Mission
To create a healthy and prosperous Louisiana for its people, communities, arts, culture, environment, and economy.
Causes
We underwrite these focus areas: science, arts, health and human services, including mental health, recreation and play, and social justice.
Meet Paula Pennington de la Bretonne
Paula Pennington de la Bretonne leads the Pennington Family Foundation. She has also served on the Pennington Biomedical Research Center Foundation and the Pennington Medical Foundation since their inception.
She also was a trustee of the Irene W. & C.B. Pennington Foundation, which was established by her grandfather to support Pennington Biomedical after he granted $125 million in startup funds in 1980.
Ms. Pennington de la Bretonne has special interest in programs that support science and the arts. Through the Pennington Family Foundation, she has issued awards to build Louisiana Art & Science Museum planetarium, start up Emerge Center for children with disabilities, and underwrite the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra’s Great Performer Series.
Pennington Grants and Initiatives
Doc & Irene Pennington's $125 million gift was invested to build LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Paula Pennington de la Bretonne and her family trusts have served Pennington Biomedical and its related foundation since the inception of both.
The Pennington Family Foundation is lead underwriter of the Baton Rouge Symphony's Great Performers in Concert Series. Opera singer Renee Fleming was instrumental in the Body and Mind performance. The series celebrates 25 years in 2024 with a performance by inernational cellist, Yo-Yo Ma
Emerge Center empowers children with disabilities. Pennington Family Foundation is a lead supporter of the center, among organizatons that we back to give children a chance to live great lives.