Isora Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Isora Foundation supports community-based organizations working in the areas of education, global development and health, economic opportunity, immigrants’ rights and mental health.
IP TAKE: According to its funding priorities statement, the Isora Foundation focuses on “well developed and sustainable strategies” for supporting underserved communities and marginalized people. A collaborative and supportive funder, Isora also “recognizes that building relationships with its grantee partners is critical to achieving community change goals.” Grantmaking is concentrated in Minnesota and New Mexico, where the foundation has given to many small- and medium sized community groups.
This funder takes a proactive approach to its grantmaking and does not accept unsolicited proposals. Isora does, however, place strong emphasis on collaborations, so working with a past or existing grantee is one way to get on the foundation’s radar.
PROFILE: Founded in 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Isora Foundation is committed to supporting “organizations working to improve conditions within their communities in the areas of health; economic development; environmental action and social justice.” This funder does not name specific geographical priorities, but the states of New Mexico, Minnesota, New York and California appear to be areas of interest.
Grants for Education
Education has been the Isora Foundation’s largest area of giving in recent years. The foundation does not name specific goals for its education grantmaking, but vocational education, higher education and out-of-school learning opportunities appear to be areas of interest.
Past grants have supported the Fred Wells Tennis and Education Center in St. Paul, Minnesota; the Minneapolis Community and Technical College Foundation; the University of Minnesota and the Bridges Project for Education, which provides tutoring and college application counseling to students in the area of Taos, New Mexico.
Grants for Global Development and Health
The Isora Foundation has demonstrated an interest in human rights organizations, although it does not name specific priorities in this area. Grantees include Encuentro, an organization based at the University of Southern California that supports the rights of migrant workers in the Americas, and the Face to Face AIDS Project which works to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS in Cambodia and Malawi.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
Isora’s grantmaking for economic opportunity focuses on creating opportunity in marginalized communities across the U.S. In Minneapolis, the foundation has given to the Association for Black Economic Power, which aims to create equitable financial services for residents of North Minneapolis. Another grantee, Albuquerque’s Southwest Creation Collaborative is a social enterprise that creates manufacturing jobs and provides college readiness programs for women in low-income communities.
Grants for Immigrants and Refugees
The Isora Foundation has supported community organizations working with immigrants and refugees in the state of New Mexico. In Albuquerque, the foundation has given to Ethos Literacy, which helps members of the immigrant community develop proficiency in spoken and written English. Another grantee, Enlace Communitario, offers services to victims of domestic and sexual violence in the Latinx immigrant communities of Central New Mexico. Other grantees serving immigrant communities include Albuquerque’s La Plaza de Encuentra, the Santa Fe Dreamers Project and Somos un Pueblo Unido, which aims to end discrimination and injustice against immigrants in New Mexico.
Grants for Mental Health
Isora’s grantmaking for mental health appears to prioritize services for marginalized people and communities. Its recent grantees include the Santa Fe chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Trevor Project and New York City’s Community Access, Inc., which runs a psychiatric crisis respite center and a mental health film festival in New York City.
Important Grant Details:
The Isora Foundation made $370,000 in grants in a recent year, with an average grant size of about $15,000. This funder tends to support community-based organizations that provide direct services to marginalized and underserved people. Grantmaking is concentrated in New Mexico, Minnesota, New York and California, although not strictly limited to these states. For additional information about Isora’s past grantmaking, see the foundation’s partner profiles page.
The Isora Foundation accepts applications for funding by invitation only. Interested grantseekers may contact the foundation’s administrator, Kerrie Blevins, via email or telephone at 612-328-9924
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