RIFF — Real Impact For Our Future — is a New Orleans-based civic education and community organization built for the young people who will shape this city's future.
We go into high schools and colleges across Orleans Parish — not to tell students what to think, but to show them that their voice has power. In the voting booth. In the arts. In the community they build every day.
We know what it means when local elections go wrong — when arts funding disappears, when housing becomes unaffordable, when the culture that makes New Orleans extraordinary gets pushed out. RIFF exists to make sure the next generation has the tools to fight back.
Every young person has a voice. RIFF exists to make sure they know how to use it — in the ballot box, on the stage, and in their community.
Nonpartisan civic education in high schools and colleges. We break down the jungle primary, the school board, the city council — all the local elections that shape daily life but never make the news.
Art belongs to the people who make it. We champion independent artists, musicians, and storytellers in New Orleans — because culture is what makes this city extraordinary, and it deserves protection.
Community is sacred. We support corner stores, community gardens, and neighbors looking out for each other. Affordable housing, food justice, and local economies that keep New Orleans whole.
"We built this because we believe the people closest to the struggle should be closest to the solution. New Orleans gave us a second chance. RIFF is how we pay it back."
Joshua has been to the bottom and back. Homeless, relying on social services to survive — the progressive policies and community programs that showed up when he had nothing are the reason he's still here. That lived experience is the root of everything RIFF does.
He is an organizer by heart. A canvasser, a worker, someone who leads from beside rather than above. With backgrounds in political science, computer science, and music education — and years of field experience across multiple states — Joshua brought RIFF home because this city gave him a second chance.
Aphrodite brings the structure and heart that keeps RIFF moving. His work spans community organizing, operations, and the day-to-day relationships that make everything possible.
He understands that the work of building power in communities takes patience, strategy, and genuine care for the people involved. Together, Joshua and Aphrodite built RIFF as a family-rooted organization — because that's what New Orleans runs on.
Free. Nonpartisan. Built around the issues that actually affect students' lives — arts funding, housing, food access, and the power of the local ballot.
BRING RIFF TO YOUR SCHOOLInteractive civic education on the jungle primary, Orleans Parish school board, city council, and why local elections shape daily life.
Students register on the spot — GeauxVote on phones or paper forms. We handle all Louisiana compliance requirements.
Louisiana pre-registration auto-activates at 18. We make sure every eligible student gets their paperwork done before they leave.
Street teams at Tulane, Loyola, UNO, Xavier, and Dillard. QR codes for locals, clipboards for out-of-state students.
We connect the dots — school arts funding, housing policy, food access — so students see exactly why their vote shapes the world they live in.
Whether you're a school, a campus org, a candidate, or someone who believes in what we're building — we want to hear from you. November 2026 is the target. The work starts now.