They say the number seven is lucky. And seven sure was the lucky number for the five nonprofit organizations chosen as recipients at the 7th annual Great Grant Giveaway sponsored by the Albuquerque Community Foundation. These community-based groups shared a record breaking $151,860.

The theme of this year’s event was Tapestry: A City Woven Together, which Foundation Board Chair Walter Stern eloquently explained as a fabric formed by weaving different threads together, much the way the Albuquerque community is made up of diverse people, businesses and ideas, all working together to form a beautiful, strong and resilient tapestry.

This year’s recipient organizations all work to innovate our entrepreneurial landscape and improve the Albuquerque International District, which represents the most ethnically diverse neighborhood in the city, with more than 40 languages spoken there. The organizations boost the housing, cultural and economic lives of International District residents.

The first surprise of the event was when each table participant tore open an envelope at their place setting. One of these envelopes contained a lucky golden ticket worth $5000 from PNM. The fortunate winner, Anne Nokes, chose Homewise from the five designated nonprofits to receive the grant.

Each table also contained a blank, rolled-up check, representing $500 from the table sponsor. Table mates deliberated and decided collectively which lucky nonprofit to fund. Throughout the event, the sound of distant hooves could be heard, too. Finally, the herd from Southwest Capital Bank stampeded into the Hotel Albuquerque ballroom, bringing with it the bank’s stuffed buffalo mascots. Attached to each mascot was a $100 check that each table designated to one of the five nonprofits – separate and above the $500!

Corporate sponsors and Foundation groups came to the podium and announced their own $5000 donations to their chosen organization. In another surprise, a new Giving Circle at the Foundation, Business Braggers, was introduced. This collective group of small business owners made an impact grant of $13,000 to one nonprofit!

In all the audience divvied up the grand, record total of $151,860 among these five organizations:

International District Economic Development Center, a co-located workspace for entrepreneurs and small-business owners living in the International District, received $40,825. The grant will help fund business development workshops, trainings, access to capital and marketing support, so that entrepreneurs can connect to one another and grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the International District.

Project Feed the Hood, an education, food and community gardening initiative, was granted $39,160. The program partners with International District schools and offers youth living in a food desert the opportunity to farm in school gardens, volunteer at a community garden near the Albuquerque Sunport and earn paid agricultural internships in the South Valley.

Artful Life is an arts and community organization dedicated to transforming neighborhoods through the beauty and power of collaborative art. It received $17,025 to continue their long-term arts and community development project that so far as involved over 200 community members and local artists in planning and coordination of public works.

Located at InnovateABQ, the Innovation Academy is designed for students to pursue their interests in innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship while completing traditional degree programs at UNM. Cornerstone programs include classes that help students understand business pitches and the Tech Navigator Challenge, an initiative that pairs students with professionals at the Airforce Research Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory. This group received $18,500.

Homewise addresses issues of foreclosed homes, vacant lots and a high homeless population. They received $36,350 to restore abandoned homes in the International District and sell them at an affordable rate to first-time home owners, provide financial literacy to help build equity and establish roots and mitigate the cycle of poverty while helping to revitalize a community.

Watch short videos of each of the five nonprofit organizations that moved the audience to fund them at abqcf.org.