Community Conversations

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS

Environment conversations

Conversations

We believe conversations can change communities. That’s why, in 2015, we invited Foundation donors, community nonprofits and others into open conversations about our fields-of-interest: Arts & Culture, Economic & Workforce Development, Education, Environmental & Historic Preservation, Health and Human Services.

We convened eight meetings across the city and hosted hundreds of people. The community had a lot to say; we wrote down nearly 40,000 words spread over 70-plus pages of notes. Some themes arose again and again, including a need for cooperation among agencies, increased educational and employment opportunities, strong support for community-based services and a plea for more conversation and connections.

We learned much about what people want: the opportunity to collaborate with each other in getting to the root of systemic change, an emphasis on issues affecting children living in poverty and public-private partnerships focused on making differences in the place we call home. Nonprofit agencies and donors alike want to see collaboration amongst the groups working together to tackle major issues facing the city. Each convening saw various groups ask for more discussion, with other players— including city and county agencies— at the table. Many said they would like the Foundation to become more involved with advocacy at the legislative level. They see the Foundation as an organization with a bank of good will and without an ax to grind—just the kind of voice that can be heard above the din.

We are entering 2016 enlightened and emboldened. The Foundation has digested the information and planned its next steps. We are excited about the opportunities ahead to engage our donors and nonprofit partners in more innovative ways. It is clear to us that this is the dawn of something wonderful and that we have a chance to be more effective than ever. We look forward to more conversations and to bringing more agencies together. And we are thankful for each person who took the time to talk to us about what matters most and how to achieve more together.

community conversations

“But for a greatness of beauty, I have never experienced anything like New Mexico. ”— DH Lawrence