Grants & Initiatives

Since 1983, people from all walks of life have come together through the New Mexico Community Foundation to serve and invest in New Mexico’s communities and their most important asset…people.

Nearly a quarter century in practice, these acts of giving have laid the groundwork for overcoming inequity, strengthening communities and improving life for all in New Mexico.

NMCF supports innovative projects that are inspired, driven and empowered by the communities they serve.

Through grants, programs and initiatives NMCF aims to achieve long-term solutions, often involving advocacy projects for positive policy and systems change.  NMCF is committed to connecting and engaging people in effective public/private partnerships.

While every partner’s path of giving and leadership is unique, a shared set of priorities unite us in this journey.  For the future of this state, New Mexico Community Foundation is committed to building resources and making grants that:

Provide Opportunity… improving educational opportunities for all children and youth, expanding equitable access to quality healthcare, engaging the growing elderly population and addressing basic human needs.

Promote Culture… preserving the arts of New Mexico’s diverse people, transmitting gifts of the past to younger generations, exposing residents and visitors tot he contributions of New Mexicans, nurturing the artists of today and tomorrow, and increasing access tothe arts for all.

Protect Environment… promoting conservation, preserving natural ecosystems, and safeguarding air quality and the water supply.

Pursue Equity… encouraging the development of sustainable livelihoods, cultivating community-based economic solutions, expanding the pool of resources for rural families, and increasing entrepreneurial and leadership skills.

Picuris Bison Project

Learn about NMCF’s role in the Picuris Bison project:

Grant Making Record

In 2007, NMCF’s overall grant making surpassed $5.7 million – a new record

• View a list of 2007 Grants recipients
• View a list of 2006 Grants recipients
• View a list of 2005 Grant recipients
• To view a list of Grants awarded in 2004 open our 2004 Grants Awarded (.pdf)
• To view a list of Grants awarded in 2003 open our 2003 Grants Awarded (.pdf)

Grants are made available through a number of established Advised Funds and through special program initiatives.

This combination of “advised” and initiative grantmaking allows the New Mexico Community Foundation to provide flexible and targeted grants that are comprehensive in scope.

New Mexico Community Foundation currently focuses on the following initiatives and programs:

• Rural Livelihoods
• Border Region Project
• Strengthening New Mexico Families
  • NM SPARK (early childhood to elementary transitions)
  • NMCF’s Youth Initiative
  • Elev8 New Mexico
• Leadership in Diverse Communities – Collaborative Leadership Project (learn more, 80K PDF)

  Leadership in Diverse Communities-Collaborative Leadership Project looks to build the capacity and experience of collaborative community leadership within New Mexico’s Native American, Hispanic and Immigrant communities. At the heart of this Program is the building of collaborative skills required to bring together people in diverse communities to effectively address challenges impacting children and youth.

• Women Building Community Funders Collaborative

  The Women Building Community Funders Collaborative focuses on building strategies to strengthen the economic and human investment in women as leaders.The WBC strives to strengthen local efforts across various distinct sectors: health, economic, and environment utilizing a reproductive/social justice framework and provides opportunities for consciousness-raising through exploration and discussion of issues impacting women… health, economics, the environment, education, culture, and more. As a peer learning network, WBC grant recipients demonstrate that together women of color can address social inequities and impact social change by planning strategically across multiple issues and by sharing best practices in service delivery, advocacy, organizing, program and fund development.

NMCF makes vital grants through these program initiatives as a result of our partnerships with local and national foundations… together providing major funding for innovative “value-added” grant-making in New Mexico. We are also building permanent endowment funds that provide the long-term means to sustain our program initiatives.

New Mexico Community Foundation Initiative grants come with several “value-added” components designed to enhance the usefulness of the cash awards:

1. Direct technical assistance (e.g. organizational and leadership development and/or specialized training in such areas as business management, marketing, measuring/evaluation).
2. Peer-learning opportunities (e.g. Learning Circles where participants share their skills and experience with each other and with expert practitioners whom grantees identify as appropriate to their collective needs).
3. Capacity-Building workshops (e.g. addressing basic non-profit organizational issues such as grassroots fundraising, financial management, mapping and measuring community capacity, asset-based proposal writing).