United Way of Central New Mexico (UWCNM) and the Albuquerque Community Foundation (ACF) have joined to form the DEI United Fund to support, promote and advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion practices in the four counties each organization serves. Initial funding has been provided by PNM, UWCNM and ACF.

The Fund will support activities that foster change leading to more equitable, racially just and sustainable solutions for systemic change. A centerpiece of the Fund will be a series of Community Conversations to help inform how philanthropy can better contribute to race equity and social justice solutions. These conversations provide a place where people in the community can come together to talk about their aspirations, concerns and how they want their community to move forward. The series will be held over a number of months.

Additional activities conducted by the two organizations will be rooted in community and will include training, educational support, and funding for a range of practices. Training would be offered to community leaders and decision-makers across sectors to strengthen their actions to embed equitable practices in their organizations.

Our organizations will be focused on building a community in which all can participate in creating equitable social transformation,” said Rodney Prunty, President and CEO of United Way of Central New Mexico. “While we had already made commitments to building diverse, equitable and inclusive practices in our organizations, we see the need to conduct this work more broadly in our community.”

Both UWCNM and ACF have developed on-going diversity efforts for their staff and Board. UWCNM has a DEI Committee that is hosting staff focus groups and an “Equity Learning Group.” ACF has a DEI Committee comprised of its Board of Trustees, community members and staff.

We encourage our foundation peers across New Mexico to consider ways we can become anti-racist organizations and examine how the institution of philanthropy contributes to inequitable systems, and as a result, examine what we need to do to change,” said Randy Royster, President and CEO of Albuquerque Community Foundation.

Our team will continue to center and strengthen DEI work holistically and intentionally throughout our organization,” said Marisa Magallanez, Advancement Director and DEI Liaison for Albuquerque Community Foundation. Delma Madrigal, UWCNM’s Director of Collective Impact for Mission: Families, is co-chair of UWCNM’s DEI Committee. “We are eager to hear from communities affected by social inequity and to support changes to our practices as a result,” she said.