What the Jonathan And Kathleen Altman Foundation Supports in New Mexico

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The city of Santa Fe is a prominent center of grantmaking in New Mexico, with locally focused foundations that include a community foundation, corporate funders and private philanthropies. One of the private foundations operating in Santa Fe is the Jonathan And Kathleen Altman Foundation, which can be a challenging funder to get to know because of its limited transparency and online presence.

Here’s what we know about the Jonathan And Kathleen Altman Foundation to inform New Mexico nonprofits about approaching this funder for a grant.

Top funding interests

The Altman Foundation does not have a website or publicize its grantmaking. Therefore, the best way to gain insights about the funder’s grantmaking is to review recent tax records.

Program funding areas include arts and culture, education, the environment, health, diseases and disorders, food and agriculture, and spiritual development. Spirituality is important to the Altman family — Jonathan Altman was a founder of the Lama Foundation, which is a spiritual community, retreat center and educational facility near the town of Taos, New Mexico. However, most Altman Foundation grants are secular in nature and address the interests of Altman family members. The environment in New Mexico is a particularly strong interest area.

Here is a sampling of recent New Mexico grantees:

• Rio Grande Water Fund

• Punching Out Parkinson’s Santa Fe

• New Mexico Wilderness Alliance

• NM Appleseed

• New Mexico School for the Arts

• Santa Fe Conservation Trust

• New Mexico PBS

Typical Altman grantmaking

The Altman Foundation has been supporting nonprofits in New Mexico and beyond since 2000. The foundation typically awards grants of between $1,000 and $100,000. Total annual giving has been nearly $1.5 million in recent years. Although the Altman Foundation primarily supports New Mexico groups, it also funds organizations based in other parts of the country.

Here are some examples of Altman’s non-New Mexico grantees:

• Oceana – Washington, DC

• Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance – Salt Lake City, Utah

• International Rescue Committee – New York City, New York

• Rainforest Action Network – San Francisco, California

• San Francisco Zen Center – San Francisco, California

Unsolicited applications unwelcome

Unfortunately for local grantseekers — even ones in the Santa Fe area — the Altman Foundation is not open to unsolicited funding requests. Tax filings indicate that it only funds preselected organizations and does not provide any clear way for grantseekers to apply for funding. Jonathan Altman and Rafael Altman serve as the foundation’s two directors, and there are no paid staff members or other trustees. Kathleen Altman has been deceased for many years.

Read more about this funder and access contact information for general inquiries in IP’s full profile of the Jonathan And Kathleen Altman Foundation. You can learn about additional foundations focused on the area in our New Mexico grants guide.