Following a dinner conversation in 2008, a group of young professionals in the Greater New Orleans area created the first EPNO giving circle. That group raised funds and recruited giving circles participants. In 2011, EPNO was codified with a mission to inspire and educate young community members to become effective, strategic, and lifelong philanthropists.

In March 2023, the Greater New Orleans Foundation officially welcomed Emerging Philanthropists of New Orleans (EPNO) to the Foundation's family, cementing a longstanding relationship that will welcome Southeast Louisiana's next generation of philanthropists. This strategic partnership represents an important step to build upon EPNO's 12-year history of successes while strengthening the program to be more sustainable and impactful in the future.

EPNO uses the giving circle model to bring together individuals in the Greater New Orleans region to collaboratively and collectively make changes in their communities by learning and giving together. Each EPNO class is comprised of up to five smaller groups (giving circles) that help to build participants' skills and knowledge base in chosen nonprofit mission areas.