NMCT Professional Services Fund

The New Mexico Community Trust (NMCT) Professional Services Fund is a pilot initiative designed to help New Mexico nonprofits navigate significant disruptions caused by reductions, delays, or uncertainty in federal and other public funding. Rather than providing direct grant dollars, the Fund connects eligible organizations with fully funded professional consulting and technical assistance tailored to their most pressing organizational needs.

Participating organizations will have access to experienced consultants and subject matter experts who can provide support in areas such as strategic planning, financial modeling, fundraising and revenue diversification, communications, governance, legal guidance, organizational restructuring, and exploration of strategic partnerships or mergers. The goal is to help organizations make informed decisions, strengthen long-term sustainability, and continue serving New Mexico communities during a period of significant change.

Applicants will be asked to provide existing organizational and financial information along with several narrative responses describing how public funding disruptions have affected their organization, the strategic challenges they are facing, and how professional services could help them respond effectively.

What to Know

  • The Professional Services Fund is a one-year pilot initiative that may be expanded in the future as funding allows.

  • This is not a cash grant program. Selected organizations will receive fully funded access to professional consulting and technical assistance.

  • Eligible organizations:

    • Annual operating budgets under $5 million are eligible to apply

    • Any organization that has been impacted by loss of funding are eligible to apply

    • Serve communities in New Mexico

    • Primarily provide direct services

  • Organizations with operating reserves or endowments are not automatically excluded. Financial resources will be reviewed within the context of each organization's overall financial position and needs.

  • Services may be delivered through individual consulting engagements, office hours, workshops, specialized advisory services, or a combination of support models.

  • Consultants providing services will not participate in funding decisions and will be subject to conflict-of-interest policies.

What the Trust Seeks in a Selected Project

Applications will be reviewed holistically, with consideration given to:

  • Demonstrated impact of public funding disruption

  • Organizational stability and capacity

  • Readiness to engage with professional services

  • Potential for consulting support to strengthen organizational sustainability and community impact

View the application scoring rubric here.

If your organization is interested in professional services support but does not meet one or more eligibility requirements for the current Professional Services Fund application, please complete this short interest form. This helps us understand unmet need and plan future opportunities.

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Apply by September 15 @ 5:00pm MDT

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VIEW SCORING RUBRIC

  • Coffee Chats are opportunities for applicants to meet virtually with Community Impact staff regarding questions about the Professional Services Fund application process.

    Join via Zoom

  • 1. What counts as a reduction in public funding?

    Reductions are not limited to the loss of dollars. The loss of a significant tangible or noncash resource due to federal cuts also counts, such as a food bank losing access to a federal food supply. In these cases, estimating a dollar value for the resource lost is a useful way to represent the impact in the application. Applications may also include projected reductions that have not yet taken effect, such as anticipated Medicaid cuts, even where the precise impact is difficult to predict.  This includes situations where an organization currently exceeds an eligibility threshold (such as an operating budget size) but expects to fall below it due to a known, upcoming loss of funding, applicants in this situation are encouraged to apply and explain the anticipated change.

    2. What documentation of funding loss is required?

    There is no specific documentation requirement. Applicants are asked to describe the disruption in the narrative sections and may upload existing financial documents to support it. No additional proof is required.

    For losses that are anticipated but haven't hit the books yet, acceptable documentation includes budget forecasts, formal notice of a funding loss (e.g., a grant non-renewal letter), or a year-over-year revenue comparison (such as projected FY27 budget vs. FY26 year-to-date actuals) paired with a brief narrative explaining where the change is coming from.

    3. How are restricted funds and endowments treated?

    Financial resources are reviewed in context, including whether funds are restricted and how readily the organization can access them. An organization is not disqualified by holding reserves or an endowment it cannot draw on for operating needs.

    4. How are organizations matched with consultants?

    Selected organizations receive access to a roster of consultants and to the Nonprofit Secure platform. Information provided in the application is used to match each organization with consultants suited to the areas of support it identifies, such as fundraising or grant writing. Introductions are made along the way to confirm that the match is a good fit before an engagement begins.

    Confirmed qualifying service areas include grant writing, website design, and governance/board development (board education). Applicants aren't limited to the listed categories, the application includes space to describe additional needs, which the Trust will use to identify a suitable consultant or expert. Engagements can be in person or virtual; through the partnership with Nonprofit Secure, organizations also have access to a national network of consultants for expertise that may not be available locally. Once an engagement begins, the support period lasts one year.

    5. Is the Fund available statewide?

    Yes. The Fund is intended to reach organizations throughout New Mexico. Consultant availability is currently concentrated in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas, which may make it more difficult to identify a local consultant in rural communities. Virtual engagements are available, and the Trust is committed to building a system that works for organizations across the state.

    6. What is the application deadline?

    The application deadline has been extended to September 15, 2026. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with review beginning around the end of August and continuing into September as applications come in. Selected organizations can expect consultant engagements to begin around mid-to-late September.

    7. What if I'm not eligible right now?

    Organizations that aren't currently eligible are still encouraged to complete the short interest form on the Professional Services page (below the rubric). This helps the Trust track need across the state and reach out about support as it becomes available.