Dear Appleseed Friends,

I have spent my entire career as an architect and business leader trying to make New Mexico a better place to live, raise a family, work and have a business. New Mexico, in many regards, is truly the Land of Enchantment. We have it all here: weather, authentic culture, natural resources, national labs, great research universities—however, New Mexico continues to stagnate as states around us are thriving.

So much of what holds us back in our state is that the desperate levels of poverty and suffering have been waived off as unsolvable “problems." These “problems” can only be resolved through strategic, aggressive, targeted action. We need entrepreneurial thinking and people whose commitment to families and children is unwavering—and that is what the Board and staff of New Mexico Appleseed are laser-focused on. Appleseed’s work is solution and action-oriented, using data to connect the dots and then challenging the status quo to innovate in finding creative “solutions” through public policy, coordination of services and cooperation of providers. If you are like me, you want your philanthropic dollars to make a dramatic difference in people’s lives and our community.

I am asking you to join me in making as big a gift as you can, so that New Mexico Appleseed can continue to impact the lives of our fellow New Mexicans who are most in need.

Sincerely,

Dale R. Dekker
Chair, Board of Directors