The Three Rivers Education Foundation was established in 2008 to satisfy the need for an education leadership organization in Northwest New Mexico. The staff and advisory committee for the Educator Support Center (ESC) expressed their desire to create an organization that would qualify as a non-profit, which would allow the organization to begin fund raising and applying for federal and state grants as a separate entity from the various school districts that employed the staff of the ESC.
Original members of the Foundation were project directors, associated project personnel, and advisory members for a very large federal grant. As the number of grants managed under the Foundation umbrella grew, so did the number of people associated with the Foundation.
The Foundation provided an entity that allowed us to request the transfer of the federal Jemez Mountain Schools Transition to Teaching grant, for which Foundation staff members serve as project director and supporting personnel. The transfer of JMT2T to the foundation was completed as of January 1, 2011, and the fiscal and program responsibility was transferred to the Foundation for the remainder of the original grant award.
In 2010, the International Mentoring Association (IMA) requested the opportunity to operate under the auspices of the Foundation. The Foundation Board of Directors accepted the request and accepted the transfer of fiscal and programmatic responsibility effective January 1, 2011. Personnel from the Foundation serve as the IMA board president, one board member, and the executive director. The IMA received its own non-profit status in May 2012, and the Foundation board approved a motion to divest the Foundation of the IMA as of December 31, 2012.
In 2012, the Foundation was approved by the comptroller’s office in Texas to operate within that state, as well.
The Foundation continues developing and managing grant initiatives in collaboration with various school districts, community groups, and research and education organizations. Future plans for the foundation are to continue to develop and provide services to schools, colleges, local organizations, and others that require training, program development, and information that are allowed within the scope of non-profit organizations.
The Executive Director and staff have developed the a “service menu” to help school districts and staff members meet their needs for professional support. (Click here for more information on the service menu.)