Photo by Laszlo Ilyes

New Mexico River Conservation and Restoration Fund,
2012 Grantees

CONTACT: Denise Gonzales
NMCF Director of Community Philanthropy
505-820-6860 or dgonzales@nmcf.org

Santa Fe, NM — New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF) is pleased to announce the New Mexico River Conservation and Restoration Fund recipients. This is a one-time opportunity to grant out $217,000 for New Mexico river conservation and restoration projects. Proposals were accepted from nonprofit organizations that are doing work to preserve, protect, and/or restore New Mexico rivers and their healthy riparian habitat. NMCF is excited to be able to offer this funding for these crucial needs in the state. Thirty nine proposals were received, for a total of $1.7 million in requests. The difficult granting decisions were made by an Advisory Committee made up of community volunteers who have expertise in the field. Given NMCF focuses on bringing resources to rural parts of the state, the grants were made to organizations serving a variety of counties, statewide. This fund has come to NMCF through the generosity of one of its donors.

The following organizations will receive funding for their projects:

Gila Conservation Coalition $25,000 – Gila River Riparian Restoration (Grant County)

www.gilaconservation.org
Summary Project Description: This project will conduct a technical assessment of the feasibility of constructing Rosgen-style rock vane diversion structures on all three of the ditches in the Cliff-Gila Valley to keep the river wet for the benefit of aquatic/riparian resources, while also providing stability and reliability in irrigation water and lower maintenance for irrigators. Wetlands restoration, stream bank stabilization and infrastructure protection will also be assessed for technical feasibility. Public engagement activities will strengthen collaborative relationship between conservation community and irrigators.

Monticello Canyon Association $25,000 – Alamosa Creek and the Canada Alamosa community: Aligning ecological restoration and community interests through active experimentation (Sierra County)

Summary Project Description: Document and foster a community dialogue around traditional and innovative farming practices that have positive ecological aims and benefits. Complete demonstration project that showcases how river restoration can derive greater human benefits and gives locals tools to replicate techniques and integrate into the local community’s daily practices on their land.

Rio Grande Restoration $25,000 – Rio Chama Flow Optimization (Rio Arriba and Santa Fe Counties)

Summary Project Description: Develop Flow-Ecology relationships on the Wild and Scenic Rio Chama, using existing and original data; craft testable hypotheses of beneficial flow regimes; and, with the engagement of local and institutional stakeholders, craft flow recommendations that can be implemented on the Chama, thus improving long-term health of the river, the quality of life in the Chama Valley and demonstrating the feasibility of formal, and collaborative, Environmental Flow Protection on one of New Mexico’s major rivers.

Rio Grande Return $30,000 – Diablo Canyon Spring Restoration (Santa Fe County)

www.riograndereturn.org
Summary Project Description: The goal of the Diablo Canyon Spring Restoration project is to restore the ecological health of an important spring that has begun to dry out because of years of abuse and neglect. Non-native Tamarisk trees have invaded the spring and are changing the environment from a cottonwood-willow bosque to a tamarisk thicket. The restoration of the spring will apply the principles of Induced Meandering to restore the ability of the Canada Ancha to store floodwaters. This additional water will feed into the spring and help augment the flow. An additional benefit of the project will be to make Diablo Canyon inaccessible to traffic, protecting the spring from the continual erosion caused by off-road vehicles. Over time, the bosque forest around the spring will become larger, the spring flow will be increased, and the area will become an attraction to people and wildlife alike.

Rio Puerco Alliance $25,000 – Cebolla Canyon Implementation with Southwest Conservation Corps (McKinley County)

www.riopuercoalliance.org
Summary Project Description: Acoma Southwest Conservation Corps will complete handwork and planting at Cebolla Canyon to ensure restoration of at least 40-80 acres of wetlands while being trained in basic restoration techniques and potential land management careers, in addition to learning further about their culture and connection to the land.

Save Our Bosque Task Force $25,000 – Rhodes Property South (Socorro County)

www.sobtf.org
Summary Project Description: The Rhodes Property South project aims to initiate riparian restoration on 47 acres within key ecological sites found on the property. The Save Our Bosque Task Force tends to build on past successful riparian restoration efforts through a well established partnership. Key benefits to the local community include wildlife protection and improved river corridor ecosystem functions. This project will implement control on non native brush species, install a fence to properly manage livestock use, and establish native trees and shrubs to increase plant diversity. Collaborating funding agencies include the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NM Department of Game and Fish, and the Socorro Soil and Water Conservation District.

