Civic & Economic Opportunities

Result: Community is engaged and involved in local issues.

We invited requests from organizations serving Santa Fe, Mora, Rio Arriba, and/or San Miguel counties that work to improve:

• Workforce development and job creation • Open government • Social and economic justice

Through direct services, policy advocacy, and/or collaborative efforts, priority strategies will address:

• Improving access to employment opportunities and economic advancement by low-income and other disadvantaged community members; • Providing career counseling, job training, and other programs to low wage earners to advance their skills; • Financial literacy training; • Increasing community involvement in activities that will influence public policy to strengthen communities; • Support public policy, civic engagement, community organizing, or public information to improve and strengthen the local economy

Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity

aflep.org

Mission | To create local economic prosperity by maximizing equitable access to, and opportunities for, financial resources which support thriving economies throughout New Mexico. Proposal | Let’s create sustained improvement in the state’s low ratings in quality-of-life metrics with a fundamental change in the state’s financial systems—the establishment of a NM Public Bank that will keep the state’s revenue in the state and enable more investments, especially in rural areas and small businesses that research shows create jobs. Jobs, especially those that provide a living wage, are the most reliable route out of poverty. Noteworthy | At New Mexico’s Revenue Stabilization and Tax Policy Committee meeting on August 12, 2022, the Executive Director of Good Jobs First revealed that 17 of New Mexico’s subsidies to encourage economic development are skewed away from “small companies that hire locals and often face credit availability challenges.” A strategy of growing local businesses works. Littleton, Colorado doubled its rate of job growth, “…we didn’t recruit one company… We didn’t spend one penny subsidizing anybody. It was all about working with local businesses.”

Crossroads for Women

crossroadsabq.org

Mission | To provide comprehensive, integrated services to empower women emerging from incarceration to achieve safe, healthy, and fulfilling lives in the community, for themselves and their children. Proposal | Crossroads for Women is seeking to provide computer classes to prepare justice-involved women with tools to compete in the ever-evolving technological ecosystem. The computer course will focus on hard skills needed by the modern workforce that incarcerated women have been largely removed from, creating an additional barrier to meaningful employment. Noteworthy | Estimates place the unemployment rate for formerly incarcerated people at about 27 percent, compared to five percent or less for the general population. This statistic grows more alarming when you control for gender and race where women of color are far more likely to be unemployed if they were formerly incarcerated. Crossroads provides services to assist women in their walk to become more independent and start their own careers.

Dental Care In Your Home

dentalcareinyourhome.org

Mission | To provide superior dental healthcare to homebound and special needs patients in their home or care facility, regardless of the ability to pay. Proposal | Funding would help us to build our capacity to service clients in the Santa Fe area. Hiring a dentist and hygienist so we would be able to see more patients in this area. Noteworthy | We are on pace to see 1,400 patients this year. We have over 200 potential patients that are homebound in Santa Fe that have not had Dental Care since prior to COVID-19.

Earth Care International

www.earthcarenm.org

Mission | We grow leadership from the ground up for the intergenerational and intersectional movement for progressive change in northern New Mexico. We organize, train, and support our fellow youth and parent leaders from Santa Fe’s southside, BIPOC, and low-income communities as we fight to improve the environmental, economic, social, and educational conditions in our lives through YUCCA (Youth United for Climate Crisis Action), Poder Familiar, and the SF Mutual Aid Network. Proposal | Funding will support BIPOC youth and families working to advance climate legislation that reduces emissions, deploys renewables, and facilitates a just transition for impacted communities, environmental protections and community-led development plan for the southside of Santa Fe. This includes economic justice initiatives based on solidarity and equity through the Santa Fe Mutual Aid Network, including emergency resource distribution to network families. Noteworthy | According to the Santa Fe Southside Community Health Profile, poverty has a greater prevalence in our neighborhoods than in the City of Santa Fe as a whole. In 2015–2019, 21.7% of households received SNAP compared to 12.3% in the City. Few outdoor spaces for recreational opportunities exist for use by this community. There are no full-service grocery stores making it hard for residents to access fresh fruits and vegetables. Polluting businesses are concentrated in the area.

