WWAV), New Orleans Public Library, Imagine Water Works / Imagine Mutual Aid, Bvlbancha Collective, University of New Orleans Food Pantry, Voice of the Experienced (VOTE), New Orleans Renters Rights Assembly, Trystereo, Crescent Care, New Orleans Syringe Access Program (NOSAP), Louisiana Department of Health, Louisiana Abortion Fund, July Supply with Culture Aid NOLA, NOLA Ready, the City of New Orleans, Antigravity Magazine, Trans Queer Youth NOLA, Fund The People New Orleans, Children's Hospital, various mutual aid food distributions, churches, low barrier shelters, festivals, mental health care providers, neighbors, friends, and more. *Have you distributed copies and don't see yourself on the list? Let us know! Email klie@imaginewaterworks.org.
In 2024, the NOCRG was 88 pages long. At that size, it's pretty thick! We no longer have the equipment to print and bind in house – we use the funds to now print through a local printer. In 2023 the NOCRG was viewed on IWW's website nearly 4,000 times and was also hosted online by Antigravity Magazine.
All donations to this fundraiser will go directly toward printing and distributing the New Orleans Community Guide for Resistance and Renewal. This fundraiser does not cover labor, space, or delivery costs.
More about the organizers:
The New Orleans Resource Guide for Resistance and Renewal is a 2025 update based on information compiled by staff and volunteers for the REACH NOLA/Common Ground Health Clinic Community Resource Guide from 2006-2014, and edited directly from the 2024 edition, which sourced information compiled by volunteers at the Center for Ethical Living & Social Justice Renewal, as well as the Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming NOLA Resource Guide produced by Dr. Jennifer Glick and Dr. Robin Ivester. In 2023, to expand the guide's sustainability and reach, the NOCRG became an official project of Imagine Water Works, coordinated by Coleen Murphy.
As a grassroots organization in New Orleans, Imagine Water Works reimagines the future through art, science, and connection. We are trans, queer, and Native led – and we hold space for intentional conversation, for creativity, and for existing fully as ourselves both in the present and in the future. Our core focus areas are land stewardship, climate justice, and disaster readiness and response.
We can be found on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Imagine Mutual Aid - New Orleans Facebook Group, and of course in person at The Imagination Farm.
Other current projects:
The Imagination Farm
Mutual Aid Response Network
Imagine Mutual Aid
Community Power Map
Hurricane Season Checklist
Anonymous Storm Prep Q&A (Instagram)
COVID Guide to Hurricane Season
2024 Guide to Hurricane Season - English and Spanish
Storm Zine Project, ft. Queer/Trans Guide to Storms - English and Spanish
July Supply 2023-2024: Barrier-Free Groceries and Storm Prep Supplies
Marine Bio Observation Network: Sea Level Rise Sentinels
And various disaster supply distributions and responsive mutual aid actions across Southern Louisiana
Learn more about any of the projects above on our website: www.imaginewaterworks.org