Foundation kicks off effort to raise $1M to increase giving

RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho Community Foundation is looking to grow, therefore increasing the help it can give to local nonprofits.

On Thursday, the foundation held a Heart of the Community kickoff celebration, announcing its goal of raising $1 million in five years. The foundation’s current endowment fund is above $160,000 — and is capable of providing more in annual grants — but the goal of increasing the endowment will allow an additional $50,000 or more in interest for nonprofit grants, according to literature provided at the event.

Rio Rancho Community Foundation Board President Carey Plant gave an explanation of the endowment and how it works.

“The Community Foundation’s endowment fund is a dedicated financial resource aimed at supporting the long-term growth and sustainability of local charitable initiatives established to ensure ongoing funding for community programs,” she said. “The endowment fund is built for generous contributions from individuals, businesses and organizations by maintaining and investing the principal amount. The fund generates income that is distributed to various nonprofit organizations and community projects within Rio Rancho and Sandoval County. This approach ensures a perpetual source of income to local nonprofits to help them thrive and expand.”

“This foundation has done so much for the community,” said board vice president Gordon Moore, who also explained why now is the time to expand the fund’s endowment and giving capability.

“Rio Rancho has grown over the years,” he said. “The city is growing, and the needs and the demands and the requirements for this in the community from this organization are only going to grow. There’s always going to be people within a community who are going to need some help, and there are so many great nonprofits working in Rio Rancho and in Sandoval County that help people that are genuinely in need.”

Typically, the endowment allows for $35,000 in grants annually but if it reaches its five-year goal, he said that would increase to $50,000 or more annually. He said with the endowment currently at $160,000, that means “just over $800,000 needs to be raised in the next five years.”

The most visible way the foundation currently raises money is during the annual Mayor’s Gala.

“I think we can easily get up over $120,000 and set a new record and at the same time really, really meet the needs of the nonprofits that are served by Rio Rancho Community Foundation,” Mayor Gregg Hull said. “If it wasn’t for the generous giving and support from all the sponsors and all the individuals that buy tickets, we would not be able to do the work that all these nonprofits do in our community.”

“In the last 10 years, we’ve raised over $388,000 for local nonprofits, but we’re hitting an asymptotic limit on how much we can do through the Mayor’s Gala,” Moore said. “That’s done very well for us over the years, and it’s grown, but it only grows so much.”

It will be able to grow even more this year. While in prior years the capacity for the gala has been 340 attendees, this year’s event, to be held at Sandia Resort and Casino, will be able to host 500 attendees. But the foundation wants to do more.

“What we need now is greater outreach and a greater commitment,” Moore said.

That’s what Thursday night was about — getting the word out about what the foundation is, what it does for the community and its latest goal.

Additionally, it was a chance to put ideas out into the community — and receive them — on different ways the foundation might be able to reach its $1 million goal.

Some of the ideas were payroll deduction giving programs, legacy giving on life insurance policies, round-up programs at local retailers and QR codes for giving in promotional ads or newsletters. Community members in attendance suggested that some businesses might be better suited to donate labor and materials to a project rather than direct cash. Others were concerned about the foundation’s visibility in the community and the importance of getting the word about the foundation and its work out to the public.

That could include ads on social media, mailers, newsletters, media partnerships, participation in community events and more.

Board director Kim Smith acknowledged that. “It’s just that our communities, our employers, our residents don’t know that the foundation exists,” she said. “They think of Rio Rancho as having an annual Mayor’s Gala, which is really cool and we all have a good time. But the foundation has an endowment. That is what will allow people to be served.”

“You guys are the boots on the ground, meeting the needs of everyday Rio Rancho citizens and making Rio Rancho the greatest community in the state, bar none,” Hull said.

“What we need is willing, generous participation, and people are willing to give it. All you have to do is ask,” Moore said. “Look for creative ways. We’re not going to tell you how; all we’re asking is that you try to put in the effort and make this incentive. This is not too much to ask of a community of 125,000 people. This is one of the most prosperous communities in the Southwest. We have a lot going for us, and it’s because of the initiatives that we engage in within this organization.”

For more information, visit rioranchocommunityfoundation.com.