Upper Pecos Watershed Association $37,000 – Pecos River Habitat and Riparian Restoration at Mora Recreation Area (San Miguel County)

www.pecoswatershed.org
Summary Project Description: This project will restore 250 yards of the Upper Pecos Wild and Scenic River at the upstream end of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Mora Recreation area by limited dredging, in stream boulder placement, bank cleanup and re-vegetation with planting of woody riparian species. The project will be completed within a year. UPWA will provide some matching funds.

WildEarth Guardians $25,000 – Rio Ojo Caliente Conservation and Restoration Project (Rio Arriba County)

www.wildearthguardians.org
Summary Project Description: WildEarth Guardians will work in partnership with federal and state agencies, conservation-minded landowners, and rural community members to restore degraded riparian ecosystems along the Rio Ojo Caliente in Rio Arriba County. It includes a four-point plan that will include active restoration, building awareness and community support through our citizen-led Stream Team, restoring functional beaver populations and fostering sustainability through private land conservation easements that safeguard restoration activities on private lands. WildEarth Guardians is implementing active restoration on a portion of the Ojo Caliente with state River Ecosystem Restoration Initiative funds and will appreciably leverage the funds with projected federal funds. All of these qualities will make the Rio Ojo Caliente into what it once was: an artery of life that sustains the local community and is the pride of residents of the region and of the State of New Mexico.

For more information about the New Mexico River Conservation and Restoration Fund, visit www.nmcf.org or contact New Mexico Community Foundation at 505-820-6860.

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As an endowment-building and grant-making organization, the New Mexico Community Foundation serves and invests in New Mexico’s people, communities and environment. With partners in every county, we promote philanthropy as a tool for building community assets, relationships and self-reliance. Working together, we maximize resources to meet the unique needs of New Mexicans today and create lasting change for tomorrow. For more information about NMCF, visit www.nmcf.org.

New Mexico Nonprofit Presented with National Award

Enlace Comunitario one of four in the nation to receive Mary Byron Project Award

Albuquerque, NM— On April 28th, staff from the nationally recognized Mary Byron Project presented Enlace Comunitario (EC) with the prestigious “Celebrating Solutions Award” at their 2012 First Annual Donor Appreciation Luncheon. The Award recognizes Enlace’s innovative Promotora Leadership Development Program as a model domestic violence prevention program for the nation. At the luncheon, EC promotoras will also be speaking and performing “I Will Survive”.

“It’s a thrill for us to recognize Enlace Comunitario — for their commitment and their creative approach to ending the horrible crime of domestic violence,” said Marcia Roth, Executive Director of the Mary Byron Project based in Louisville, Kentucky. “Their work to empower victims and enlist them in the struggle to end domestic violence should serve as a model for others seeking to turn victims into survivors.” The Award comes with $10,000 in recognition for Enlace’s efforts that will be used to help fund the 2012 Promotora Program. More than 250 organizations were nominated to receive the award.

Enlace Comunitario’s Promotoras Leadership Development Program is a grassroots Spanish-language domestic violence prevention program created and led by former domestic violence victims. Women who have previously utilized EC’s domestic violence services are trained as community leaders – or promotoras – to teach their peers about healthy relationship techniques. The leaders commit to one year of service working with EC to prevent domestic violence in the Latino immigrant community.

“We are so excited that the Mary Byron Project staff and board members will be visiting in person to give our promotoras their well-deserved award” said Claudia Medina, Executive Director of Enlace Comunitario. “The Enlace promotoras are an inspiration for so many people experiencing domestic violence, as well as those working to prevent it.”

One Enlace Board member and former promotora, Olivia Soriano, experienced firsthand how Enlace can stop domestic violence – in her life and for the immigrant women she speaks to every day in her work. “There aren’t words to express how it feels to know that there’s an organization like Enlace, an organization that supports you and can truly help you,” said Soriano. Since 2010, Enlace promotoras presented to over 800 Spanish-speaking community members.

Enlace Comunitario provides free domestic violence services in Spanish to victims and their children. Their services include safety planning and crisis intervention, connecting clients to resources in the community, individual and group counseling, legal advocacy and representation, leadership development, and preventative community education. Spanish-speaking domestic violence victims seeking safety can call Enlace Comunitario for help at: 505-246-8972.

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About Enlace Comunitario

Enlace Comunitario is a grassroots social justice organization created in 2000. The mission of Enlace Comunitario is to eliminate domestic violence and promote healthy families in the Latino immigrant community in Central New Mexico through domestic violence intervention services in Spanish, preventative community education, policy advocacy, and leadership development. To learn more about Enlace Comunitario and how you can help end domestic violence, visit Enlace’s website.