Innovate+Educate NM

innovate-educate.org

Mission | To create new employment pathways for workers based on skills and competencies. Innovate+Educate is a national nonprofit based in Santa Fe, NM that focuses on skill-based training and hiring strategies for youth from all socio-economic backgrounds to prepare them for gainful, fulfilling jobs. We leverage the best practices and strategies from Fortune 500 companies to local businesses and apply this knowledge directly to benefit NM young adults. Proposal | Innovate+Educate's programs not only teach New Mexico young adults (ages 16–30) important skills like resume building, goal setting, and communication skills, we also connect young adults to actual jobs and pay for the required training to ensure they are on a strong career path that meets their passions and skills. Innovate+Educate provides the means necessary to truly set our young people up for success. Noteworthy | In New Mexico, the percentage of learners completing high school by age 25 has risen to 86.5%, the percentage of those completing a bachelor’s degree is only 28.1%. In Santa Fe, of the 18-34 year old demographic, only 27% have a bachelor’s degree. And, the racial breakdown shows that at least 45% of those holding a bachelor’s degree are Caucasian. A much lower percentage of Latinos/Hispanic and Native Americans see degree completion. Our focus is providing pathways to good employment for all.

Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe

lvsf.org

Mission | To provide free tutoring to adults in reading, writing, and speaking English to strengthen our community, families, and the workforce. Our vision is a literate, thriving community where words can be read, written, spoken, and understood, and where people can attain their goals and fully participate in society. Proposal | We request support for our Citizenship Tutoring Program, which prepares students for the oral and written components of the citizenship exam. This program helps immigrants in Santa Fe become active community members by becoming U.S. Citizens and having the right to vote. Noteworthy | According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in Santa Fe County, 24% of adults function at literacy Level 1 (equivalent to approximately a first-grade reading level) and 29% at Level 2 (equal to roughly a second to fourth-grade reading level). To put this into perspective, over half of the adults in Santa Fe County would benefit from English as a second language (ESL) or basic literacy tutoring.

MainStreet de Las Vegas

mainstreetdelasvegas.org

Mission | To unify the historic commercial corridor and engender pride in the community while promoting economic development and preserving historical, cultural, architectural, and natural resources through partnerships and community collaboration. Proposal | Vista de Las Vegas is a citywide mural project where four new murals will be created, one in each of Las Vegas' four City Council districts. Funded in part by the City's first National Endowment for the Arts grant, this project will commission four northern New Mexico artists, who will each receive a $2,500 artist fee, to create a mural. Each will work with a local high school student as their assistant and these students will be paid as part of this internship. Noteworthy | Until very recently, the number of arts and culture-related businesses and nonprofit organizations in Las Vegas grew steadily and rapidly. The impact of the pandemic and the recent fires and floods on Las Vegas’ arts and cultural industries appears to have been very significant. Revenues earned or received by organizations in the area fell sharply beginning in 2020. One of the goals of this project is to bring community members together to celebrate Las Vegas and its culture.

MANA del Norte: A Chapter of Mana National

manadelnortenm.org

Mission | To serve as a voice and resource for Latinas in the northern New Mexico counties of Los Alamos, Mora, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, San Miguel, and Taos. In 1989, a group of Latinas sharing common interests founded MANA del Norte. We have informed Latina activists, working to create a better life for all Latinos and achieve full and equal participation of Latinas in our country’s political, social, educational, and economic domains. Proposal | We request funds for the development and creation of a brochure that will help MANA del Norte recruit and retain members, solicit donations for scholarships, advertise our scholarships, and be able to reach as many northern New Mexico women who may be eligible for scholarships. Noteworthy | MANA del Norte is the only Latina women's organization in northern New Mexico. We are not proud of this statistic. In fact, we believe that there should be many more Latina organizations that are available to Latinas in northern New Mexico. This is a sad statistic. MANA del Norte members are totally grassroots, all volunteer Latinas who have full time jobs, are full time mothers, and still believe that an organization like MANA del Norte is very important to our communities.

