Summary
Organization name
St. Mary's Academy
1867
Tax id (EIN)
72-0408977
Address
6905 Chef Menteur HighwayNew Orleans, LA 70126
What SMA Women Are Doing
Before we ask for your support, we want you to see what your investment makes possible.
The Class of 2025 — 43 young women — earned a record-breaking $15,361,483 in academic scholarships and awards from more than 100 colleges and universities nationwide.
A 100% graduation rate that has defined this institution for generations — not as an aspiration, but as a standard.
100% college acceptance rate at the early acceptance deadline.
Two SMA seniors received national recognition for proving the Pythagorean theorem in a way previously deemed impossible by a 20th-century mathematician.
This is what a St. Mary’s education produces. This is what is at stake.
The Mission
For more than 150 years, St. Mary's Academy has stood as a beacon of excellence, faith, and possibility for young Black women in New Orleans. Founded in 1867 by the Sisters of the Holy Family, SMA has never wavered in its commitment to providing a rigorous, values-centered education to girls who deserve every opportunity to lead, serve, and thrive.
That commitment has always required investment — and today, it requires yours.
The Challenge
A St. Mary's education transforms lives. But the cost of that transformation is real. For many of the families we serve, tuition is the single greatest barrier standing between their daughter and the education she deserves.
New Orleans families — particularly Black families in our community — continue to navigate generational economic inequities. Without meaningful tuition assistance, academically qualified young women are turned away, or forced to leave, not for lack of potential, but for lack of resources.
That is a loss we cannot afford to accept.
The Opportunity
GiveNOLA Day is our moment to change that story — together.
Every dollar raised through this campaign goes directly to the St. Mary's Academy Tuition Assistance Fund, supporting current and incoming students who demonstrate financial need. Your gift does not just pay a bill; it keeps a girl in school, in community, and on a path toward her fullest potential.
Why It Matters
St. Mary's graduates go on to lead. They become doctors, educators, engineers, lawyers, artists, and community builders. They return to New Orleans and make it stronger. They raise daughters of their own and send them back through these doors.
The ripple effect of one girl's education cannot be overstated. When you invest in a St. Mary's student, you invest in a family, a neighborhood, and a future that belongs to all of us.
Our Ask
On GiveNOLA Day, we are asking our community — alumnae, families, friends, and advocates — to come together in support of the girls who are counting on us. No gift is too small. Every gift matters.
Join us. Because she will rise — and she needs us to rise with her.
Giving Activity
Mission
MISSION STATEMENT
Saint Mary’s Academy’s long tradition continues as a private Catholic college preparatory co-educational elementary and a middle / high school for young women. In a family oriented atmosphere, Saint Mary’s is committed to educating the whole person. Students are taught to live Christian values, think critically, give service and act responsibly in a global society.
PHILOSOPHY
St. Mary’s Academy is committed to the threefold purpose of Catholic education (message, community and service) as outlined in “To Teach As Jesus Did.” We strive to promote an integration of religious truths and values as we work toward building a Faith Community.
We believe in the education and formation of the whole person: spiritually, physically, culturally, intellectually, emotionally, socially, and aesthetically. We, therefore, seek to promote the opportunity for each student:
To know Christ and develop a value system based on His teachings;
To form and live Christian community in worship, motivation and fellowship;
To respond to the obligation of giving Christian service and working to achieve justice in society;
To develop the student’s individual powers and capacities to the fullest;
To develop an inquiring intellect, profitable habits and skills which will produce a moral Christian, a cooperative citizen and a useful and successful member of our democratic society;
To develop good health habits and an understanding of the conditions necessary for maintenance of physical and emotional well-being;
To develop the ability to find God in the beauty of the environment, experiences, and every person that is met.
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Organization Data
New Orleans, LA 70126