2022
FY Annual Report
Our Mission
To help save lives by removing barriers and providing needed support to Northern New Mexicans with cancer seeking medical treatment in Santa Fe.
Read More About the 2022 Fiscal Year Annual Report
“You have cancer.” Few words have the power to change a life in the blink of an eye like those three small words.
When you add the surprise and fear of hearing those words to the barriers faced by many of the Northern New Mexicans we serve, you can imagine that some patients consider giving up before they begin.
When a tank of gas to get to Santa Fe, a place to spend the night, or the simple dignity of feeding one’s family becomes one more seemingly insurmountable task, the resulting indecision can be paralyzing and frequently devastating.
Recently, a head and neck cancer patient faced what the rest of us can hardly imagine. Living in Guadalupita, he had no one in his family who could afford to buy gas to drive him to and from treatment. The Cancer Foundation stepped in and began providing mileage reimbursements so that his nephew would be able to drive this cherished uncle to Santa Fe to access treatment.
Your help continues to provide life-critical patient services to people like this man. For twenty years, the Foundation has been helping other patients in similar situations, in many instances saving lives, and all due to generous donors like you!
In the past twelve months, the Cancer Foundation supported 1,021 nights of lodging and more than 300 support group participants. With your help, we reimbursed more than 375,000 miles for treatment and provided more than 1,500 grocery cards. The ripple effect of your support has, over the years, impacted tens of thousands of patients, family members, and friends – sometimes even entire communities.
You may never meet any of these folks or hear their names. But please know that every one of them is aware that someone out there cares for them. Most importantly, they know that they aren’t in this fight for their life alone. You are there with them through the Cancer Foundation for New Mexico.
Please help us help those who have heard the words “You have cancer,” the folks who need us by their side right now. It’s that urgent and that important.
With gratitude always,
Bunny Terry, Board Chair
Vince Baca, Executive Director
Their Stories
“The grocery cards to Albertsons will be a great help in the coming week; it takes the burden of concern off our shoulders so we can focus on cancer treatment. God bless you and your efforts.” — Ricardo
“There were times when my husband and I didn’t have the money for gas to get home from treatment in Santa Fe for my breast cancer. With the gas money that the Cancer Foundation provided, we were able to make ends meet for ourselves and our three boys.” — Blueflower
10/10 Visionary Fund Campaign
Although patient demand and program costs increase every year, we are committed to our promise that no qualified cancer patient will ever be turned away from our life-critical services. To plan for the future the 10/10 Visionary Fund Campaign was launched in 2015 to raise $10 million in 10 years for a permanently restricted endowment. The fully funded permanently restricted endowment will generate ongoing income to cover our operating costs, thus allowing all other fundraising to be earmarked for needed patient services – travel reimbursement, overnight lodging, nutritious groceries, caring support groups and more. We have made good progress. However, there is more work to do, and we hope we can count on you to help us reach this goal with your cash and/or Planned Gift.
What Our Donors Supported in the Past 12 Months
352
Patient & Caregiver Support Groups
379,641
Travel Miles Reimbursed
1,021
Lodging Nights
1,542
Grocery Cards
Donor Funds Make An Impact
To start and complete treatment is the first step to survival for a cancer patient. Working with our donors we help to save the lives of our neighbors here in northern New Mexico. Patients are able to begin their cancer treatment confident that they will be supported until their treatment is completed. It is with the financial contributions of our generous donors that we have been able to keep our promise: no patient who qualifies for our services will ever be turned away.