Call to Action
A personal message from the Executive
Director
Greetings! My name is Vincent Kaniatobe. I
am the Executive Director of “Where the
Water Cuts Through”, a 501 c 3, and
tax exempt, non-profit organization founded to improve
the quality of life of New Mexico residents. Our
organization was conceived and recently established by
an ad hoc group
of Native American elders who came together in their determination
to counteract the forces of poverty and spiritual neglect
that are increasingly threatening families and communities
all across New Mexico.
While established by Native Americans, the targeted beneficiaries
of our efforts are all ethnic,
socio-cultural and socio-economic groups in the State of
New Mexico.
Our mission, as Governor Bill Richardson
has remarked, is ambitious and challenging; it includes
a diverse but logically linked set of goals, such as promoting
positive behavioral health and improved family and domestic
relations, expanding the supply of affordable housing,
researching and evaluating innovative approaches to the
treatment and prevention of substance abuse, and identifying
new and enhanced economic and employment opportunities
for low-income residents of our State.
I know from past personal and professional
experience that securing the necessary capital to fund
operations and programs is a difficult fact of life for
a non-profit organization, and “Where the Water Cuts Through” poses no exception
to this rule. As the Executive Director of this young
and aspiring enterprise I am leading the effort to solicit
donations and support from any and all interested parties. This
letter is a formal request for financial support; however
I want all potential donors to be aware of four unwavering
principles that motivate our fund raising efforts and govern
our utilization of funds.
First, in keeping with the principles of the Philanthropy
Roundtable, we respect the dignity of those
we serve by recognizing the role that personal
responsibility must play in their lives.
Our donors should know that the ideal we preach and practice,
and the goal that is inherent in all of our programs
is to help people to help themselves. This
is not a trite expression to me or our founding Board
of Directors. It is in fact, the watchword of our
program planning and development, and it influences the
entire range of our advocacy efforts on behalf of our
clientele.
Second, we do not encourage continued dependency on our
programs; this is not our definition of progress.
Third, our insistence on and encouragement
of an ethic of personal responsibility lead naturally and
inevitably to an emphasis on employment and economic development. As
the Chairman of our Board has observed: the most obvious
cause of social dislocation is poverty, and the greatest
anti-poverty program is a job. Thus, we will always
attempt to use a good portion of the financial resources
at our disposal to support programs and activities that hold
out realistic prospects for gainful and sustained employment
for our program participants and beneficiaries.
Fourth and finally, we are prepared
to systematically evaluate every endeavor and program we
sponsor. We are committed
to monitoring and measuring, and carefully documenting the
performance and the results (outcomes) of all of our various
programs and the investments we make with funds entrusted
to us. The results of these evaluation efforts will
always be accessible and made available to current and prospective
donors.
As a visitor to our web site
I hope you will contact me to discuss in person and in
greater detail, how together we can advance the important
work of “Where
the Water Cuts Through”.
Sincerely, Vincente Kaniatobe
Federal Tax ID#20-5522343
