Dear Partnership for Community Action Family,

Power is the word centered in our reflections on this past year of impact. The completion of the Social Enterprise Center, new models of economic equity, and extraordinary policy wins defined our 365 days of relational work alongside community.

A transformational and healing model for economic development catalyzed our work in economic equity. The South Valley Social Enterprise Center opened its doors in June 2022 and has been the core of tremendous connection and movement building. Community leaders gathered as change agents and outlined and defined systems-level change to support thriving New Mexico families. Not only has the Center been a hub for our community, it is a replicable model for community-led economic development nationwide.

We uplifted a number of community-centered priorities in 2022. Access to capital and inclusive economic mobility models shaped a collaborative guaranteed basic income pilot and reinforced our commitment to building power through policy change. We continued our work to dismantle inequitable systems collectively by securing and distributing over $35M in direct cash transfers specifically for families excluded from traditional COVID relief funding. This work shapes our continued commitment to long-term investment in New Mexico children and families via access to capital and generational wealth building.

We celebrated a VOTE YES for New Mexico children! After over a decade of community action, New Mexico voters overwhelmingly approved the expansion of the Permanent School Fund supporting quality early childhood education in our state. This monumental legislation is projected to have an impact across generations. While this work was an incredible success, the work is not over. We will continue to organize and work to shape an inclusive allocation of dollars that supports the providers, families, and children who made this policy win possible.

In year 32 of our operations, we have not stopped listening, adapting, and responding. We extend our deepest thanks for your support in 2022. Here’s to another year of community-centered, power-building work.

Juntos Venceremos, Together We Rise

Social enterprises are defined as revenue-generating models with a mis­sion. These enterprises align prof­its and busi­ness prac­tices to impact soci­etal needs and exist to serve the com­mon good.*

June 2022 marked the official opening of the PCA South Valley Social Enterprise Center. This community-led alternative economic development project has flourished since the doors opened. Not only is the space home to Partnership for Community, other partners include Southwest Creations Collaborative, a cut sew manufacturing social enterprise, and Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, a national nonprofit partner building a better future through parent leadership. Additional Center partners include the risograph print studio Risolana and the New Mexico Environmental Law Center.

Visits from Lawmakers

Senator Martin Heinrich

During the year, Representatives from the Office of Senator Martin Heinrich visited the Social Enterprise Center to learn about this community-driven alternative economic development model. Representatives also engaged in dialogue with community leaders, sharing ways to connect and partner with the Congressional delegation in support of New Mexico families and communities.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham

Organized by the NM Vote Yes for Kids Campaign, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and New Mexico lawmakers visited the Center to rally for a Vote Yes for Constitutional Amendment 1. The event was a representation of movement building as an essential part of policy change.

Economic Equity

Access to capital remains a critical community issue. Supporting advocacy and policies to build wealth remains central to our work alongside community. We have prioritized a number of partnerships and projects in order to expand economic relief and support women entrepreneurs of color. This year, we have:

Economic Relief Working Group

The reporting year 2022 marked investment of over $35M in cash transfers to New Mexico families. In collaboration with El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, NM CAFé, NM Voices for Children, Future Focused Education, the Leadership Institute, and Somos Un Pueblo Unido, the economic relief working group (ERWG) reached over $30M in direct cash assistance for New Mexico families!

Guaranteed basic income models continue to shape economic equity organizing and policy nationwide. In March 2022, the ERWG launched a Guarantee Basic Income pilot. The program engages over 300 households across 13 New Mexico counties, and is an example of the power of grassroots organizing advancing solutions rooted in community voice.

Nusenda Co-op Capital

Building a more equitable, inclusionary economy includes connecting individuals, families, and entrepreneurs to affordable capital. We've partnered with Nusenda Credit Union on their Co-op Capital Lending Program. To date, PCA has:

Policy Change

We work alongside community to build power and acknowledge community experience and voice as foundational to policy change. This year, we worked on and supported a number of different policy measures to expand funding for early childhood education, build economic prosperity, and support the health and well-being of families.

Vote Yes for Kids

After over a decade of community organizing and advocacy New Mexico responded with a resounding vote YES for our children! A powerful movement supported by an ecosystem of leaders and advocates, this monumental step forward expands investment in education by $250M. Along with leaders from New Mexico Voices for Children, NM CAFé, Semilla Strategies, CHI St. Joseph’s Children, Olé New Mexico, the New Mexico Asian Family Center, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, the Center for Civic Policy, the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, and MANY others, we shared the importance of voting YES for our children. Combined, here is what we accomplished:

Stats from the Vote Yes for Kids campaign:**

Among the PCA community, over 35 leaders volunteered. They facilitated several collaborative events and led door-knocking initiatives, ultimately reaching over 11,000 households!