Mora Creative Council/Mora Mainstreet

ourmora.org

Mission | To assist the disabled, elderly, and citizens of Mora County that were impacted by the Calf Canyon Fires by securing them processed wood for the purpose of heating their homes this winter. Proposal | In partnership with the Santa Fe Community Foundation, Mora Creative Council, Mora Independent Schools, Carson National Forest, and the Mora Head Start families in the Mora area will receive processed wood for the upcoming winter months. This wood will impact fire victims, the disabled, the elderly, and the low-income families. Noteworthy | This request is being made to process 10 loads of logs being donated by the Carson National Forest for the purpose of being processed into fuel (wood) for the residences of Mora County. Due to the three fires that have devastated Mora County, many residences are without the ability to obtain wood for this winter for heating and cooking in their homes. This funding will help in the processing and if necessary, the purchase of additional log loads.

New Mexico Foundation for Open Government

nmfog.org

Mission | To educate, advocate, and litigate for open government in New Mexico. Since its inception in 1989, the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) has fulfilled its mission. By shining a light on the government, FOG holds officials accountable and makes certain public business is conducted in the sunshine. FOG is the state’s leading advocate for freedom of information, a hallmark of democracy. No transparency; no democracy. FOG protects the public’s right to know. Proposal | Adding a staff attorney, who will be mentored by a panel of six experienced volunteer transparency lawyers, will be a game changer for open government in the state. FOG has raised $300,000 in “seed” money, but the pressure of inflation has pushed that goal to $330,000. This will pay an attorney’s salary for two years and establish a reserve fund. The position will become self-sustaining through the awards of attorney fees, court costs, and statutory penalties. Noteworthy | Every year, FOG has more than 1,000 requests for advice and assistance on closed public meetings (violations of the Open Meetings Act) and access to public records under the Inspection of Public Records Act. Consideration of up to 12 cases a year for litigation or amicus briefs.

New Mexico Local News Fund

nmlocalnews.org

Mission | To grow the ecosystem of local news across our state to better serve the information needs of all New Mexicans. To accomplish that ambitious goal, we work with both existing newsrooms and trusted community organizations to build programs and networks that will ensure diverse individuals and communities have the information they need to thrive. Proposal | The New Mexico Local News Fund is aiming to launch a new incubator program to support news startups in rural and urban news deserts. We also aim to increase the number of Fellowships in our program that places recent journalism graduates in local newsrooms. We are also looking for long-term support for our new collaboration of southern New Mexico newsrooms to cover economic development issues post-pandemic, and will be running a matching campaign for fall fundraisers for New Mexico newsrooms. Noteworthy | New Mexico has five counties with no newspapers and 21 counties with only one newspaper, according to news deserts research at the University of North Carolina. We are aiming to strengthen existing local news publishers while helping support new publications to cover rural towns and urban neighborhoods that are currently underserved. During the wildfires in the spring, four out of seven of the most affected counties had zero newspapers, and the other three counties only had one newspaper to cover them.

NMCAN

NMCAN.org

Mission | NMCAN partners with young people to build community, promote equity, and lead change. Proposal | NMCAN authentically engages young people impacted by foster care, the juvenile justice system, and/or homelessness to advocate for systems change that improves their transition to adulthood and positively transforms our community. Noteworthy | Higher than the national rate of 12.6%, New Mexico has 47,900 (19.6%) disconnected young people— meaning they are neither in school nor working—and this is typically a result of being impacted by foster care or other systems (Lewis, Kristen. A Disrupted Year: How the Arrival of Covid-19 Affected Youth Disconnection. New York: Measure of America, Social Science Research Council, 2022).

Salvation Army, Southwest Divisional Headquarters

southwest.salvationarmy.org

Mission | To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination. The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Proposal | Funding supports helping people who are about to be homeless to stay in their homes and helps the unsheltered seek shelter and upward mobility. Noteworthy | On any given night, across the state of New Mexico, some 1,200 people outside the Albuquerque Metro area are homeless. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports that homelessness costs the City of Santa Fe $3 million each year. But 38% of those surveyed are first-time homeless. Their homelessness could be prevented with a timely intervention.

