Southern NM invited to give generously in 2026 charitable campaign
For-profit and nonprofit business owners gather March 26, 2026, during a Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce Green Drinks event introducing Southern New Mexico Giving Day/Give Grandly events in Las Cruces and Silver City. (Photo by Elva K. Österreich/ SNMJC)
Southern New Mexico Giving Day dates
April 13: Pregiving begins
April 18: Give Grandly event in Silver City
April 24: Southern NM Giving Day (all day online) +Food Truck Giveback at CFSNM headquarters, 2640 El Paseo Rd., Las Cruces. Event features Family Dawg, Acai With Me, Yalla Falafel and The Drifting Drink
SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO – Two Southern New Mexico community foundations are joining forces for the first time on a major charitable campaign that spans 12 counties and benefits dozens of local causes, ranging from hunger relief and the arts to animal welfare.
The first phase of the campaign – pregiving – launched Monday, April 13. And a series of philanthropic festivities culminate in a 24-hour, online fundraising spree – Southern New Mexico Giving Day – on April 24.
Since 2014, the Gila Community Foundation in Silver City has been hosting its yearly “Give Grandly! Give Local!” fundraiser. Meanwhile, the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, based in Las Cruces, has hosted its Southern New Mexico Giving Day, described as “a regional day of giving designed to uplift local nonprofits and celebrate community.” The event is in its seventh year.
The yearly fundraiser takes on greater significance in an era that’s seen sharp declines in federal funding to nonprofits, as well as heightened demand for community support services, like hunger relief.
For the first time, according to Terra Winter, president and CEO of CFSNM, both foundations are partnering to host Giving Day.
Terra Winter, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, speaks about Southern New Mexico Giving Day at a March 26, 2026, Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce Green Drinks event, as chamber Director Carrie Hamblen looks on. This is the first year community foundations based in Las Cruces and Silver City have joined their major spring fundraising events, organizers say. (Photo by Elva K. Österreich/ SNMJC)
How does it work?
Dozens of nonprofits serving 12 counties – spanning from Eddy to Socorro to Hidalgo – sign up to showcase their work. And residents and businesses across the region select their favorite causes to donate to during the designated fundraising period that ends April 24. Nonprofits also have a chance for a portion of their fundraising to be matched by foundations.
Diana Ingalls Leyba of Silver City is an artist, gallery owner and director of the nonprofit Youth Mural Program, which operates under the umbrella of the GCF. The program, which equips youth to create works of art across the area, benefits in several ways from the fundraiser.
“Giving Day generates a lot of energy for the organizations and what they do,” she said. “It expands their reach because people are introduced to each other. We end up with kids who end up participating in the program because their parents brought them to the event.”
The Youth Mural Program started in 2003 as part of the arts council in Silver City. Leyba said it is funded through grants, by the community, and even non-monetary support.
“There is a piece of pie for everybody,” she said of Giving Day. “We (community nonprofits) don’t have to fight each other.”
Among nonprofits that will benefit from Southern New Mexico Giving Day is the Youth Mural Program in Silver City. One of the group’s first projects, seen here, was created in Penny Park in Silver City in 2012. (Photo by Elva K. Österreich/ SNMJC)
Online donations can be made to specific nonprofits from April 13 to 24 by visiting either organizations’ websites, givegrandly.org or southernnewmexicogivingday.org. Nonprofits that benefit run the gamut from education and healthcare to environmental conservation and the arts. Each has its mission highlights posted, allowing donors to direct their gifts to the causes that matter most to them.
Giving Day proceeds go directly to the nonprofits, and it is free for them to participate, Winter said. They just have to get the word out via social media, word of mouth or any other means they have at their disposal.
Some of the participating nonprofit organizations, like the Spay and Neuter Action Program in Doña Ana County, or SNAP, have additional match offers.
Join an in-person event
In 2025’s Give Grandly event, about 1,180 donors contributed $240,600 for nonprofits in southwest New Mexico, according to the GCF.
