Recently the Gila Community Foundation, in partnership with the Southline Community Investment Program, announced the recipients of the Southline Spring 2026 Grant Awards from more than 40 applicants across Doña Ana, Grant, Hidalgo, and Luna counties. Scott Brocato spoke with Jamie Sechrist, Executive Director of the Gila Community Foundation, to learn more about the foundation and the recent grant recipients.
Scott Brocato:
So Jamie, before we talk about the Gila Community Foundation, can you tell me what a community foundation is and what are some its key features?
Jamie Sechrist:
A community foundation is really a philanthropic hub, so to speak. They can be state, regional, or even just by community, right? Depends on the need or what philanthropic activities happen within that community. And they can be there for community projects to provide the umbrella of a 501c3 status for a community project. We have tax deductible donations. We can be there for donors to hold donor advised funds that are able to grant money out to the local community and even nationally when required and to run granting programs and make sure we can get much needed dollars out into our regions or local areas that we serve.
Scott Brocato:
Talk about the Gila Community Foundation specifically and what you do as the Executive Director.
Jamie Sechrist:
At the Gila Community Foundation, we do everything that I just explained and more. As the Executive Director, I am kind of the jack of all trades, master of none. We run very lean and mean and we work very hard to work with our community with their needs, make sure that we can get dollars into their pockets to start making a change in our rural and frontier areas. Community foundations and nonprofits, they tend to fill the gap where government and state or even businesses cannot impact.
Scott Brocato:
Tell us about the foundation's partnership with the Southline Community Investment Program Advisory Committee and the spring 2026 Southline grant cycle.
Jamie Sechrist:
So the Gila Community Foundation was asked to partner up with Southline late in 2025 to help them with their community investment funds. And the idea behind it was to have the local community choose where those investment dollars go. So we started a grant cycle for the counties of Grant, Luna, Hidalgo, and Doña Ana. And the idea behind it is that we have an advisory board that was set up with at least two members from each county to evaluate, review, and to ultimately award those community investment dollars out.
Scott Brocato:
More than 40 nonprofits, government agencies, and community organizations from the four counties you just mentioned applied this year for grants. Who determines the grant recipients?
Jamie Sechrist:
Actually, it's an open cycle. Anybody is able to apply. Southline is the one that provided what areas that they'd like to impact, and it's pretty much anything that helps to better and improve our communities. So they made it open for governments and municipalities for things like if you need emergency gear or those types of things, or down to schools, sometimes you need some money to be able to do an athletics program, just to try to supplement all of those little areas and to try to impact as much of our rural communities as we could.
Scott Brocato:
Well, let's talk about who the recipients were, who were awarded this year. You mentioned the four counties. Let's start with Grant (County).
Jamie Sechrist:
In Grant County, we had great organizations like the Future Forge, Literacy Link Leamos, Silver High School for Athletics, Silver City Outreach, and WNMU Cultural Affairs, just to name a couple.
Scott Brocato:
And in Dona Ana County?
Jamie Sechrist:
In Dona Ana, we had Families and Youth Innovation, Dona Ana Village Association, Cruces Creatives, and Action Programs for Animals, just to name a few of those.
Scott Brocato:
Good organizations. And Hidalgo County?
Jamie Sechrist:
For Hidalgo County, the only one that helped Hidalgo County that received funding was La Casa, and they also serve Luna County as well.
Scott Brocato:
Any others in Luna County?
Jamie Sechrist:
In Luna County, we had Deming Main Street, the County of Luna, and the Deming Luna Humane Society, and Play Sharity Museum, to name a few of those organizations.
Scott Brocato:
And finally, what other opportunities are ahead for 2026?
Jamie Sechrist:
So we do have another cycle that will be opening up in the late fall of 2026. The same, basically everyone is open to apply. We do encourage people to make sure that they're compliant with the IRS, the Secretary of State, and the Attorney General before they apply. Other than that, our application cycles are open. To get more information, they can go to our website at gilacf.org and sign up for our newsletters. That's the fastest way to know that our grant is getting ready to go live.
Scott Brocato:
Jamie Sechrist, Executive Director of the Hela Community Foundation. Thanks for talking with KRWG Public Media.
Jamie Sechrist:
You're welcome. Thank you.
