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Envision Fund
The Envision Fund, a statewide initiative of the Santa Fe Community Foundation, promotes the health, safety, and empowerment of at-risk and underserved LGBTQ+ New Mexicans. The largest philanthropic entity in New Mexico dedicated solely to serving the LGBTQ+ population, the Fund has made over $650,000 in grants since its inception in 1997.
The Envision Fund has three priority areas for making grants:
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• Creating an HIV-free generation in New Mexico; • Combating discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in whatever form (such as employment, housing, immigration, access to health services, etc.); and • Supporting school-based programs that create a safe environment for all students, including
LGBTQ+ students.
Casa Q, Inc.
Albuquerque | casaq.org
Mission | To provide safe living options and services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ+) youth and allies (age 14 to 18 in our residential program and age 18–22 in our Aftercare/Transitional Living Program) who are at risk of or experiencing homelessness. Unlike emergency shelter programs, Casa Q provides residential and transitional living services in a home-like environment, complemented with comprehensive and individual case management. Proposal | Casa Q requests funding for LGBTQ+ residential homeless youth support services. Casa Q's five-bedroom house can serve up to 10 residents at a time. Youth are supported by experienced and trained staff and case management to succeed in school, explore career options, learn a range of essential life skills, and engage with their community through cultural, educational, and social enrichment activities. Noteworthy | An estimated 30–40% of all youth experiencing homelessness in the U.S. are LGBTQ+. A local Albuquerque survey of more than 100 homeless youth found that nearly half self-identified as “gender queer.” There is very limited housing for homeless teens in New Mexico and no other housing program specifically designed to support LGBTQ+ teens. Casa Q's licensing allows both long and short-term stays, which allows us flexibility to respond to all needs, not just provide emergency shelter.
Closet Cinema / Way OUT West Film Fest
Santa Fe
Mission | Closet Cinema is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 that is dedicated to showcasing queer cinema to highlight the richness and diversity of the LGBTQ+ experience through the annual Way OUT West Film Fest, a 10-day event in Albuquerque. Proposal | The New Mexico Community Foundation requests support for the annual Way OUT West Film Fest in Albuquerque to showcase queer cinema and highlight the richness and diversity of the LGBTQ+ experience. Like other large gatherings, the festival was forced to go virtual last year, which is currently a possibility again this year. Due to the local impact of COVID-19 on foundations, businesses, and other sponsors, we are looking at a 50–60% reduction in our annual operating budget. Noteworthy | According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of anti-LGBTQ hate groups soared 4% last year, rising from 49 groups in 2018 to 70 in 2019. Also, groups that vilify the LGBTQ community represented the fastest-growing sector among hate groups in 2019. It has been well-documented that entertainment media has the power to change hearts and minds and, now more than ever, film festivals like ours are needed to spotlight these realities and give younger LGBTQ citizens more hope and inspiration.
Common Bond New Mexico Foundation
Albuquerque | commonbondnm.org
Mission | To strengthen the LGBTQ+ community of New Mexico through programs and partnerships that serve at-risk sectors of the LGBTQ+ population. Proposal | The Emergency Project plays a unique role within the state's HIV healthcare network. We provide "last resort" financial assistance ($250 per client per calendar year) to low-income New Mexicans living with HIV/AIDS for rent, utilities, eyeglasses, medical bills, and other necessities of life. With this assistance, they are less likely to become homeless and more likely to remain in treatment and reduce the chance of spreading further infection. Noteworthy | The New Mexico Department of Health estimates that 3,900 people in the state are infected with HIV.
