Deeply rooted in Northern New Mexico, the LANL Foundation was founded in 1997 to develop and support learning opportunities for our area’s children, youth and families. We form meaningful and productive collaborations with individuals, organizations and institutions to address educational challenges affecting our communities.
The LANL Foundation is committed to promoting racial and social equity in all our programs and grantmaking. Through a wide range of programming aimed at reaching the diverse communities within Northern New Mexico, we work toward our vision that all New Mexicans have the skills and confidence they need to become self-sufficient, lifelong learners.
Since we believe that the initial years of a child’s life are the most critical in shaping their future, we invest in early childhood education. Additional LANL Foundation programs serve school-age children so they continue to have the support and resources they need to help ensure future success.
As an organization committed to supporting families, strong leadership within our communities and culturally and linguistically appropriate practices, the LANL Foundation builds relationships, develops partnerships and leverages resources to grow our assets and advocate for effective policies that enhance and improve lives and communities.
Whom We Serve
LANL Foundation is a regional nonprofit that focuses on education as a means to enrich the lives and economic opportunities of residents of 18 Native American tribal nations and seven Northern New Mexico counties along the North Central Rio Grande River corridor.
Out of our home base in the Northern New Mexico city of Espanola, we serve babies and their families, students of all ages at a wide variety of educational institutions and adult learners throughout Rio Arriba, Los Alamos, Mora, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe and Taos counties. We also serve educators and community leaders, collaborating on innovative curriculum, outreach programs, and services to ignite opportunities that meet the express needs of individuals and communities in Northern New Mexico.
Based on our success in bringing everyone to the table and advocating for many, the LANL Foundation has an eye toward statewide service. In this way, we can have an even greater impact uplifting our state.
Our Theory of Change
Change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Change is often ignited, and in the case of the Foundation, with the goal of better outcomes. Here is our theory:
Caring and capable adults cultivate equitable, relevant, and vibrant learning opportunities that nurture whole child development and strong pathways to college, careers, and community involvement, which lead to thriving New Mexico communities.
Our Commitment
As a learning organization, the LANL Foundation is committed to listen to the communities we serve and to promote racial and social equity in all of our programs and grantmaking. We know that public education plays a unique and powerful role in shaping the trajectories of all communities, especially communities of color—either positively by expanding opportunities or adversely by perpetuating racial disparities.
Through our strategic focus, we will continue to work as an organization to recognize our own biases and privileges and to see the impact that race, poverty, class, language, historical trauma, oppression, and other differences have on our work and our society. We will also encourage this work in other organizations and in our community. Our grantmaking and new program development will continue with the urgency to address these issues.
Our Mission
Our mission is to inspire excellence in education and learning in Northern New Mexico through innovative programming, collaboration and advocacy.
Our Vision
Our vision is that all New Mexicans have the skills and confidence they need to be self-sufficient, lifelong learners who are engaged in their community.
Our Guiding Principles
We believe the earliest years of a child’s life are the most critical in shaping their future, learning happens on a continuum, prenatal through adulthood.
We believe strongly in equity and are committed to promoting programs, policies, and practices to ensure all children and families are seen, heard, and responded to in culturally and linguistically responsive ways and support their social and emotional well-being. We work to honor and respect each family’s individuality, culture, language, and family heritage in our initiatives.
We listen to our communities. We adapt and adjust our actions to support their needs, cultivating and investing in strategic partnerships with others who share our vision and are committed to achieving it.
We believe leadership matters. We work to support strong leaders in our communities, including tribal, educational and family, and in organizations supporting learners of all ages.
Because learning is social, cultural, emotional, and academic, we recognize and support the important role of families and communities in a child’s well-being and development. In schools, we believe we can support children and students best by working to grow and support teachers and other education leaders.
In communities, we work to develop relationships and support non-profits to widen and deepen the work we do in supporting learning opportunities for children in school and beyond.
We put special focus on strengthening the capacities of rural districts and of tribal and pueblo communities to support children and families.
As a learning organization, we use culturally and linguistically responsive best practices grounded in data, research, storytelling, program design, and evaluation to understand effective practices, support our partners in aligned work, and disseminate what we learn to the larger New Mexico and national audiences
We will continue to build relationships, develop partnerships, and leverage our resources to grow our assets and advocate for policies for our children, families and communities.
Our Core Values
- Equal Opportunity – Every child should have access, equity, and excellence in education.
- Openness – Our organization and grantmaking processes are fair and open to the public.
- Diversity – We reflect the diversity of Northern New Mexico in every aspect of our organization.
- Partnership – We partner with others to achieve success. We respect the integrity and knowledge of local communities.
- Accountability – We are accountable to the communities we serve and the people of New Mexico.
- Integrity – We strive to be fair, honest, and trustworthy in all that we do.
Donate Today
Your tax-deductible donation to the LANL Foundation supports programs that inspire excellence in education and life-long learning in Northern New Mexico through innovative programming, collaboration and advocacy.
