Grant Program: Competitive & Donor Advised

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In 2016, the Foundation introduced significant changes to its Competitive Grant Program. With our new philosophy of solving community challenges at their root, we identified a common theme throughout all fields-of-interest in the Competitive Grant Program: providing access to economic opportunities.

This theme was the result of 12 months of research, community convenings and open communication with donors and nonprofit partners. We heard from many different voices, and a common concern was made clear from our community partners: our community lacks economic opportunities. By integrating this idea into our grantmaking, the Foundation is contributing to a community-wide effort to assist Albuquerque residents to become successful and prosperous.

With this theme of economic opportunity, we then sought to leverage the Competitive Grant Program to do two things: one, we wanted to meet the needs of individuals and support their efforts to achieve independent economic stability. And two, we felt it was important to also support our city’s collective economic growth and development.

In addition to integrating this overarching grant theme, the Foundation also reassessed its focus areas in our six main fields-of-interest. We did this to ensure the Foundation was filling funding gaps and investing its philanthropic dollars in areas that represent both critical needs and opportunities for growth.

With these changes, the Foundation saw an influx of new organizations applying for funds. In 2016, the Foundation awarded grants to 14 new visionary organizations in the Competitive Grant Program. Of these 14, seven groups are first-time Foundation grantees, meaning it is the first time they have received funding through the Foundation in any capacity.

The Foundation’s staff and volunteer advisory review committees conduct thorough reviews of the grant applicants’ proposals. See page 66 for a list of this year’s advisory review committee participants.

Arts & Culture: Arts & Culture grants focus on two primary funding areas: organizations and programs that provide access to arts and culture for low-income and/or at-risk populations and organizations supporting the Greater Albuquerque Metropolitan Area through visual and performing arts.

Economic & Workforce Development: Economic & Workforce Development grants support intentional, inventive efforts to ensure a strong local economy. The new field promotes social, economic and environmental growth by supporting innovative support systems for entrepreneurs and the state’s workforce.

Education: Education grants focus on supporting at-risk populations to ensure they receive educational opportunities to better the course of their lives and careers. Specific focus areas in this field are: elementary education literacy programs, at-risk youth, students with special needs and skills-based education for youth and adults.

Environmental & Historic Preservation: Environmental & Historic Preservation grants focus on the “environmental economy” and the preservation of historic landmarks, attractions, buildings and venues. The “environmental economy” can be defined as organizations working within the environmental sector to bolster economic growth.

Health: Health grants focus specifically on meeting the mental health needs of individuals in the Greater Albuquerque Metropolitan Area. Populations served through mental health programs may range from early childhood to seniors and can include the many diverse populations in between.

Human Services: Human Services grants serve as “springboard” grants to help individuals transition to more self-sustainable lifestyles. Special focus will be given to organizations and programs that support one or more of the following: parental or guardian skills training, teen pregnancy, job training, independent living and children aging out of foster care.

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Competitive Grants

Arts & Culture Economic & Workforce Development

516 Arts $8,746 An independent, nonprofit contemporary arts organization, which operates a museum-style gallery in downtown Albuquerque. See page 64

Fusion Theatre $10,000 Funding will support the “FUSION Forum,” an economic development project that provides co-operative office, meeting, culinary and rehearsal/performance spaces for practitioners, patrons and supporters of the performing arts in Downtown Albuquerque.

Keshet Dance Company $15,000 Funding will support Keshet’s Movement+Mentorship=Metamorphosis (M3) program, which helps create self-sustainable lifestyles for at-risk populations and helps break the cycle of youth incarceration through the art of dance. Working Classroom $10,000 Funding will support students by providing free and affordable artistic training, life skills, academic support, paid internships and entrepreneurial opportunities, in addition to pairing students with youthengaged artists-in-residence who will mentor students on exploring futures in the arts. New Mexico Philharmonic $15,000 Funding will support the New Mexico Philharmonic’s 2016-2017 performance and education programs, including concert series at Popejoy Hall, the Albuquerque BioPark and local churches, in addition to supporting the Young Musician Initiative, an intensive music education program for elementary students. Creative Startups $15,000 Creative Startups received the Foundation’s second-ever grant in this field-of-interest. The grant is supporting the Creative Startups Labs, the only pre-business accelerator lab for creative professionals in Albuquerque and New Mexico. The Lab intentionally targets young people and will increase the number of startups by successfully connecting local startups to a global network of resources, and increasing the knowledge and skills of our next generation of entrepreneurs. Through the intensive 4-week program, participating startups cover themes critical to early-stage business development and capacity building, such as business model development, customer discovery, and branding.

