Brindle Foundation

OVERVIEW: The Brindle Foundation mostly supports early childhood causes in New Mexico. It occasionally awards broader grants, as well as small technical assistance and capacity building grants.

FUNDING AREAS: Early childhood

IP TAKE:  Although Brindle is a small family funder, it is well connected in the realm of early childhood funding. It is affiliated with many powerful groups and is all about supporting New Mexico.

PROFILE: Established in 2002, the Brindle Foundation is a small family foundation based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The sole focus of this foundation is early childhood care and education. The foundation carries on the philanthropic legacy of Martha Ann Healy; Brindle was the name of a former family dog. The foundation is a successor to the M.A. Healy Family Foundation and has been operating for over 15 years. The early childhood focus came in 2005.

The foundation invests in babies because it believes this is a way to impact social justice, economic development, and other issues for the future. Children from the prenatal stage to age three are the focus here. Through the Early Opportunities Initiative, the foundation has supported between 14 and 31 organizations annually in past years. This initiative has comprised around 89 percent of the foundation’s grant funds in the past. Books for Babies New Mexico, a program Brindle created, gives a book and reading information to every baby born in Santa Fe. Brindle established the Santa Fe Baby Fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation in 2012. Although early childhood is the big focus with this funder, it does occasionally support other areas and goals, including the natural environment, animal welfare, children and youth more broadly, creativity, human rights, human services, and health.

Grants are typically between $5,000 and $30,000 per year, with first-time awards rarely exceeding $15,000. See a list of past grantees by year on the funder’s grants page. Most grantmaking stays within the state of New Mexico. The foundation considers challenge, matching, project and operating grants, and multi-year awards. It also strongly encourages collaborative efforts between multiple organizations. Through the Brindle Fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation, Brindle also provides small technical assistance and capacity building grants. Quite a few of these are typically awarded each year.  Check the Grant Guidelines page for the most up-to-date information on the current grants process.

The foundation shares it grantmaking calendar each year, and in the past, the application portal to submit new grant proposals has opened in July. Applications are typically due in September, and grants are announced in November. Direct general questions to the staff at info@brindlefoundation.org or 505-986-3983.

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