Vital: Generosity for our Shared Home

VITAL

GENEROSITY FOR OUR SHARED HOME

For Our Shared Home

NESTLED IN THE HEART OF OUR CITY, the Santa Fe Community Foundation is quietly transforming lives and communities across New Mexico. For over 40 years, we have been champions of social justice, leveraging the power of generosity to tackle some of the most pressing issues facing our region’s wonderfully diverse communities. At its core, the Santa Fe Community Foundation is a catalyst for change and connection, bridging the gap between donors and nonprofits and empowering individuals and organizations to make a difference together. Through our innovative grantmaking programs, community initiatives, and partnerships, we have awarded millions of dollars to a wide range of causes – from education and arts to health, environment, and much more – as you’ll read in this issue. Today, we invite you to meet a few members of our community. I think you’ll be inspired by what can be achieved when people come together to share their generosity of wealth, knowledge, and spirit for our shared home.

CHRISTOPHER GOETT, PRESIDENT AND CEO

Native Vision

THIS EMMY AWARD–WINNING FILMMAKER AND MEMBER OF THE COMANCHE AND BLACKFEET NATIONS HAS A POWERFUL PASSION: THE NATIVE AMERICAN ADVISED FUND

PHOTO: JHANE MYERS, PRODUCER, PREY 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS/ DISNEY

JHANE MYERS, a member of the Comanche and Blackfeet Nations, is an Emmy Award-winning and Producers Guild of America-nominated filmmaker who is recognized for her passion and dedication to films that preserve the legacies of Native communities. She has established herself as a vital cultural and community resource for Native projects, including the films Prey, 1883, The Wilds, Monsters of God, Magnificent Seven, Wind River, The Lone Ranger, and Apocalypto.

Jhane chairs the Native American Advised Fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, a Native-created and -led initiative supporting systems and practices that empower Indigenous people and communities.

How did you get involved with the Native American Advised Fund (NAAF)?

NAAF was founded by Allan Houser, the renowned, beloved sculptor and instructor. He was originally from Oklahoma, as I am – so we have that special connection.

I first served as a member of NAAF’s all-Native advisory committee, and now I’ve been the chair for the past five years. Oh my gosh, it’s such an honor to be able to serve Native people in need.

The fund started with a small endowment, and we’ve grown it through the years. Today, it has evolved to support Native causes throughout New Mexico

We regularly contribute to organizations that lift up Native youth and art – groups like the Santa Fe Indigenous Center and New Mexico Kids Matter. I go to the Santa Fe Indigenous Center programs when they have food distributions every other Friday to pass out the food for the kids.

Basically, we support any organization that promotes Native people, that does community work.

We’re here to counter the severe lack of funding for Native communities. The Santa Fe Community Foundation has been one of the largest foundations to give grants to Native causes.

There’s this idea that giving is a Native value that predates today’s philanthropic efforts.

Yes, this is a natural part of Native core values: giving, reciprocity, and generosity.

If you go back to the Native people on Plymouth Rock, they didn’t let any person perish; they shared the food that they had.

I have been raised that if people are in need or ask something of you and it’s within your power, you do your best to do it. Don’t even say yes or no, just do it.

NATIVE AMERICANS REPRESENT 2% OF THE POPULATION BUT ONLY RECEIVE 0.4% OF GRANT DOLLARS FROM PHILANTHROPIC INSTITUTIONS

You are now a producer. Yes, my latest movie is Prey. I was recently nominated for a Producers Guild of America award out in LA, at the Beverly Hilton. I was for sure the only Native person in the whole room!

And you were a traditional artist before that?

I originally worked for Ralph Lauren for nine years, before I had my three children. And today, I serve on their American Indian and Indigenous External Advisory Board.

I also have a background in public relations for films. I started working with Disney, where I did Native community engagement. A lot of big companies, when they’re borrowing from a culture, don’t necessarily engage the culture. So, it’s my mission that when you borrow something from, say, the Comanche culture, you do something with the Comanche culture. You need to be involved in the community.

Community work has always been my focus – to make sure our Native people are supported and that there’s a gift of reciprocity.

I started in film as a cultural advisor, language consultant, dialect coach – basically a cultural consultant for movies that had Native culture in them. I eventually I moved into producing.

Since then, I’ve produced eight documentaries, four shorts, and an opera. Right now, I’m starting an animated project with Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas!

It seems like giving and reciprocity is foundational to everything you do. Yes. It’s the core of everything.

