McCune Charitable Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The McCune Charitable Foundation is exclusive to the state of New Mexico and focuses on economic development, capacity building in the nonprofit sector, and innovation in education, opportunities in health care, community engagement, arts, natural resources, the local food industry, rural development, and urban planning.
FUNDING AREAS: Economic development, food industry development, early childhood education, urban planning, rural environments, natural resources, arts and culture
IP TAKE: The foundation looks for programs that create crucial links, such as linking the local food industry to healthcare and linking arts and culture activities to economic progress.
PROFILE: Established in 1989, the McCune Charitable Foundation is the foundation of Marshall L. McCune. McCune was born to a banker and an oil company heiress in Pittsburgh in 1908. After serving in World War II and traveling in the West and Southwest, he settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is where he met his wife, Perrine C. Dixon McCune, a New Orleans native, and they became significant figures in the artistic and cultural life of Santa Fe. As quiet and humble philanthropists, the McCunes were the principal supporters of the Santa Fe Opera, the Maternal and Child Health Center, the School of American Research, the Santa Fe Boys and Girls Club, and other charitable causes. The foundation is “dedicated to enriching the health, education, environment, cultural, and spiritual life of New Mexicans.” Grantmaking areas of interest are economic development, capacity building in the nonprofit sector, and innovation in education, opportunities in health care, arts, community engagement, natural resources, the local food industry, rural development, and urban planning.
Nonprofit capacity building grants towards leadership and organizational development. Economic grants go towards fostering entrepreneurship and driving growth in family assets. Meanwhile, education grants are focused on early childhood development for New Mexico children’s first few years of life. The funder’s health program revolves around affordable care, its local food industry program involves obesity and nutrition, and art grants focus on community engagement. The foundation supports programs that improve natural resources, support good urban planning practices, and support rural areas of New Mexico.
Grants from this foundation typically range between $5,000 and $25,000, with the average grant about $15,000. The Santa Fe-based foundation gives out about $5 million each year to organizations based in New Mexico. View lists of past grantees by year on the funder’s website. Overall, grantmaking is focused on the state of New Mexico.
The foundation accepts unsolicited grant requests from local nonprofits. In the past, the deadline for all applications has occurred in mid-September. Direct general questions to the foundation staff at 505-983-8300 or by email at mccune@nmmccune.org.
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