About the Mary Byron Project

The Mary Byron Project – Fostering Innovations and Strategies to End Domestic Violence – was established in memory of the young woman whose murder led to the creation of VINE, an automated crime victim notification technology. As a nationally recognized thought leader on domestic violence, the Mary Byron Project cultivates and supports efforts that extend beyond crisis management to attack the root causes of this epidemic and help build safer, healthier communities.

Contacts: Claudia Medina, Executive Director Enlace Comunitario, 505-417-2073 (c), cmedina@enlacenm.org

The Media Literacy Project team, a 2012 Women Building Community grant recipient

New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF) invests in efficient and effective nonprofits statewide, through its Women Building Community (WBC) program. Since 2007, twelve organizations, led by women of color, participated and received funding during various phases of the program. WBC goals are to increase collaboration and share resources giving women and girls the economic, social and political power to make wise decisions that support human rights, self- determination and strong families

These grants support anti-violence against women, teen sexuality, parenting, economic justice, clean and safe environments, and immigrant rights. In 2012, total investment by New Mexico Community Foundation reached $1 Million.

“We are proud to have achieved this major milestone. The health and rights of New Mexico women and girls matter. It is often the case that organizations addressing these issues do so with the least amount of resources. Together with our donor partners we are helping to change that and move New Mexico forward,” remarked Jenny Parks, President and CEO of NMCF.

The Women Building Community program, which supports reproductive justice work in New Mexico, has been funded by local foundations and donors, and matched by the national organization Groundswell Fund. Adriann Barboa, former director of Young Women United, recognized NMCF recently by saying,  “New Mexico Community Foundation was bold and risk-taking in making reproductive justice a priority for women and girls in New Mexico. New Mexico Community Foundation was the only foundation outside major U.S. metropolitan areas to embrace this work and accept the matching fund challenge.”

2012 Recipients of Women Building Community Grants:
El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos
Enlace Comunitario
Kalpulli Izkalli
Media Literacy Project
New Mexico Teen Pregnancy Coalition
Tewa Women United
Young Women United

At the very heart of New Mexico Community Foundations’ mission is a commitment to equity. Established in 1983, NMCF is an entrepreneurial foundation that promotes philanthropy as a tool for building community assets, local leadership, and self-reliance. Learn more at NMCF.org.

Contact: Elizabeth Madden
Director of Development
New Mexico Community Foundation
(505) 270-9624

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Photo by Frank Keillor

Artesia Special Hospital District Healthcare Occupations Scholarships (ASHD) is a fund of New Mexico Community Foundation, offering scholarships to students who reside in the Artesia and surrounding communities of New Mexico. Through the generosity of this fund, ASHD will provide grants to students in the healthcare field for the 2012 school year. Individual scholarship amounts are $750 for each semester (fall/spring).

To be eligible for an ASHD Healthcare Occupations Scholarship, applicants must be currently employed by the Artesia General Hospital. They must have at least one semester of college and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Applicants must be pursuing careers in the healthcare field (administration or operations). The scholarships awards will be determined by financial need, and given for education at accredited institutes of higher learning only. Scholarship awards are to be used for on-campus room and board, the cost of tuition and books, or supplies and equipment required for course instruction, not to exceed the total cost of attendance.

Application deadline is June 4, 2012.

 
Apply Online: ASHD Healthcare Occupations Scholarship Application

"Future, Flying High" by Rich Mitchell

New Mexico Community Foundation is pleased to announce a new scholarship program for graduating seniors of Chaparral High School. The 2012 graduating class will be eligible to receive First American Bank Scholarships for the purpose of realizing educational goals and dreams as these seniors become future leaders in building stronger families and communities. This opportunity will afford students additional resources to pursue a college education with the goal of obtaining a college degree. The mission of this scholarship program is to increase student graduation rates, provide student resources, establish partnership programs with higher education institutions, and provide family affordable college.

The significance of the First American Bank Scholarship Program is the ability for eligible Chaparral High School students to attend a college or university and have a significant portion of their college education paid for through this scholarship, New Mexico Lottery and other financial awards. 

Scholarship applications will only be accepted from current Chaparral High School seniors who are U.S. citizens and who have been accepted to an accredited college or university in the United States. Additionally, applicants must have attended Chaparral High School for at least 3 years and completed a FASFA for the current year attending college. Consideration will only be given to those applicants who have maintained a solid grade point average of 3.0 or better through their first seven semesters of high school. Extra credit may be given to students who have taken entrance examinations, honor classes and/or Advanced Math or English classes. Generally, the scholarships awarded will range from $500 to $6,000. The awards will vary in accordance with students’ funding from additional sources and can change on a semester basis. The awards cannot exceed the total cost of attendance that includes room, board, tuition, fees and books.