Learn more at santafecf.org/native

“A LOT OF BIG COMPANIES, WHEN THEY’RE BORROWING FROM A CULTURE, DON’T NECESSARILY ENGAGE THE CULTURE. SO IT’S MY MISSION THAT WHEN YOU BORROW SOMETHING FROM, SAY, THE COMANCHE CULTURE, YOU DO SOMETHING WITH THE COMANCHE CULTURE.”

With a Little Help From My Friends

WOMEN OF COLOR

LEAVE LEADERSHIP

ROLES MOST OFTEN

BECAUSE OF FEELINGS OF ISOLATION. THIS DIRECTOR OF GERARD’S HOUSE FOUND AN ANSWER.

NICOLE MAES-GONZALES’S early life was impacted by the death of her father, her mother, and her brother. As she says, “when you live in poverty and are a person of color, grief is a part of your life.” Which is why Nicole runs Gerard’s House, a Santa Fe nonprofit that provides grief support to children and adults.

Under her leadership, Gerard’s House recently received a 2022 Piñon Award from the Santa Fe Community Foundation, signifying nonprofit excellence. Yet, like many women of color, she found that the experience of running a nonprofit can be isolating. Nicole sought support through the Foundation’s Learning Hub, an educational space for nonprofit board and staff members. The Hub hosts dozens of workshops, classes, and learning circles each year through engaging programs like its New Mexico Women of Color Nonprofit Leadership Initiative, which Nicole joined. As she says, “I learned a lot, but I also made friends for a lifetime.”

How did you get involved with the Learning Hub?

When I was new to the nonprofit sector, I actively sought learning opportunities. I still do. I see the Santa Fe Community Foundation as a gathering place to grow skills as an Executive Director and learn about new funding opportunities. I’ve participated in their Learning Hub’s panel discussions, learning circles, and fundraising workshops — all are a great source of collective learning.

What’s the Women of Color Nonprofit Leadership Initiative program like?

It’s comprised of over 50 women of color who are leaders; it provides a space for these women to connect with one another. Working in the nonprofit space can be a little isolating, and this program enables women of color to learn together through classes, working groups, speaker series, and personal reflections.

The working groups were especially powerful for me. We divided into cohorts – smaller groups of women who sat together and focused on clarifying their goals, enhancing one another’s skills, and even learning strategies for self-care. Enhanced mentorship in the practice of professional development skill sets is also available.

My cohort was about 15 women. I still talk to my cohort members regularly – for support or just to run stuff by them. We became close during those workshops together, and these relationships? I see them lasting a lifetime.

I’m sure it’s hard to carve out time to do that, but it sounds incredibly valuable.

Building these connections and developing these skills was very healing. And I grew a lot. It’s just incredibly therapeutic to connect with other professional women of color – to share and validate the struggles that we face.

You’re the executive director of Gerard’s House?

Yes. I started volunteering there in 1997 and joined the staff around six years ago. Like many of our participants, I had lots of childhood grief, so I kept getting more and more involved. Being here has kind of turned my pain into purpose and healing.

I’ve had loss throughout my life. The first was my father, who died when I was four. My only brother died when I was 19, and then my mom died when I was in my 20s.

Fortunately, when my mom died, I had the resources to seek

“THE WORKING GROUPS WERE ESPECIALLY POWERFUL FOR ME. WE DIVIDED INTO SMALL GROUPS OF WOMEN WHO SAT TOGETHER AND FOCUSED ON CLARIFYING THEIR GOALS, ENHANCING ONE ANOTHER’S SKILLS, AND EVEN LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR SELF-CARE.”

counseling and grief support. But not having that as a child has really fueled my work here today.

In New Mexico, one in nine kids will grieve the death of a parent or a sibling before they’re 18. That’s second in the nation. I want to make sure those grieving kids are getting support.

Does the work ever get depressing?

Actually, for me, it’s really healing. I get to see kids heal. I get to see them build healthy grieving foundations that will last a lifetime; it has a ripple effect with them and their families.

I’ve noticed that since I’ve been here, I’ve been healing in community. It helps to talk about my story, just like I am to you today. I do that with lots of our families as well as my coworkers. There’s a huge stigma around seeking grief support in communities of color, so it’s powerful to talk about it.

We’re a children’s grieving center; however, we support anyone in our community who’s grieving. We provide support for homeless youth, assistance to teen parents and their children, and suicide prevention. This is peer support, so it’s really people getting together, talking, and supporting one another.

Building community seems incredibly important to you

Yes. At Gerard’s House, we’ve seen the benefit of customizing grief support to meet community need. We’ve learned how it fosters close relationships where our participants feel seen. I’ve also experienced first-hand the benefit of this approach at the Santa Fe Community Foundation. Women of color need spaces where we can simply be — and the Foundation’s Learning Hub provides a space. It’s meaningful to connect, clarify goals, enhance our skills, share knowledge, and form stronger relationships with our collaborative partners.

