Representatives and guest from the New Mexico Student Success Coalition, which raised $57,465 Friday as part of Albuquerque Community Foundation’s Great Grant Giveaway. (Courtesy of Hyunju Blemel Photography)
An Albuquerque grantmaking organization smashed its own fundraising record Friday at its annual “Great Grant Giveaway” event, bringing in more than $200,000 to support four local nonprofit coalitions, according to a spokeswoman.
The Albuquerque Community Foundation event — which is in its ninth year — pulls in donations from corporate sponsors, individuals and other organizations to support selected nonprofit organizations doing important work in Albuquerque and elsewhere in the state, according Denise Nava Wyrick, the foundation’s marketing and communications director. The event set a record for giving last year at $160,000. This year, the event totaled $218,525.
“It was fantastic,” Nava Wyrick said.
While the event typically raises funds for individual nonprofits, Nava Wyrick said this year the foundation opted instead to raise money for several coalitions working collaboratively on broad social issues.
“Coalition work is so hard because you have so many people at the table,” she said. “… We wanted to highlight and uplift these coalitions because they’re looking at the root of the issues… to try to change systems.”
While a certain amount is guaranteed to each group before the event thanks to dedicated sponsorships, the luncheon also includes $500 “table grants” that allowed tables of 10 to listen to presentations from each organization and decide who should receive their table’s funding. Between those efforts, money from the foundation itself, and other day-of gifts given by people and organizations attending, the event raised the following:
— $57,465 for the New Mexico Student Success Coalition, which aims to improve education across the state.
— $55,895 for the Early Childhood Coalition, which aims to support families and young children experiencing housing insecurity and homelessness.
— $55,065 for Transgender Research and Narrative Study New Mexico, which advocates for language that’s accepting of transgender people.
— $50,100 for Color Theory, which aims to support marginalized entrepreneurs and their families in Albuquerque.
The event was held virtually last year and canceled altogether in 2020 because of the pandemic.
The largest single donation at the 2022 event was an $80,000 collaborative gift from Tom and Jan Daulton and their fund, the Daulton Family Fund; and Carl and Linda Alongi, and the Community Collaboration Fund.
For more information about the coalitions and the event, visit abqcf.org.
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