Equality New Mexico Foundation
Albuquerque | eqnm.org
Mission | We envision a world in which oppression is obsolete and all aspects of identity are honored. We work to be a trusted partner and to uplift the voices and leadership of our community in creating a reality of equity, full access, and sustainable wellness for LGBTQ New Mexicans. Proposal | Supporting the work of EQNMF means helping us build a movement that brings the voices of LGBTQ people from across the state into every conversation where decisions about us are made. EQNMF is building a grassroots movement that ensures ongoing non-discrimination in policy by bringing our voices into these policy discussions. Without this work, for example, unmarried queer couples would have been left out of the new Paid Sick Leave policy in the last legislative session. Noteworthy | Because of a lack of accurate data collection (recently changed after EQNMs work with NMCAP and governor Lujan Grisham, via Executive Order) what we know we cannot prove. LGBTQ New Mexicans are largely underrepresented when it comes to business and home ownership, healthcare access, and economic stability. This is why we must be considered, intentionally, in the drafting of new policies that address, for example, economic justice.
Justice Access Support and Solutions for Health
Albuquerque | casadesaludnm.org
Mission | Casa de Salud is a permanent project of Justice, Access, Support and Solutions for Health, a nonprofit organization. Casa de Salud's mission is to interweave traditional and conventional medicines to meet the physical and spiritual health needs of its patients in a welcoming, just, creative, and inclusive environment; to provide fair priced health care to anyone in need; and to promote a learning and leadership development environment for practitioners, staff, volunteers, and patients. Proposal | Casa de Salud is a nonprofit integrative clinic in Albuquerque that responds to needs for affordable primary care, queer and trans healthcare, and addictions care in central New Mexico. We embrace a holistic approach. Using a wide range of conventional, natural, and traditional medicines, we train the future healthcare workforce of New Mexico and advocate for health system change. We aim to strengthen our work to support queer, trans, and gender nonconforming community members with dignified high-quality healthcare. Noteworthy | More than 75% of our patients are uninsured and do not have access to affordable high-quality healthcare. Even among those who are insured, such as many of our queer and transgender patients, there are significant struggles finding culturally humble clinicians and queer/trans competent healthcare systems.
New Mexico Community AIDS Partnership/SRIC
Santa Fe | nmaidspartnership.org; sric.org
Mission | NMCAP works to build a world in which Sexual and Gender Minorities (SGM,) People Living with HIV, and all people have access to supportive, high quality health care and behavioral health services and no group finds their access to care or quality of life reduced by stigma or discrimination. Viewing health through a wide lens, we work to develop supportive environments for SGM people in education, social services, and all areas of life. Proposal | We request support to increase health equity and quality of life for LGBTQ+ New Mexicans. We address systemic barriers to access and quality of care through support of inclusive public policy, training and consultation for medical and behavioral health providers and systems, and research on the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ people when they access care. We organize events to disseminate important health information to LGBTQ+ people and learn about community members’ experiences and concerns. Noteworthy | Based on data collected by the New Mexico Department of Health, we know that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender adults in the state are more than five times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight, cisgender peers. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual high school students are three times more likely to be unstably housed than their straight peers and transgender high school students are more than ten times more likely to be unstably housed than cisgender peers (2019 YRRS & 2017/18 BRFSS).
New Mexico State University Foundation
Las Cruces | support.nmsu.edu
Mission | The NMSU Foundation fosters philanthropy that serves and assists New Mexico State University in becoming a pre-eminent university. NMSU’s LGBT+ programs provide advocacy, resources, education, and programming that welcomes and encourages the expression and success of all NMSU/DACC communities and to individuals at our NMSU and DACC campuses. We help the campus and community develop policies, trainings, and strategies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our communities. Proposal | This survey of healthcare providers identifies gaps in service and provider training related to healthcare for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals in southern New Mexico. Research has shown that transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals face health disparities, barriers to treatment, and inequitable treatment, partly due to healthcare providers’ lack of education/expertise. Results will improve care for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex individuals living in New Mexico. Noteworthy | In the 2015 US Transgender Survey, 44% of New Mexican respondents reported “having at least one negative experience with a healthcare provider in the past year related to being transgender, such as verbal harassment, refusal of treatment, or having to teach the healthcare provider about transgender people to receive appropriate care” and 34% “did not see a doctor when they needed to because of fear of being mistreated as a transgender person.”
