Dear Friends,

When I founded Fleur de Bra in 2021, I had a vision to bring the community together in a beautiful and creative way to support women facing the physical and emotional impact of breast cancer and breast reconstruction following a mastectomy.

Since then, with the support of so many incredible people, Fleur de Bra has grown into something I am incredibly proud of.

And now, for the first time, we are creating an open grant process for Louisiana nonprofits that share a commitment to supporting women in our state during this critical time in their lives.

We are looking for nonprofit partners that can help women facing breast reconstruction with the support they need along the way. That may mean helping with copays or deductibles. It may mean providing a prosthesis, postoperative treatment or support, patient navigation, or counseling. It may mean reaching a woman who is uninsured, underinsured, or simply does not have the financial resources to pursue the care she needs.

Grantmaking will focus on nonprofits that are closely aligned with our mission and that demonstrate a meaningful need in the communities they serve. We want to be thoughtful stewards of the money our supporters entrust to us. We will consider how effectively a proposed project can serve women, the organization’s ability to carry out the work, and the potential impact of the funding.

Fleur de Bra was created because I believe there is power in bringing people together around a cause that matters. Every artist who participates, every professional who walks the runway, every person who attends, every sponsor who gives, and every supporter who believes in this mission helps us turn that belief into action.

To all our sponsors and attendees, I’m eternally grateful to you for supporting this incredible mission and look forward to distributing these meaningful grants following this year’s Fleur de Bra event.

To the nonprofits interested in applying for event proceeds, please find all the details attached. Thank you for the work you do every day. I look forward to learning more about your organization and the difference you hope to make.

"As I watched more and more women my age get diagnosed with breast cancer, my goal with creating Fleur de Bra was to expand the involvement of my age group in the efforts to educate and uplift the women of our city and our state and to somehow return a sense of control to a very uncontrollable, traumatic diagnosis.”

D R . S U M A M A D D O X

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