Creative StartUps

South Valley Economic Development Center

Two years ago, the Foundation added a sixth field-ofinterest, Economic & Workforce Development. The inaugural $15,000 grant was made to the South Valley Economic Development Center (SVEDC). The purpose of the grant was to leverage the SVEDC’s engagement with South Valley business owners to drive business growth and add new entrepreneur development in the South Valley. Within the grant period, SVEDC gained 68 new clients and hit the maximum business incubator capacity for the first time in its history. Of the new clients:

• 54% identify of Hispanic or Latino; • 29% are monolingual Spanish-speaking or consider Spanish their first language; • 23% have a household income less than $20,000/year, and 29% with an income between $20,001 - $24,999 and 5% with a household income over $100,000; and • 57% are women, 5% are veterans and 13% identify as having disabilities.

Rio Grande Community Farm Galloping Grace Youth Ranch $10,000 Funding to support the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch’s Food Recovery Program, which reduces food waste, feeds families, contributes to sustainable food sources, conserves energy, impacts the local economy and educates youth, thereby building a healthier community and more resilient environment.

Manzano Mountain Art Council $10,100 A Historic Preservation Grant to help restore the Mountain Arts on Broadway Art and Community Center. The building, built in the early 1900’s, holds art studios, educational programs, business meetings, workforce development seminars and performing and visual arts events. The Foundation’s grant has been used in part to install a stateof-the art lighting system, preserve the historic tin ceiling and develop a rain catchment in the garden.

Manzano Mountain Art Council

New Mexico Acequia Association $15,000 Funding will support a pilot farming program for students in the South Valley to train in the revitalization of rural communities, particularly by strengthening the traditional, land-based culture and local food economy. Ten student farming interns will learn: acequia education, hoophouse agriculture, composting, soil amendment, beekeeping, food preservation and distribution/sales marketing at local farmers’ markets.

New Mexico Steam Locomotive and Railroad Historical Society $8,000 Funding will support the restoration of the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Locomotive 2926 to operational status. Upon completion of its restoration, the locomotive will serve as a moving museum, exhibiting NM railroad history and attracting travelers/visitors onto the train for historical trips originating from Albuquerque to Las Vegas.

Rio Grande Community Farm $10,000 Funding for the Las Huertas program, a farmer training and incubator program for the high desert of New Mexico. Las Huertas is a skills development program dedicated to training both current and aspiring producers in certified organic farming techniques, specific to the arid environment of New Mexico and assisting them to become small-scale food entrepreneurs. The program, which seeks to graduate 8-15 students per year, anticipates as many as 20 new farmers growing on the Los Poblanos Fields Open Space land by 2017.

The Nature Conservancy $10,000 Funding will support the Rio Grande Water Fund, which invests in the restoration of forested lands upstream to secure water for communities downstream. It will restore 600,000 acres of forested land to a healthy state over the next 20 years; creating approximately 600 jobs in the Water Fund area reaching 500 students/youth per year through educational programs focusing on the connection between forest health and water supplies.

Trust for Public Land New Mexico $5,000 Funding to support the development of a Greenprint, a strategic, GIS-informed, community-driven conservation plan for the county, to prioritize conservation needs for the community, including promoting and supporting recreational open space and local urban agriculture enterprises.

Education

APS Education Foundation $2,086 Funding will support the LapTime Reading Club at New Futures High School, the high school of choice for pregnant and parenting teenagers earning their high school diplomas. The multi-generational program helps prepare young children for academic success by being read to, while also helping parents increase their own literacy.

CLN Kids $12,500 Funding will support CLN’s Early Childhood program, which provides trauma-informed education to children ages 3-5 whose families are homeless or living 80% below the poverty level. The program ensures students who have endured physical, emotional and sexual traumas are at reading and math levels appropriate to enter Kindergarten and are on pace for a successful path of continued education.

