2020 Grant Recipients
Tags: Covid 19, Health, Grantmaking, Philanthropy, New Mexico

Con Alma Health Foundation is distributing 38 grants totaling $465,000 to further our goal of achieving health equity, when everyone has equal opportunities to be healthy. In addition to our annual grants, Con Alma awarded $1.3 million in COVID-19 relief grants to nonprofits serving people devastated by the pandemic.

We distributed 79 COVID-19 relief grants in partnership with W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as well as other New Mexico and national funders. In addition to the grant awards to nonprofits, Con Alma is collaborating with the New Mexico Health Equity Partnership, an initiative at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, to collaborate with others working on COVID-19 recovery efforts. For a description of all grants, visit https://conalma.org/2020-grant-recipients/.

“This has been an extraordinary year in which people have suffered financial and emotional losses, and we wanted to provide additional support for people who have limited opportunities to live healthy lives,” said Dolores E. Roybal, Con Alma’s executive director.

With $20,000 in COVID-19 funding, Mandy’s Farm increased wages and health-care benefits for their employees during the current public health crisis. Mandy’s Farm provides in-home caregiving services to individuals in Bernalillo County with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“The support provided increased wages to individuals and families who were hit hardest by the pandemic and who continued to report to work each day,” said Jessie Calero, development director at Mandy’s Farm. “We are incredibly grateful for Con Alma’s willingness to fund this area of need, and that they understand the value of our caregivers and the work they provide to the community.”

Con Alma’s annual grants support policies, education and care, and promote such causes as environmental health, supportive housing, prevention programs, health-care workforce and social and health equity. Grants target populations across New Mexico that are underserved, including Native and rural communities, uninsured patients, at-risk youth, LGBTQ+ individuals and people who have disabilities.

The New Mexico Social Justice Equity Institute plans to use its $16,000 grant to support hiring a part-time social media coordinator. “This critical role will increase awareness of the Institute’s health equity and social justice community planning and policy change implementation,” said Anna Rondon, director of the New Mexico Social Justice Equity Institute.

Black Health New Mexico launched a virtual learning series in response to COVID-19 and the need to center Black voices, expertise and lived experienced throughout the pandemic and related culture shifts. The series is a place for Black people and allies to learn together on a variety of health topics led by Black, Indigenous or People of Color experts, according to Sunshine Muse, executive director of Black Health New Mexico.

“Con Alma’s award contributes to maintaining this essential platform throughout the pandemic,” Muse said.

Nonprofits receiving grants serve people statewide and specifically in Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Lincoln, Los Alamos, Luna, McKinley, Mora, Otero, Rio Arriba, San Juan, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Sierra, Taos, and Torrance counties.

Con Alma awarded grants through four different grant cycles this year, including $150,000 through a partnership between Con Alma and the Hospital Auxiliary for the Los Alamos Medical Center, called the Northern New Mexico Health Grants Group. Nonprofits receiving grants serve people in Los Alamos, Rio Arriba and northern Santa Fe counties

Con Alma holds annual receptions to honor grant recipients. Due to the pandemic, the health foundation will recognize nonprofits receiving grants through a print and social media campaign.

“It was important to pivot this year to keep everyone safe and still honor nonprofits that are diligent in their work to improve health in New Mexico,” Roybal said.

We congratulate all the 2020 Grant recipients!

Follow the links below to learn more about this year’s grantees from each category.

COVID-19 Emergency Assistance Project, To provide humanitarian aid to help some of the families and communities feeling the greatest strain under the COVID-19 health emergency (37 grants, totaling $770,000)

COVID-19 Relief for Immigrant Communities, Establishing and management of the COVID-19 Relief for Immigrant Communities in New Mexico Fund, to provide direct assistance to New Mexicans who are immigrants and create awareness about the structural barriers to their well-being (42 grants, totaling $622,000).

Northern New Mexico Health Grants Group, Promoting the health and wellness of the people of Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, and northern Santa Fe counties through a partnership between the Con Alma Health Foundation and the Hospital Auxiliary for Los Alamos Medical Center (13 grants, totaling $150,000)

Technical Assistance Grants, Strengthening the capacity of New Mexico’s nonprofit sector (10 grants, totaling $115,000)

General Operating and Project Grants, Supporting health systems strategies to address the needs of our diverse communities (16 grants, totaling $200,000)

Whether through the Foundation’s grantmaking, partnerships, research or reports, Con Alma serves as a catalyst for positive, systemic change. The emphasis of our grantmaking is on attaining long-term policy solutions and health equity that is informed by community voices.