Learn

“IN NEW MEXICO, ONE IN NINE KIDS WILL GRIEVE THE DEATH OF A PARENT OR A SIBLING BEFORE THEY’RE 18. THAT’S SECOND IN THE NATION. I WANT TO MAKE SURE THOSE GRIEVING KIDS ARE GETTING SUPPORT.”

Helping Those Most Vulnerable

IN 2013, ALEX HANNA AND HIS HUSBAND YON HUDSON sued the Santa Fe County Clerk to be legally married. Soon after, he was introduced to the Santa Fe Community Foundation’s LGBTQ+ fund.

Alex runs an award-winning design firm that specializes in highquality print work, brand strategies, and marketing. He graduated from Yale University with a degree in art history. After teaching in Asia and on the East Coast, he moved to Santa Fe. He is the former chair of the Santa Fe Arts Commission and currently serves on the boards of Audubon Southwest and the Somos Unidos Foundation.

It was his branding work that led the Santa Fe Community Foundation to reach out to him when they needed help for one of their funds.

How did you get involved with the Envision Fund?

In 2013, my husband and I sued the Santa Fe County Clerk to get married. It was a pretty big deal. And we won the case!

I have a branding and graphic design business, and I was hired to work on the rebrand of what was then called the Lesbian and Gay Community Funding Partnership at the Santa Fe Community Foundation. This was founded in the 1990s, and it was one of the very earliest funds in the entire country to support LGBTQ+ causes.

We came up with this idea of the Envision Fund, a fund to be inclusive of all types of people. Then I thought, I have the gay

HOW THIS LGBTQ+ PIONEER HELPED PROPEL THE ENVISION FUND, NOW THE LARGEST IN NEW MEXICO

marriage victory, and I’m working on the branding for Envision –so it just made sense to join the Envision Fund committee!

Today, the Envision Fund is the largest LGBTQ+ statewide funder in New Mexico. Frankly, they do amazing work. The quality of talent working for the Envision Committee is hard to believe. The leadership, board, and volunteer members of the committee have all helped to grow the fund’s assets.

The team is a group of smart, engaged people who make really important decisions about how to fund organizations that are on the front lines of helping vulnerable people. The group is very, very thoughtful about how to make the most impact with the dollars they have.

The fund has a long history. What is it currently working on?

Some of the powerful stuff they’re doing includes ongoing support of transgender rights. We gave to and worked closely with the Transgender Research Center in Albuquerque, which does truly amazing work.

We also worked with a number of organizations helping queer youth, another vulnerable group. These kids have parents that don’t support them, and they often get kicked out of their houses and become homeless. In New Mexico – even though we’re a progressive state – there are a lot of very traditional, conservative families.

Throughout all of this, the passion of the people on the committee was incredibly inspiring.

You volunteer but also donate to the fund. Yes. I make a gift once a year. I’m not a rich person, but a little goes a long way – especially with the skillful management of the fund.

But if you can’t write a check, volunteer! Just show up to help! It’s amazing what you can accomplish.

And another thing: My husband and I recently did our estate planning. We don’t have kids, so we set up a legacy gift – a promised gift – for the Envision Fund. And, oh man, they were so excited and grateful for the donation. As they explained, these gifts are so important because it shows that the Community Foundation has a powerful commitment to driving significant change over a long period of time. It’s a commitment to help people over decades and decades.

It’s funny – when we won the gay marriage case all those years ago, I thought, We’re wrapping this up! Gay rights are here!

Well, of course, that’s not entirely true. We’ve still got a long way to go. There are a lot of vulnerable people out there, people who need the Envision Fund. And I’m proud to be part of it.

Learn more at santafecf.org/lgbtq

“WE ALSO WORKED WITH A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS HELPING QUEER YOUTH, ANOTHER VULNERABLE GROUP. THESE KIDS HAVE PARENTS THAT DON’T SUPPORT THEM, AND THEY OFTEN GET KICKED OUT OF THEIR HOUSES, AND BECOME HOMELESS.”

Dedicated to the health and vitality of our shared home

The Santa Fe Community Foundation inspires philanthropic generosity, strengthens nonprofits, and fosters positive change to build a more vibrant, healthy, and resilient region. Join our community as we work together to improve the quality of life for all across northern New Mexico.

OUR CAUSES

LGBTQ+

Early Childhood Education

Community Leadership

Native American NextGen Philanthropy

42 550+ $130+ 3,000+