Explora $12,500 Explora’s Youth Intern Program offers high school students an interactive summer experience to gain and practice job skills, including effective communication, professionalism, resume-writing, interviewing, customer-service, and teaching in an informal setting. The internship experience helps low-income students prepare for the future through mentoring and opportunities to explore colleges, STEM careers and lifelong learning. Prosperity Works $8,000 Funding will support Prosperity Kids, a dual-generation savings initiative ensuring at-risk Latino youth from low to very-low income families, as well as youth in the foster system, are on track to graduate from high school, be college-ready and enroll in and graduate from college while having established savings accounts to help them reach their continuing education goals. The program’s adult component also ensures that parents/caregivers have the financial education and understanding to create more financially stable futures for their families. Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless $10,000 Funding for the Therapist of the Day pilot program, increasing access to behavioral health services by creating a streamlined and client-centered triage process. By adding this position approximately 65 homeless individuals will benefit from mental health services each week.

All Faiths $10,000 To support the Family Wellness Program providing behavioral support for children who have experienced trauma while also working with their caregivers to address their own histories of trauma to break the cycle - creating overall positive change in both the educational and economic opportunities of families.

Centro Savila $10,000 Funding to provide supervision and licensure test preparation for behavioral health and social service professionals seeking their highest level licensure, which not only fills a critical “provider gap” in the South Valley, and also builds a workforce pipeline for behavioral health professionals.

Crossroads for Women $15,000 Funding for the Day Program, which helps provide a comprehensive set of skills for formerly incarcerated women with co-occurring mental health and addictive disorders build stable, self-sufficient lives. Healing Addiction in Our Community $10,740 Funding to support the Serenity Mesa Youth Recovery Center, which offers long-term residential treatment for young men, aged 14-21 who struggle with addiction issues. Funds will support the Parent Project, helping parents and guardians handle reoccurring mental and behavioral health situations after their child is discharged.

New Mexico Asian Family Center $10,000 Support for the mental health services for 25 Pan-Asian, Middle Eastern and African immigrants and refugees who have experienced trauma due to war in their home countries, displacement via refugee camps and/or resettlement. The New Mexico Asian Family Center’s holistic service model extends beyond mental health counseling and includes job placement, workforce development and transitional housing.

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Human Services

Enlace Comunitario $15,000 Enlace’s PROSPER program provides financial literacy education for immigrant survivors of domestic violence. The program increases the safety and economic security for approximately 100 Spanish-speaking survivors of domestic violence, while also offering culturally and linguistically-specific financial literacy materials to over 500 Spanish-language immigrants. An example of what someone can do with PROSPER savings is to start a small business.

NM Child Advocacy Networks $7,928 Funding for Opportunity Passport, a program helping youth aging out of foster care understand financial responsibility and assists them in establishing, maintaining and growing bank accounts through matched saving opportunities.

NM Legal Aid $10,000 Funding to support the new medical-legal partnership (MLP) with First Nations Community HealthSource. The program is New Mexico’s first tribal MLP and a critical testing ground for the model. This program will offer legal services and help the city’s underserved Native American population overcome housing, safety, education, health and employment issues and achieve healthier, more sustainable lifestyles.

Foundation-Advised Grants

Generation Justice $4,562 (Restricted to social justice, media and education) A new grantee to the Foundation, Generation Justice provides on-going radio broadcast training/productions that are youth led, community based, structured from a critical race/ equity theory lens and propel educational excellence and career pipeline. In the ten years the program has existed, 92% of Generation Justice members have pursued higher education while more than 35% have gone on to study and work in journalism and/or media. IMPACT Personal Safety $4,440 (Restricted to alternatives to violence) Funding to provide up to 32 youth (ages 12-19) at Bernalillo County Youth Services Center with 16 hours of experiential, role playbased violence prevention classes focusing on anti-bias/anti-bullying skills, ally behavior, boundary-setting and de-escalation. By giving youth tools to become their own advocates, IMPACT will prevent substance abuse, incarceration, future domestic violence (both as perpetrators and victims) and other health issues related to abuse and assault.