Application deadline: 5 PM, May 11, 2012

Additional required documents: Must be postmarked by June 4, 2012 (more information is on the application)

Click HERE to apply!

For more information, contact Denise Gonzales, NMCF Director of Community Philanthropy, at 505.820.6860 ext. 12 or dgonzales@nmcf.org.

This historic symposium will be a rare chance for the community, scholars, and internee descendants to learn about the  experiences of civilian detainees and internees during World War II.

Learn more about the experiences of Japanese people held in New Mexico internment camps during World War II at an April 21 and 22 symposium in Santa Fe. “From Inside and Outside the Barbed Wire: New Mexico’s Multicul­tural World War II Internment Stories,” will be held at the NM History Museum/Palace of the Governors from 10:30 am-4:30 pm on Saturday, April 21; and 1-4 pm on Sunday, April 22. The symposium is organized by NMCF partner, The Committee to Preserve New Mexico’s Internment History, for the purpose of commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Santa Fe Internment Camp (SFIC) Historical Marker in Frank S. Ortiz Park (pictured above), while raising public awareness of the internment experience in New Mexico.

Tickets to the two-day event are $15. A limited number of discounted tickets for students will be available at the box office only. Tickets can be purchased through the Lensic Theater Box Office, 505-988-1234, or online at Tickets Santa Fe.

The symposium will explore the experiences of Japanese immigrants and American citizens detained in Department of Justice internment camps in New Mexico during World War II, focusing especially on the SFIC, which held 4,555 men over the course of the war. It will also examine the impressions such camps had on visitors and communities surrounding them. “In other words,” says Gail Okawa, one of the conference organizers, “this symposium will seek to explore the human experience on either side of the barbed wire—through lectures, film, and performance.”

Presenters include co-chairs Nancy R. Bartlit and Dr. Gail Y. Okawa, Dr. Richard A. Melzer, Brian Minami, Dr. Nikki N. Louis, Colonel Joe Ando (USAF ret.), Bill Nishimura, Mollie Pressler, and Kermit Hill. Nishimura is a survivor of the Santa Fe camp; several presenters are descendants of internees.

“The historic symposium will be a rare chance for the community, scholars, and internee descendants to learn who the civilian detainees and internees were, how they passed their time, and how they were treated during wartime,” Bartlit said.

For more symposium details and program, visit The Museum of New Mexico.

Julian Waterfall Pollack, Pianist/ Composer/Arranger

Friends of Santa Fe Jazz (a fiscal sponsorship of NMCF) is a turn-key jazz benefit event producing organization. In the past few years alone, the organization has brought national jazz artists to Santa Fe through a collaborative partnership with the Santa Fe Symphony called the “Jazz Meets the Classics” Fund and a three-event series with the Santa Fe Concert Association that benefits the New Mexico School for the Arts, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation-NM and now on April 21, the Santa Fe Botanical Garden (SFBG).

Since 1987, SFBG has introduced thousands of children and adults to the natural world and the cultivated landscape. SFBG operates two nature preserves, The Leonora Curtin Wetland Preserve and The Ortiz Mountains Educational Preserve – both located in the Santa Fe area. Soon, SFBG will begin construction of the new Santa Fe Botanical Garden at Museum Hill. This dynamic space will display numerous types and styles of gardens to casual or serious visitors throughout the year. The Garden at Museum Hill will join the other two outstanding nature preserves as lovely and serene spaces to experience nature.

Santa Fe Botanical Garden at Museum Hill will be the first public garden, not only in Santa Fe, but in all of northern New Mexico.

Join the Friends of Santa Fe Jazz, the Santa Fe Concert Association, St. John’s College and our community to help support the Santa Fe Botanical Garden on Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 7:30 PM at the Great Hall of St. John’s College. Julian Waterfall Pollack, a classically-trained rising star in the jazz world who has opened at the Blue Note for such illustrious figures as Chick Corea and Gary Burton, and has credits performing and recording with Joshua Redman, Nicholas Payton, and Miguel Zenon, will be performing with bassist Noah Garabedian,  the recipient of a John Coltrane National Scholarship and 2007 finalist for the Thelonius Monk Institute of Jazz graduate program and drummer Evan Hughes, who has collaborated with such figures as Joe Lovano, John Scofield, and George Garzone. Julian has performed at the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Center, as well as at numerous jazz venues and festivals around the world and is the artistic director of the Jazz series at the Mendocino Music Festival.

Sponsor tickets $75: include post event “Meet the Artists” Reception

General admission tickets $30 per person

Tickets available through the Lensic Community Box Office, 988.1234. Visit www.santafejazz.com for complete information.

