LAGNIAPPE HOURS

What is "lagniappe"?

Lagniappe (say "LAN-yap") is a New Orleanian word for the little something extra.

The Core Meaning

  • A small bonus: An unexpected, complimentary gift or extra measure given by a merchant to a customer.

  • Classic examples: Think of an extra beignet dropped in your bag at Cafe du Monde, or a bartender pouring a slightly heavier splash on the house.

  • A way of life: Beyond commerce, it represents New Orleans' deep-rooted spirit of hospitality, generosity, and community kindness - doing or giving a bit more just because it feels right.

ORIGIN STORY

  • The roots: The word travels back to the indigenous Quechua word yapa ("something added").

  • The evolution: Spanish colonizers adapted it to la ñapa or la yapa. When French and Spanish cultures blended in early New Orleans, the term was adopted into local Creole and Louisiana French as “lagniappe”

An illustration of two hands, one white and one black, holding two fists of different colored balls, one yellow and one gray, with a dark background. Represents the concept of Lagniappe Hours.

Sponsor Lagniappe Hours FOR OUR NEIGHBORS

Foundations and companies can underwrite a block of Lagniappe Hours for the organizations they care about. You choose the community. We do the work and report every hour.

A digital illustration of a yellow light bulb, surrounded by grayish-blue coins and abstract shapes.

How it works

Step 1 | A client hires us at full fee.

Step 2 | Each paid hour funds work for their project, plus one Lagniappe Hour.

Step 3 | We give Lagniappe Hours to a qualifying neighbor, and publish the count every quarter.

We only give hours that have been banked. That way the promise never outruns the business.

Counter: 27 hours banked · 136 hours given · Updated October 2026

What Lagniappe Hours pay for

  • Beelines: a free call and one-page plan for rural business owners.

  • Brand Sprints: finish line-driven work - perfect for temporarily expanding capacity of small organizations around grant-funded work, a new brand or product launch, bringing a wild idea to life, or bringing a fresh perspective to a “hard stop / time out / re-evaluate what’s next” project.

  • Pay-What-You-Can projects: our regular services, scoped smaller and priced by what the recipient can afford.

  • Free Workshops: AI fundamentals and marketing fundamentals, once a quarter.

Who qualifies

  • Tribal Communities & Indigenous Entrepreneurs. Tribal governments, Tribal-serving programs and community organizations, indigenous entrepreneurs. No form is required. We can start with a conversation, on your terms.

  • Small Nonprofits. An annual budget under $500,000, and no paid marketing or communications staff.

  • Rural Entrepreneurs. Owner-led businesses and startups in rural communities.

  • Family-Run Businesses. Whether you’re the first generation or the fifteenth, you want to keep the tradition alive and thriving.

Digital illustration of a woman handing a man a large yellow lightbulb. Represents donating hours to entrepreneurs.
Talk to us about sponsoring

One for you, one for OUR neighbors.

Every full-fee hour we sell puts an hour in the bank for an entrepreneur or small nonprofit. We call them Lagniappe Hours.

Lagniappe Hours go to organizations that share our values. In plain terms, you treat people fairly, you help them stand on their own, you work with your neighbors, and you keep going when the ground gets rough.

Illustration of a hand holding a smartphone with various icons floating around, including a gear, an eye, a group of people, a pencil, a pie chart, and other symbols representing different concepts.
A cartoon illustration of a man with glasses and a beard, using a laptop. There is a speech bubble with a yellow background showing a lightbulb symbol.

How to apply

Ten questions. You can answer them in writing, or request a phone call.

We review applications once a quarter. The next round closes December 31.

If we can't take you on this round, we'll say so plainly, and point you to someone who can help.

APPLY TO RECEIVE LAGNIAPPE HOURS

May be applied to Beeline Projects or Sprint Projects - see Our Services page for details

  • "When you meet with another honest Man in similar Distress, you must pay me by lending this Sum to him."

    Benjamin Franklin’s letter to Benjamin Webb in 1784, explaining his “trick for doing good with a little money”

  • "When you learn, teach. And when you get, give."

    Maya Angelou, passing on her grandmother's advice

  • "A man has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit."

    Greek Proverb