March 3, 2025
ESPAÑOLA, NM — The Northern New Mexico Pathways to Opportunity Strategy Table is excited to announce a groundbreaking new initiative to support organizations serving young people in Northern New Mexico – The Northern New Mexico Youth Fund.
The first pooled fund of its kind in the region, the Youth Fund brings together philanthropic, state, tribal, and federal funding to support innovative Career Technical Education (CTE) and Work-Based Learning (WBL) projects for youth ages 13 to 29 so they have the connections, confidence, and opportunities they need to succeed. The Youth Fund will especially focus on supporting programs that serve Opportunity Youth, Native American youth and young adults, as well as young parents of young children and others facing systemic barriers.
“The sixteen Strategy Table members are excited to launch the Youth Fund,” said Alvin Warren, Vice President of Policy and Impact for the LANL Foundation, which serves as the backbone organization for the Strategy Table. “We’re grateful to all the stakeholders across Northern New Mexico who joined us to build it and committed to ensuring these efforts result in brighter futures for underserved young people across our region.”
The Youth Fund is being seeded with over $1 million in grants from 12 funders. This will enable between eight and 17 grants to be made this year ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 to support Career Technical Education and Work-Based Learning projects for underserved youth. The Youth Fund will also provide a single $100,000 grant to an organization selected to serve as a regional resource hub that will convene Youth Fund grantees as a cohort and help them build capacity and access public funds. The New Mexico Community Trust will administer the Fund and make the grants on behalf of the Strategy Table. The Strategy Table hopes to attract additional philanthropic contributions and leverage larger state, federal and tribal funds to expand the impact of the Fund in the coming years.
“The LANL Foundation and the Strategy Table are doing incredible work to uplift underserved youth in Northern New Mexico. The work addresses the needs of our communities and meets youth where they are, providing a direct impact. As a proud local Taoseño, I strongly support the partnership, which is essential for creating opportunities for our future generations in rural communities. This initiative is committed to ensuring that our Northern New Mexico communities are not overlooked,” said Youth Fund grant committee member Michael Santistevan, Public Relations Coordinator for Kit Carson Electric Cooperative and a member of the Youth Fund’s inaugural Grants Committee.
In addition to pooling resources, the Youth Fund aims to ease the process for grantees by providing a one-stop application, rather than requiring organizations to monitor and apply for this funding through multiple funders’ processes and cycles.
“We know that collaboration increases impact. We’re honored to serve as the fiscal agent for the Youth Fund. The Strategy Table has done a tremendous job bringing organizations together to create this innovative initiative. We’re excited to see how young people across Northern New Mexico will benefit and grow from increased access to education and training opportunities,” said Randy Royster, President and CEO of the New Mexico Community Trust.
Eligible grantees must operate in San Miguel, Mora, Taos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe, Los Alamos, or Sandoval counties, or within the 18 Pueblos, Tribes, and Nations in North Central New Mexico. Priority will be given to non-profit organizations, Tribal entities as well as middle and high schools, but local governments and higher education institutions may also apply for funding.
Grantees must incorporate youth leadership development and transition support into their proposed project.
The Youth Fund springs from three years of research, stakeholder engagement and planning by the Strategy Table, a joint initiative of 16 local, regional, and national funders. Current members include:
- The Anchorum Health Foundation
- The Annie E. Casey Foundation
- The Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions
- The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
- The Cricket Island Foundation
- The Davis New Mexico Scholarship
- The LANL Foundation
- The Las Vegas New Mexico Community Foundation
- The Los Alamos Community Foundation
- TRIAD National Security, LLC.
- The McCune Charitable Foundation
- The New Mexico Community Foundation
- The Santa Fe Community Foundation
- The Taos Community Foundation
- The Thornburg Foundation
- United Way of North Central New Mexico
The application process opens on Monday, March 3rd, with letters of inquiry due on March 21st and full applications due May 9th for applicants selected to move forward. A series of virtual question and answer sessions will be offered throughout the month for interested applicants.
For more information about the Northern New Mexico Youth Fund, application details, and upcoming Q&A sessions, please visit northernnmyouthfund.org.
For more information about the Strategy Table, please visit northernnmstrategytable.org.