Albuquerque | nmrcrc.org
Mission | The New Mexico Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice is the local faith connection to a national community of religious organizations and faithful individuals dedicated to elevating religious voices wherever faith, policy, and our reproductive lives intersect. This work includes providing abortion funding through practical support, advocacy to protect abortion access, and education to change hearts and minds. Proposal | While some religious doctrines explicitly oppose reproductive and LGBTQ rights, a growing number of people of faith and conscience, grounded in their understanding of the teachings of their faith, support reproductive and LGBTQ rights within their denominations and communities. Through outreach, education, and advocacy, we seek to create the space for New Mexicans to stand in their own moral values to support full access to healthcare and services, not in spite of their faith, but because of it. Noteworthy | 93% of people who identified as Catholic and 95% of people who identified as Christian agreed with this statement: "As a person of faith, do you believe all people in our communities should have access to the care and services they need regardless of the religious beliefs of others?"
Office of Student Wellness, Santa Fe Public Schools
Santa Fe | sfps.info
Mission | The Safe Zones Program at Santa Fe Public Schools (SFPS) is a district-wide program designed to create more welcoming, inclusive, and affirming environments by identifying and training staff to provide extra support for students, especially those who are dealing with bullying, harassment, discrimination, bias, inequity, and/or other issues. Safe Zones Partners are a network of trained, committed, and non-judgmental counselors, nurses, and volunteer teachers and staff at K–12 SFPS schools. Proposal | The Santa Fe Safe Zones Program at Santa Fe Public Schools is a district-wide program that trains school staff to understand and respond to issues and needs of all students, especially those most marginalized (LGBTQ+, students of color, have a disability, are undocumented, etc). Trained staff post signs identifying them as a Safe Zone and are equipped to advocate and support students, thus increasing students’ mental health, academic performance, and school engagement. Noteworthy | Students whose identities are marginalized suffer disproportionately from negative health and psychosocial outcomes, including low self-esteem, self-harm, depression, suicide, substance use, and harsher punishments. LGB students in New Mexico schools face two times the rate of bullying; one in three LGB students in New Mexico have attempted suicide. 33% of undocumented students reported elevated levels of anxiety. Students with disabilities are suspended or expelled at higher rates (New Mexico); 60% are bullied at school (US).
SAGE Albuquerque
Albuquerque | sageabq.org
Mission | To provide support for older LGBT adults in the greater Albuquerque area through advocacy, social programs, education, support groups, and resource distribution. We counter isolation, fear, and loneliness by creating a caring community of LGBT elders who will look out for each other and share some laughs. Proposal | SAGE Albuquerque again requests funds to provide education and training programs to nursing homes, assisted living facilities, retirement living centers, home care agencies, and other elder care providers located from Los Lunas to Santa Fe. These programs will help create LGBT-friendly environments (and prevent discrimination) at senior-serving providers. The trainings allow us to develop partnerships with senior-serving providers so they can respond better to the service needs of LGBT elders.
Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico
Albuquerque | tgrcnm.org
Mission | The Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico provides support, community, and connection to transgender, gender nonconforming, nonbinary, and gender variant people and their families through advocacy, education, and direct services. Proposal | Investing in the work of the Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico creates safety and access for transgender people in our state and region. TGRCNM is one of the largest statewide transgender organizations in the country and effects real change by engaging in policy advocacy, education, and the provision of direct services. Noteworthy | The 2019 New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey posed the question, "Do you consider yourself transgender, genderqueer or gender fluid?" to public high school students in New Mexico for the second time. 3.2% said yes. These students were in every county. While 8.3% of the cisgender students reported attempting suicide, just within the last 12 months, 32.5% of the transgender, gender fluid, or genderqueer students did. Heroin use among the trans students was at 20.6% vs 1% for cis students.
