United Way of North Central New Mexico (UWNCNM) recently funded three-year grants in Santa Fe County, an investment in community totaling $1.8 million. In a new initiative, Resilient Communities, United Way is partnering with local organizations that seek to improve community self-reliance. The funded projects will contribute to solving specific challenges that neighborhoods and communities face.

Bienvenidos Outreach, Earth Care New Mexico, Mother Nature Center, Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute, Santa Fe Indigenous Center and Three Sisters Collective/Full Circle Farms will each receive $300,000 over three years to support program growth and explore alternative economies.

Rodney Prunty, United Way of North Central New Mexico President and CEO, said, “United Way and its partners are focused on building new systems that increase community economic autonomy. The Resilient Communities projects enlist Santa Feans who experience these challenges firsthand in identifying and enacting the solutions to neighborhood concerns.”

An advisory council of Santa Fe residents selected the grantees following the principles of trust-based philanthropy. One council volunteer, Aurora Martinez, lives in the Triangle District in Santa Fe’s midtown. A community activist concerned about economic disparities in traditional neighborhoods, Martinez said, “Participating on United Way’s Community Advisory Council opened my eyes about how communities can come together around shared solutions. While each neighborhood has its own micro-culture, partnering with United Way connects them all to share in building a pathway to resilience.”

Bienvenidos Food Pantry will use its grant to provide in-home growing towers for a group of housed clients, with training on how to cultivate herbs and vegetables and care for the towers. As the program grows, participants will have the opportunity to sell their excess produce at the Bienvenidos Farmers’ Market held in Eldorado on Fridays from late May through early October.

“We have the opportunity to really impact the lives of our clients for the better,” said Susan Tarver, Bienvenidos executive director. “We believe, from grandparents to parents to children, this program will have a profound effect on how we care for everyone in our community.”

The Santa Fe Indigenous Center provides resources and support for native people who reside in the Santa Fe area, sometimes very far away from their ancestral homes. In addition to classes in traditional arts, the

Indigenous Center offers emergency financial assistance, food distribution and cultural events. With the three-year funding commitment from United Way, the Indigenous center will increase its class offerings and offer job-placement services.

Three Sisters Collective co-founder, Dr. Christina Castro, noted that this funding will support educational programming led by local indigenous knowledge keepers, college students and community leaders. Castro said, “United Way’s support will also enable us to expand production at our community garden, Full Circle Farm, resulting in more healthy produce for the community.”