PB&J Family Services $17,291 Fathers Building Futures, a social enterprise initiative offering opportunities for emotional, social and financial stability. The program hosts four departments: Woodshop, Auto Detailing, Mobile Power Washing and Freight & Delivery (truck driving), and provides training, mentorship and ultimately permanent job placement. In some cases, graduates of the program start their own business. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains $15,000 Funding will support Planned Parenthood’s Responsible Sex Education Institute, which aims to educate teens and reduce unintended teen pregnancies and the spread of sexually transmitted infections, while empowering youth to make healthy decisions for their future. Paws & Stripes $11,102

(Restricted to domestic animals) Funding to support service dog training for 35 animals and their owners–veterans experiencing debilitating PTSD and/or traumatic brain injury. Veterans, many of whom fall below the federal poverty threshold and earn less than 76% of the state’s average annual income, will acquire skills to help reduce PTSD levels and succeed in gaining employment and continuing their education.

Harwood Art Center $7,400 Arts education grant to support Creative Roots, a free outreach program engaging low-income youth aged 6-15 in hands-on learning and art exhibiting. Creative Roots offers 15-20 workshops annually at Community Art Days throughout the city. Albuquerque Museum Foundation $7,400 To expand the Magic Bus Program to include the new Art Start Program. Art Start provides pre-school children and families at Title 1 schools with transportation and access to the Museum, while training teachers to integrate the arts into learning at the early childhood level.

Art in the School $7,400 Art in the School’s goal is to improve education for Albuquerque’s children with programs that provide quality visual art education the core curriculum. The Foundation’s grant supported After School Art Program at Title I Elementary Schools. The program supplements cuts in public art education, reaches 250 K-5th graders and provides over 25 teachers with professional development art workshops.

2016 Orchestral Symphonic Grant Program

When the New Mexico Symphony closed its

doors in 2011, the Foundation held a number

of funds for the benefit of the Symphony. One of

the many values of endowed funds is they are

protected from bankruptcy and can be absorbed by

the Foundation even after an organization ceases

operations. The Foundation now leverages the

Symphony’s endowment funds for our

Orchestral Symphonic Music Grant Program,

which ensures symphonic music

performances and education are being

supported in perpetuity for our community.

New Mexico Philharmonic $95,000

Funding to pay New Mexico musicians for concert performances of orchestral symphonic music literature and to deliver orchestral symphonic instrumental music education programs.

Albuquerque Youth Symphony Program (AYSP) $20,744

Funding to provide direct support for the salaries of professional musicians and artistic staff who provide weekly and supplemental instruction to prepare AYSP ensembles and performances.

Opera Southwest $10,000 Funding to support live performances by professional symphonic musicians in the pit orchestra of all opera productions.

NM Symphonic Chorus (NMSC) $5,000

Funding to support NMSC’s performances of choral music during the 2016-2017 season, allowing the organization to engage professional New Mexico orchestral musicians and soloists.

In the Competitive Grant Program, our grant review panels made a conscious shift to fully fund organizations with their requested amount whenever possible. This means that while the Foundation may have awarded fewer grants, those that were awarded can have a greater impact on the organization, enabling them to do even more great work without struggling to supplement funding shortfalls.

This funding philosophy offered an opportunity to build stronger relationships with grantees throughout the funding cycle. In the summer of 2016, the Foundation launched Grant Cohorts for grantees in each of the Foundation’s fields-of-interest.

This concept brings grantees together three times a year to discuss: • What success for an organization can look like during the grant period • Major foreseeable challenges • How the Foundation can be supportive in ways beyond funding • How grantees can be helpful in collaborating with each other • Universal issues that affect organizations in each field-of-interest

Through Grant Cohorts, the Foundation can identify needs and opportunities throughout the grant cycle, in ways that position every organization for continued success.

Great Grant Great Grant

Adelante

With the support of a donor-advised fund, the

Foundation supported Adelante’s Back in Use

program. Back in Use provides employment and the

opportunity to earn a paycheck for individuals with

disabilities in Albuquerque. Most Back in Use em-

ployees are individuals on the autism spectrum who

work part-time refurbishing computers and assistive

technology. They receive support through Adelante’s

job coaching program while gaining skills in a high

quality technology job that will eventually lead to

higher level IT positions outside of Adelante.