Give Now to support the work of Friends of Santa Fe Jazz.

The Las Conchas Fire, the largest fire  in New Mexico’s history, began June 26, 2011. Over the following three months, 17,000 acres of Santa Clara Pueblo lands were devastatingly impacted by wildfire and subsequent flooding. “This is our only homeland, the place we have been entrusted with since time immemorial,” said Santa Clara Pueblo Governor Walter Dasheno. “Never again in our lifetime will we see our Santa Clara Canyon as we have known it.”

In response to the wildfire devastation, in the summer of 2011 New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF) established the Santa Clara Pueblo Fund, an emergency fund that provides flexible resources for the current and long-term cost of fire rehabilitation to the Santa Clara Canyon, as well as the 2,800 Tewa Tribe residents that call Santa Clara Pueblo Home.  To date, NMCF has raised $200,000 for the Santa Clara Pueblo Fund.

David Lindblom, Northern New Mexico College’s Director of Canal Seis and adjunct faculty member, also joined the effort by bringing much needed attention to the plight of Santa Clara Canyon through documenting the profound impact of wildfire and flooding. His short film, Las Conchas Fire Aftermath in Santa Clara Canyon, explains the fire’s impact and the need for continued resources through out Santa Clara’s long road to recovery. NMCF utilized Mr. Lindblom’s film to promote further efforts to raise money and awareness of the effects of the fire on tribal lands. Last fall, Parade Magazine ran a story about the fire in their Annual Giving Issue which is included in the Thanksgiving weekend edition of Parade. Parade Magazine has a target audience of 70 million readers.

This March, Mr. Lindblom won first place for Las Conchas Fire Aftermath in Santa Clara Canyon at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education’s (CASE) District IV Accolades Awards Program. CASE is an international association of educational institutions that serves advancement professionals who work in such areas as alumni relations, communications, development, recruitment, and marketing. Awards Chair, Carrie Phillips, noted, “This year’s competition was extremely competitive, and we consistently heard from judges about the high caliber of the entries submitted.” CASE Awards recognize outstanding efforts of advancement professionals in a number of categories.

Congratulations to David Lindblom for wining this prestigious award and advancing the restoration of Santa Clara Canyon.

NMCF is looking forward to a lively conversation with the local nonprofit community about the challenges, issues and assets of the Silver City area, and learning how we can work to support Silver City and surrounding communities. Fiscal sponsorship opportunities will be of special interest to those involved in community projects but lack a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.

The meeting on April 5 will take place at The Wellness Coalition, 409 N. Bullard Street, Silver City, on Thursday April 5th from 2:30 – 4:30 PM. Please RSVP on the website www.wellnesscoalition.org under Trainings and Workshops or call Jayne Ash at 534-0665 Ext 208 or email jayne@wellnesscoalition.org so we can save you a space and have copies of handouts available for you.

Santa Fe School for the Arts and Sciences seeks Matching Funds for Endowed Scholarship Fund 
New Mexico Community Foundation Holds Fund

Twelve years ago, a group of dedicated parents sought to make a difference in the way their children experienced education. They looked for an environment that nurtured children from all walks of life, taught respect, courage, stewardship, trust, diversity and academic excellence. That vision became Santa Fe School for the Arts & Sciences (SFSAS), an Expeditionary Learning nonprofit school. Today, 118 children from ages 3 to 14, develop opportunities to discover their self- expression and a lifelong passion for learning and exploration. 

This year the school received an incredible opportunity to start an endowment. A one million dollar challenge grant has been generously donated by a private donor. This grant commits to match every dollar pledged to the school, up to $1 million and endowment earnings will fund scholarships. Currently, 30% of the students at the school receive financial aid scholarships and a substantial number of them are 75% to full scholarships. This extraordinary endowment will ensure that SFSAS will carry on their mission statement to teach the next generation of leaders.

To date, the school has raised approximately $400,000. The challenge grant donor permits SFSAS to count pledges up to five years towards the match. The grant match ends June 6, 2012. If you would like to support the future of this incredible school, please don’t delay. Give Now!

New Mexico Community Foundation (NMCF) is holding the endowment for this campaign. NMCF has a strong track record for supporting initiatives that improve education and student success throughout this state. “Matching grants inspire endowment gifts from people who want to make a difference”, remarked Jenny Parks, President and CEO of NMCF. “These scholarships create academic opportunities for children who need financial assistance.  It assures an equal chance for greater success in school and in life.”

Give Now to the Santa Fe School for Arts & Sciences. 

For more information, please contact:

Elizabeth Madden, Director of Development, NMCF, 505.270.9624
Perli Cunanan, Executive Director, SFSAS, 505.438.8585