The Vote Yes for Kids provides:

Child Care

Accelerator Program

THE Business Accelerator is a partnership with Growing Up New Mexico and WESST. The program is an innovative child care business accelerator focused on expanding quality home-based child care in New Mexico. Cohort leaders receive valuable training, access to experts, plus individualized coaching to support the provision of high-quality child care and the running of a successful business. Incentives are also paid to graduates of the program to help support their business operations and growth.

In 2022, THE Business Accelerator consisted of 53 participants. The providers reported having less debt, higher revenue, and lower expenses as a result of the content learned in the series of sessions. In the first cohort:

Center for American Progress Report

Our work to build a more inclusionary child care system was also featured in a Center for American Progress Report. Partnership for Community Action leaders participated in the community discussions that informed this report on how federal investments can expand access to child care and support the child care workforce.

CTAN in Partnership with UPLAN

Additional efforts to provide greater access to and support for child care included a collaboration with the Children Thrive Action Network (CTAN) and advocacy partner the United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN). PCA team member Evelyn Ramos facilitated a listening session with 11 parents about their concerns for their children and families. Some of the concerns brought up included access to family resources, their perspective on policies, and the effects that their immigration status has on their everyday life.

Community Planning

City of Albuquerque Planning Department

To better gauge community needs and priorities, PCA partnered with the City of Albuquerque Planning Department. We hosted a community meeting to inform the Long Range Team to prepare for the Community Planning Area Priorities in the South West Mesa and South Valley Community.

Supporting Young Leaders and Public Health

Future Focused Education and Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors Young Parents Cohort

Young Parents are a community that contribute to local policy solutions and engagement in tremendous ways. To support the centering of this essential community of leaders, PCA deepened a collaboration with long-time partners Future Focused Education and Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors to support two young parent cohorts, where a total of 24 leaders built upon their parenting and professional development experience. In partnership with UPLAN, PCA engaged an additional 10 young parents in a similar internship program.

The collaborations hosted a group internship that focused on early childhood development, parent advocacy, and leadership development. Interns were trained on the Abriendo Puertas evidence-based curriculum, and the participants in the Future Focused Education internship worked directly with a peer coach from Future Focused Education. These low pressure, scaffolded experiences for young parents built foundational work-based skills and highlighted the importance of creating spaces for young parents to rise as leaders, centering opportunities for their voices, which are critical for them to experience economic mobility.

Our work with young parents continues in 2023 with support from a new grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Generation Justice: Leaders for Change

Positive youth development is essential for building the next generation of leaders. Partnership for Community Action, along with Equality New Mexico, Learning Action Buffet, Moving Arts Española, and community leaders, partnered with Generation Justice on their Leaders for Change Fellowship. The program brings fellows aged 14–24 years together with community organizations through the lens of positive youth development.

The youth leaders are partnered with a community-based organization and work on topic-based projects specific to the social priorities within their communities. The organizers offer peer-to-peer learning, mentoring, and critical analysis of the landscape and opportunities for systems change. The young leaders build advocacy skills and forge new professional connections while analyzing power structures and dynamics—with their voices at the center.

Throughout the summer, the young leaders focused on the 2022 program priorities: shifting the narrative around public health, including the importance of COVID-19 vaccines, and dispelling misinformation about the virus.

COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics

While we continue to wade through the effects of the pandemic, Partnership for Community Action worked to keep our communities safe and healthy by hosting a COVID-19 and flu vaccine clinic. With funding from the New Mexico Department of Health’s Better Together Coalition and in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico and Presbyterian Health Services, we hosted a vaccine clinic in December 2022.

Help us continue having a strong community impact by supporting our work. You can find a full list of donation options on our website.

* The Annie E. Casey Foundation. “What Is a Social Enterprise?” The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 10 Dec. 2020, https://www.aecf.org/blog/what-is-a-social-enterprise#:~:text=Common%20characteristics%20of%20a%20social,and%20for%2Dprofit%20business%20structures

** Vote Yes For Kids. “IT’S OFFICIAL. #ConstitutionalAmendement1passed in this year’s ballot!” Facebook, 9 Nov 2022, 8:00 am, https://www.facebook.com/voteyesforkidsnm/posts/pfbid0AoXQ57Lp5w8beBBxge9xBr6pCLR9iMxYAsFHZCPkKqe45EXy2JTbo1YHuMtgop8Ul. 26 Jan 2023.