History

Founded in 1987 by a group of pediatricians, New Mexico Voices for Children (NM Voices) is a progressive, nonpartisan, statewide advocacy organization. We work to create systems-level sustainable change that will improve the lives of New Mexico’s children. To accomplish our mission, we work with state and national lawmakers and officials to shape and implement public policies that are supportive of children and working families.

Because we believe in evidence–based advocacy, we conduct rigorous research and data analysis. NM Voices is the only nonprofit child advocacy organization in the state examining tax and budget policy issues specific to the needs of the poor. (Learn more about our work here.)

In 2007, in commemoration of our 20th anniversary, we released our vision for the next 20 years: the New Mexico Children’s Charter.

How Advocacy Impacts Kids and Families

In 2010, one of our major funders, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, created videos about some of their grantees as part of their annual report. The video about us explains what we do and how it impacts real children and families. Watch the short, informative video here.

In 2008, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) released a report in that takes an in-depth look at 14 New Mexico nonprofits, including NM Voices. The report concludes that every dollar invested in advocacy work like ours reaps more than $157 in benefits to the state’s most vulnerable children and families. Among those benefits cited are the reforms to unemployment insurance, the raise in the minimum wage, and the creation of the working families tax credit. Download the report Strengthening Democracy, Increasing Opportunities (58 pages; pdf).

What We Believe

We believe that we are all in this together—that everyone does better when everyone does better. Government is the way we accomplish goals collectively that we could not tackle as individuals. We believe government should seek to instill equality not just as regards our rights and liberties, but in our access to opportunities as well.

Our work is guided by four core values:

• Healthy Communities Affordable health care, quality education, and safe neighborhoods for all
• Economic Justice Fair and responsible tax and budget policies; economic opportunity for all
• Human Rights Equality is not limited by one’s race, ethnicity, gender, religion, disability, or sexual orientation; human dignity for all
• Civic Participation Our collective and individual voices matter

Our Definition of Family

We all come from families. Families are big, small, extended, nuclear, multi–generational, with one parent, two parents or grandparents. We live under one roof or many. A family can be as temporary as weeks, as permanent as forever. We become part of a family by birth, adoption, marriage, or from a desire for mutual support. As family members, we nurture, protect and influence each other. A family is a culture unto itself, with different values and unique ways of realizing its dreams; together, our families become the source of our rich cultural and spiritual diversity. Each family has strengths and qualities that flow from individual members and from the family as a unit. Our families create neighborhoods, communities, states, and nations.

Funding Sources

Most of our work is supported by private funding from foundations and people like you. Please consider adding your voice to ours by donating now.