While online giving is a key part of the campaign, people can join in-person, too. The 13th annual Give Grandly community celebration runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at Gough Park in Silver City. Participating organizations host a fair with booths, games and information.
On Friday, April 24, CFSNM will host the Food Truck Giveback from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Residents are invited to attend.
“So, if you want some yummy food and drinks, please come by and hang out with us for that time period,” Winter said.
Amanda Morales, CEO of United Way of Southern New Mexico, shares statistics at a Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce event held at the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico headquarters in Las Cruces. Morales is a co-organizer for Southern New Mexico Giving Day, a charitable campaign that benefits nonprofits serving 12 counties in the southern part of the state. (Photo by Elva K. Österreich/ SNMJC)
Giving Day co-organizer Amanda Morales, CEO of United Way of Southern New Mexico, said there are 140 nonprofit organizations signed up to participate in Giving Day.
Among the many organizations are:
Casa de Peregrinos, an emergency food pantry based in Las Cruces
Potters' Guild of Las Cruces Empty Bowls, which supports hunger relief
Civil Air Patrol - SWR-NM-082 in Artesia
KURU 89.1 FM Community Radio in Silver City and KTAL-LP 101.5 FM Community Radio in Las Cruces
High Mountain Youth Project of Lincoln County, which combats youth homelessness
100% Otero in Alamogordo that supports families with food, health care and other services
Southern New Mexico Pride supporting LGBTQ communities
Forever Homes Animal Rescue in Alamogordo
Gila Valley Library serving the Cliff-Gila communities
Matthew 25 Food Pantry, Inc. in Truth or Consequences
Silver Chorale community choir in Silver City
The Spirit of Hidalgo, which supports families in the Bootheel region
The Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico and the Gila Community Foundation
Winter said on Friday, April 24, Southern New Mexico Giving Day is a 24-hour virtual event that invites individuals, families, businesses and community groups to “give where they live” by supporting nonprofits in their communities and across the region.
A total of 115 of the participating nonprofits will get dollar-for-dollar matches, up to $500, for any community donations they receive during Giving Day.
‘An incredible impact’
During a recent mixer held by the Las Cruces Green Chamber of Commerce at the CFSNM headquarters, chamber Director Carrie Hamblen said her organization has worked to support the foundation’s Giving Day because many chamber members’ nonprofits are participating.
“It's got a history and it's got an incredible impact,” she said of Giving Day.
Winter welcomed the Green Chamber participants to the Southern New Mexico offices. She said her group is committed to finding matches for those who participate in Southern New Mexico Giving Day.
“There will be lots of fun prizes, as well (as the $500 matches), and we just continue to grow,” she said. “We are now serving all 12 counties (in Southern New Mexico), including the six counties that Amanda Morales (of United Way) serves.”
Giving Day grows every year, Winter said.
“A lot of our nonprofits go out and get additional matches and raise money,” she said. “For a lot of the nonprofits, this is our biggest fundraiser of the year.”
Hamblen said the chamber helps promote the fundraising effort through Zoom chats with its members, hoping to spread the word through the community.
“We all have the same goal in that we want our nonprofits to succeed,” she said. “We know that locally owned businesses give back to local nonprofits 350 percent more than do national chains because local businesses are committed to the community they are involved in.”
Hamblen said the people at the Green Chamber are available to help nonprofits spread the word about their missions. Social media is a key way nowadays to do that.
“If you are getting donations from businesses, they are giving you advertising dollars so it is your job to promote them on your social media and wherever you can,” she said. “You can help each other by creating and nurturing those relationships.”
Ultimately, Giving Day is about building relationships within the communities that are served, Hamblen said.
Counties served by nonprofits participating in Southern NM Giving Day
Catron
Chaves
Doña Ana
Eddy
Grant
Hidalgo
Lea
Lincoln
Luna
Otero
Sierra
Socorro