Engaging Conversations: 30-Minute Phone Calls with Grantees Yield “Magic” for McCune Executive Director

In late 2021, Executive Director Carla Romero initiated a series of conversations with grantee partners. Director of Grantmaking and Community Inclusion Ernesto Torres interviewed Carla about how the experience is going, and what’s next.   Ernesto:  Within philanthropy, there are many practices that fall within the framework of community engagement, as well as a range of purposes that drive these efforts. …

Native American Recovery Fund Zone Grant – Spring 2022 Update

In a blog post late last year, we mentioned that the next iteration of our “zone grant” activity would be focused on the Native American Recovery Fund at the New Mexico Foundation. In the intervening months, the collaborating funders and partners have made a lot of progress in pooling funds, selecting grantees and making initial awards. The majority of the …

A Learning Journey

In 2021, the team at the McCune Charitable Foundation set off on a journey with a cohort of grantee partners and an external evaluator to explore what meaningful, equitable, and actionable learning and evaluation could look like.  This journey was inspired by both internal self-reflection on the Foundation’s grant-making practices and conversations with grantee partners and others who are curious …

An Announcement from the Board of the McCune Charitable Foundation

Carla Romero, Executive Director of the McCune Charitable Foundation The Board of the McCune Charitable Foundation is proud to announce that Carla Romero has accepted the position of Executive Director effective August 1, 2021. Carla served in the role of Administrative Director since January 2012 and most recently as the Interim Executive Director upon the departure of Ms. Wendy Lewis. The Board made this selection based …

New Mexico Collaborative Zone Grant September 2021 Update

The “New Mexico Collaborative Zone Grant” (“Zone Grant”) is a unique grant structure that provides an opportunity for collaborations and organizations to apply for flexible funding from multiple local and national foundations to develop, prove, and support innovative responses to New Mexico’s challenges. In the past, the Zone Grant has included a one-year planning grant followed by the potential for …

McCune Charitable Foundation: Open Application Cycle for 2022 Funding

Whew, what a year it’s been! We hope the past 12 – 18 months have brought some unexpected positive developments and learning your way. Our team continues on our learning journey and, indeed, have learned some valuable lessons in spite of (or perhaps because of) the public health crisis. We have found ways to streamline some of our processes. We …

Thoughts On Collaboration From Henry Rael

Since the adoption of our current strategic plan in 2019, the McCune Foundation has remained committed to investing a meaningful portion of its resources in collaborative funding with other Foundations. We remain focused on opportunities that: a) follow the lead of the community; b) support collaborative work with flexible, multiyear, unrestricted funding; and c) support the development of structures that …

A Warm Hello From Carla Romero!

Dear Friends and Partners, Welcome to our new website. The new site comes at a time of great change in our world and at the Foundation. It was bittersweet to say goodbye to Wendy Lewis, our former Executive Director, as she stepped down after over ten years as our leader. We wish her well as she sets off on her …

An Announcement from Wendy Lewis

Dear Partners and Stakeholders, With a mix of both excitement and sadness, I want to share some news with you: In April of this year, I notified our Board of Directors that I would be stepping down as Executive Director of the McCune Foundation as of August 31, 2020. It has been an honor to serve as McCune’s ED and …

New Mexico Collaborative Zone Grant

The “New Mexico Collaborative Zone Grant” (“Zone Grant”) is an opportunity for collaborations of organizations and other entities to apply together for flexible funding from multiple local and national foundations to develop, prove, and support innovative responses to New Mexico’s challenges that extend beyond the mission of any single organization. In the past, the Zone Grant has included  a one-year …