FAQs
What is a Community Foundation?
Community foundations help build and strengthen community and bring together people and organizations that want to make a difference in the world. They are tax-exempt public charities that guide philanthropy and are dedicated to improving the quality of life in the areas they serve.
What is the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico?
Your Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico (CFSNM) serves as a vehicle for people of all means to make a lasting impact on quality of life in our region now and in the future. Our organization is supported by a broad base of individuals, families, corporations, and institutions connected by the desire to improve southern New Mexico. We manage over 300 endowments, including 47 non-profit organizational endowments in southern New Mexico, and are home to over 35 scholarships and three annual grant cycles. As a center for charitable giving we support the arts, feed the hungry, expand literacy, improve health, and support countless other meaningful causes in the ten counties we serve, which include: Catron, Chaves, Doña Ana, Hidalgo, Otero, Sierra, Socorro, Grant, Lincoln & Luna.
What is an endowment?
Most simply, an endowment is a fund whose contributions are not expendable; only the earnings on those contributions are available to support tax-exempt organizations or charitable purposes.
What is the minimum balance to begin an endowment?
Endowments require a minimum of $15,000 to open. Donor-advised funds require a minimum of $10,000 to open. Once the fund is open, gifts of any size given by any individual are accepted.