# RosaMary Foundation

RosaMary Foundation is an Endowment / Foundation based in New Orleans, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Endowment / Foundation
- **Headquarters:** New Orleans, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** New Orleans, LA, United States
- **Founded:** 1939
- **Assets under management:** $50M–$100M (Altss estimate)
- **Website:** rosamary.org
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/rosamary-foundation

## Regulatory record

- **Reports private funds:** No

## About

The RosaMary Foundation anchors itself in a family bottling fortune that shaped New Orleans commerce for much of the 20th century. Founded in 1939 by Alfred Bird Freeman, the former chairman of Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Co., the foundation has stayed under family governance for five generations. Chairman Andrew B. Wisdom, a great-grandson of the founder, leads a board that includes descendant Louis M. Freeman, Jr. and Luis C. Zervigon, who also serves as president of the related Keller Family Foundation. The foundation prioritizes education, human services, arts, community development, and government oversight across the Greater New Orleans area. The endowment, internally estimated at $52M (Altss estimate), pursues a multi-asset investment program designed to support a perpetual grantmaking mandate. Fund commitments span venture capital, buyout, distressed debt, growth equity, natural resources, and secondaries, with stage coverage from seed to expansion. The portfolio includes positions in the TIFF Multi-Asset Fund and TIFF Short-Term Fund, both advised out of Charlottesville, Virginia, and a donor-advised fund housed at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. This structure blends institutional fund-of-funds access with local philanthropic co-investment vehicles that directly serve the foundation’s geographic mission. The investment committee operates with a lean governance footprint — core decision-making sits with the board, where Wisdom and Zervigon, both principals at CAPTRUST, bring registered investment advisor infrastructure to the foundation’s oversight. No separate investment staff or additional offices are disclosed. Philanthropic activity is intertwined with allied family vehicles, including the Mary Freeman Wisdom Foundation and the Keller Family Foundation, and the foundation endows the RosaMary Foundation Curator of Decorative Arts position at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Family member Linda Gray maintains ties to peer networks through active membership in the Young Presidents' Organization and Chief Executive Organization. Structurally, RosaMary operates as a place-based endowment inseparable from its founding city and family. Unlike foundations that evolve into broad institutional allocators, it layers a diversified, TIFF-anchored investment pool beneath a grantmaking apparatus concentrated almost entirely on Greater New Orleans — a posture that preserves the donor’s original geographic intent while importing external manager selection discipline.

## Sectors

- Education
- Arts & Culture
- Community Development

## People

- Andrew B. Wisdom — Chairman of the Board
- Luis C. Zervigon — Secretary and Trustee
- Louis M. Freeman, Jr. — Trustee

## Questions

### Where does the RosaMary Foundation's wealth come from?

The endowment traces back to the Louisiana Coca-Cola Bottling Co. fortune amassed by Alfred Bird Freeman, who founded the foundation in 1939. Freeman served as chairman of the bottling company. The foundation remains governed by his direct descendants, including great-grandson Andrew B. Wisdom and family member Louis M. Freeman, Jr.

### What geographic focus defines the RosaMary Foundation's grantmaking?

Grants are concentrated in the Greater New Orleans area. The foundation explicitly prioritizes local education, human services, arts, community development, and government oversight initiatives. This place-based mandate aligns with the Freeman family’s deep historical roots in New Orleans commerce.

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Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/rosamary-foundation

Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology