Civic & Economic Opportunities Grant

The Santa Fe Community Foundation Community Grants program supports organizations serving communities in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, and Mora counties in New Mexico. For the spring competitive grant cycle, the foundation focuses on helping community members become aware of, engaged in, and involved in issues that affect them. The spring cycle also includes the Empower! Black Futures Community Fund, although that giving circle has its own funding guidelines and eligibility criteria. The Community Grants priorities described for the spring cycle include workforce development and job creation, support of hourly workers, open government, civic engagement, and social and economic justice. Supported strategies may involve direct services, policy advocacy, collaboration efforts, or combinations of these approaches. Priority work includes improving access to employment opportunities and economic advancement for low-income and other disadvantaged community members; providing career counseling, job training, and related programs that help low-wage earners advance their skills; encouraging residents to participate in leadership, policy, and funding decisions through workshops, public forums, and leadership training; and supporting public policy, civic engagement, community organizing, or public information activities intended to improve and strengthen the local economy. Applicants are instructed to review the Community Grants general guidelines before beginning the RFP process. Eligible applicants must be located in or serve people in Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, or Mora counties. Applicants must be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, be a public or governmental agency, be a federally recognized tribe in New Mexico, or have a fiscal sponsor. Organizations must be at least three years old and must employ staff and provide services without discrimination based on race, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation. An organization may submit only one Community Grant application per calendar year. Organizations that received a Community Grant from the foundation in the previous calendar year are not eligible to apply for a Community Grant in the current calendar year. Receipt of a donor advised grant in the previous year, without receipt of a Community Grant, does not prevent an otherwise qualified organization from applying. Community Grants provide general operating support using award levels based on the applicant organization's annual budget. Organizations with annual budgets up to $50,000 may apply for $5,000. Organizations with annual budgets from $50,001 through $150,000 may apply for $10,000. Organizations with annual budgets from $150,001 through $500,000 may apply for $15,000. Organizations with annual budgets of $500,001 or more may apply for $20,000. The provided information does not state a total amount available for the program, a number of anticipated awards, or a required matching or cost-share contribution. The 2026 spring Community Grants cycle opened February 9, 2026 and closed March 15, 2026. Applications are handled through the foundation's grantee portal, and applicants are directed to review the general Community Grants guidelines before beginning the RFP process. No separate letter of intent, concept paper, pre-proposal, or other pre-application gating requirement is identified in the provided material. The source also does not provide specific evaluation scoring criteria, a notification date, an award date, a performance period, or a named program contact with an email address or telephone number. The program operates through recurring competitive grant cycles. The source identifies both spring and fall grant cycles and states that only one Community Grant application may be submitted by an organization during a calendar year. An organization that applies during the spring Community Grant cycle cannot apply for a fall Community Grant during the same year, although it may remain eligible for other foundation funds. Based on the documented February 2026 opening of the spring cycle and the recurring cycle structure, the next spring cycle is anticipated in February 2027; an exact 2027 opening or closing date is not provided. Separately, Giving Together entries for the 2026-2027 catalog are being accepted as a standalone application during the fall grant cycle from July 13 through August 16, 2026.

Align the proposal with the stated result that community members are aware of, engaged in, and involved in issues that affect them. Emphasize direct service, policy advocacy, and/or collaboration tied to workforce development, hourly worker support, open government, civic engagement, or social and economic justice. Show how the work improves employment access or advancement, builds low-wage worker skills, increases resident participation in leadership and policy decisions, or strengthens the local economy through policy, organizing, civic engagement, or public information.