Your Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico invites you to join us for a magical evening of coming together to celebrate at the 2024 Spirit of Giving Gala! This annual celebration brings together individuals and organizations who are committed to making a positive impact across Southern New Mexico. One of the most unique and exciting aspects of the Spirit of Giving Gala is the incorporation of Alebrijes. The mystical alebrijes date back to Mexico in 1936 when they were first dreamed up by the artist, Pedro Linares. Alebrijes have become symbols of hope, dreams, and transformation. These intricately designed creatures are not only beautiful works of art but also serve as a reminder of the transformation that can take place when we come together to give back to the community. The Spirit of Giving Gala, with its focus on philanthropy and community, truly embodies the spirit of giving!

The evening begins with a beautiful welcome of music and dance that leads to our cocktail hour! Guests are then offered a complimentary signature drink as they are guided into our Casino Room. In the Casino Room, attendees can enjoy games like blackjack, craps, and Texas hold’em, all in fun to support our 48 nonprofit endowment partners! During cocktail hour, guests may also bid on items in our silent auction, preview one-of-a-kind experiences up for bid in our live auction, and explore the Spirit of Giving pop-ups and photo booths. Following dinner, guests may continue their night playing games, having fun making magical memories, and continue to bid in the silent auction until it closes at 9:30 pm, with the night ending at 11:00 pm.

When you purchase a ticket or make a contribution to our Gala, know that you are furthering the important work that your Community Foundation is doing to better serve, connect and support the lives of those who call Southern New Mexico home, including our 48 non-profit partners. We can’t wait to celebrate with you in the spirit of giving! Together, we can make amazing things happen in Southern New Mexico!

Casino Room to Support Non-Profit Partners

Have fun while making an impact! Each guest is given a bag of poker chips to use throughout the evening to play casino games. Each game is run by representatives from our non-profit partners so guests have the opportunity to learn from our nonprofit partners about some of the vital work being done in our community. When a guest is done collecting all their poker chip earnings, they will place their poker chips into our non-profit partner buckets of their choice. We will have 48 buckets, one for each of our non-profit partners. At the end of the night, the buckets with the least and most amount of poker chips will be eligible to apply for our CFSNM gala grant.

Gala grant(s) values and how many grantees will be awarded is dependent on our overall gala proceeds.

Charitable Contributions

All gala contributions will benefit our mission-based operations, allowing CFSNM to better serve, connect and support the lives in our region, while continuing collaborations with our 48 non-profit partners. Every gala contribution directly aids the funds available to award gala grant(s) to our non-profit partners and further their organizational efforts in Southern New Mexico. During our gala program, guests will also be provided the opportunity to contribute to our CFSNM Impact Funds. These funds harness the power of collective action to catalyze meaningful change in strengthening Southern New Mexico. Your attendance and contributions will make a significant impact in our communities.

All gala contributions are eligible tax gift receipt purposes–values vary per contribution