WHO WE AREFoundation News

Winter 2023/2024

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Israeli Humor – Is It OK to Laugh?

Benji Lovitt, In–Person at the JCC, March 17, 10:30 AM – Noon

Visiting from Israel, Benji will explore Israeli resilience through the power of comedy, especially during challenging times.

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Fall 2023

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We Stand With Israel.

Israeli support gathering

Photo by Diane Joy Schmidt

On October 7th, the terrorist organization Hamas launched surprise attacks on southern Israel from Gaza. Terrorists killed more than 1,200 people, wounded thousands, kidnapped at least 250 children, women and men, and fired thousands of rockets and missiles at cities across Israel.

We mourn with Israeli families as they bury their loved ones who were murdered by Hamas terrorists. We pray for the well-being and immediate return of each victim held hostage in Gaza. We unequivocally condemn Hamas and its barbaric terror attack on Israel. The world must not stand idly by as terrorists infiltrate a sovereign country and brazenly target its civilians — young and old.

Our hearts break for all innocent victims of this tragedy.

We will continue to stand with Israel in the difficult days and months ahead.

We will continue to support the Jewish people in Israel and in the diaspora — including here in New Mexico.

May Israel, the Jewish people, and all of humanity know better days ahead.

Charitable organizations are at work supporting victims of terror, helping rebuild damaged infrastructure and addressing the unprecedented levels of trauma caused by this attack. If you would like to support this effort, consider these suggestions.

Learn more about the new Jewish Community Relations Coalition-New Mexico.

Spring/Summer 2023

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The Foundation makes over $120,700 in transition grants to organizations providing Jewish programming in central and northern New Mexico.

The Jewish Community Foundation of New Mexico Board approved grants to 15 organizations that applied for funding based on allocations awarded to them by the Jewish Federation of New Mexico (JFNM) in 2022. Due to JFNM’s dissolution in December 2022, the Foundation redirected assets to make the one-time transition grants to help support these organizations in 2023.

We would like to express our gratitude for the generous grant award bestowed upon our organization… The previous grants received from JFNM were truly valued, and we were pleasantly surprised to have your organization continue this support through the current grant. Once again, we extend our heartfelt thanks.

– Jewish Community Council of Northern New Mexico President

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Our community celebrates 5 years of LIFE & LEGACY.

BBYO boys with Erika

We appreciate our BBYO volunteers!

BBYO volunteers

From generation to generation.

Legacy donors buffet

Legacy donors enjoying the celebration.

The JCC courtyard was buzzing with 75 Jewish community legacy donors the morning of June 4th. Guests, serenaded by jazz piano tunes, kibbitzed and enjoyed a bagel & lox brunch catered by Rhubard & Elliott, cupcakes and Pop Fizz paletas.

The LIFE & LEGACY initiative is a partnership with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, our Jewish Community Foundation and Jewish organizations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos. The program, dedicated to Assuring Jewish Tomorrows by instilling a culture of legacy giving, already has generated over $775,000 in donations to organization endowment funds and approximately $6 million in future gift commitments.

We thank and recognize all our LIFE & LEGACY donors and appreciate our celebration sponsor SEI.

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Scholarships to 16 Jewish youth help support life changing Summer 2023 experiences.

Enjoying camp shabbat

Enjoying camp Shabbat

Fifteen young people from Albuquerque, Los Alamos and Santa Fe will be attending Jewish “sleep-away” camps with the support of scholarships from the Foundation’s Galit Mares Fund and Irving & Hertha Auerbach Fund for Jewish Identity. An Albuquerque teen received an Israel Experience scholarship to support participation in Ramah Israel Seminar.

Living in New Mexico, there isn’t a big Jewish population and being at camp I get to be somewhere I can be around a lot of Jewish people…I really enjoy getting to engage daily and weekly in Jewish practices like Shabbat, singing the blessings at meals. So, being at camp lets me deepen my connection to other Jewish teens and myself.

– Camp scholarship recipient