Santa Fe Data Platform Fund

santafedata.org

Mission | To support smart public policy, sound use of taxpayer dollars, and innovative strategies to grow the economy. In Santa Fe, a collaboration of public and private funders launched this project to support data-based decision-making for the future health, prosperity, and equity of Santa Fe. The platform is currently comprised of three primary dashboards: Our Residents and Visitors, Public Health, and Economy and Innovation. Proposal | Additional funding will substantially expand the impact of the platform. It will strengthen community and partnership engagement by using social media and educational events to augment information about the platform and partner’s reach, add new industry sector partners, expand the core team to ensure long-term sustainability and utilization, and add new dashboards, including sustainability and education, for a more comprehensive understanding of our community’s opportunities and challenges. Noteworthy | There are innumerable statistics that point to the use of data to improve all aspects of civic life. Cities around the world are replacing “best guesses” with databased decisions to improve the lives of their citizens with greater government transparency, increased accountability and alignment, and ultimately creating safer, healthier, and more efficient cities. Over the past few years, we have tested and proven what a significant impact data-based decisionmaking has on the city of Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity

santafehabitat.org

Mission | To promote affordable home ownership for Santa Fe area residents by constructing simple, adequate, and energy efficient new homes and repairing or rehabilitating existing homes through the cooperative efforts of partner families, volunteers, donors, and staff. Proposal | Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity is requesting funds from the Santa Fe Community Foundation in the Economic Security impact area to support our Habitat Homeowner Education program. All newly selected Habitat Partner Families that are selected through a qualification process to become homeowners are required to complete 12 hours of a homeowner's financial education. In addition to this program, we offer on-going education in maintaining and sustaining their Habitat home to over 100 Habitat homeowners. Noteworthy | More than one in three people employed in Santa Fe commute from outside the county, often from homes in more affordable communities. Long car commutes contribute to climate change and impose high costs—financial, physical, and social. People employed in Santa Fe who are unwilling or unable to live far from where they work have no choice but to absorb high housing costs that often leave few resources for other necessities like food and healthcare.

Searchlight New Mexico

searchlightnm.org

Mission | To deliver high-impact investigative reporting to inspire New Mexicans to demand action on systemic problems that plague our state. Searchlight New Mexico is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative and public service journalism in the interest of the people of New Mexico. We believe that great reporting can motivate all New Mexicans to confront racial and economic inequities, government corruption and negligence, and abuses of power. Proposal | Searchlight NM will continue our work on the impact of the fires in northern New Mexico. We are also undertaking major investigations into children's mental health, foster care, climate change, gun violence, and other issues involving criminal justice. Noteworthy | Searchlight NM fulfills a specific need for long form, investigative and enterprise journalism. The number of journalism jobs that have been lost since 2008 is 40,000. Just since the pandemic, 100 papers have closed across the country, at least five of them in New Mexico. Four New Mexico counties have no local paper and 22 counties have a single paper.

University of New Mexico Foundation, Inc.

unmfund.org/

Mission | Anderson School of Business Management engages students in its comprehensive educational, research, and service programs. Anderson School seeks to transform New Mexico’s economy over the next generation by building and supporting entrepreneurship. To do this we sponsor incubators for ideas, businesses and people. We believe solutions can be found when people with different backgrounds and skills work together on real problems, while also addressing the needs of local businesses and our community. Proposal | Providing young professional entrepreneurs with support in creating socially-responsible businesses grows the economy while creating jobs and meaningful change. Funding the Anderson Center for Responsible Entrepreneurship builds a northern New Mexico community where entrepreneurs can learn, launch, and scale their for-profit social enterprises. The Center offers a local venue for environmental, social, and governance changemakers to come together, collaborate, and address mutual goals and initiatives. Noteworthy | A 2020 study by STEM Boomerang found that over half of 191 STEM graduates were interested in staying or returning to New Mexico. However, in a Korn Ferry study, 63% of Millennials stated that business's primary purpose should be improving society. In a recent Deloitte study, the conclusion was clear—business leaders must embrace purpose in order to be relevant for Millennials and Gen Z. Supporting young entrepreneurs in forming their own socially responsible enterprises responds to both needs.