Justin Kii Huenemann
Justin Kii Huenemann, the new president and CEO of the New Mexico Foundation, says the organization faces unique challenges and opportunities as the only statewide community foundation in New Mexico.
Among the many things I found interesting from my conversation last week with Justin Kii Huenemann, the new CEO and president of the New Mexico Foundation, was his description of community foundations as “a privileged environment within a privileged sector.”
Huenemann was referring to the role community foundations play within the nonprofit arena, noting how insular that world can be. The nonprofit community certainly isn’t alone in facing that issue, as the same can be said of any one of a number of fields — politics, government, academia and, of course, media, to name a few.
But Huenemann also was making the point that organizations like his have an obligation — actually, a primary obligation — to serve the public good.
“You have to work two times as hard not to let that get to your head,” he said of the New Mexico Foundation’s role in helping steer public policy and establish priorities. “You have to keep in the forefront of your mind your role is to be of service to the people of New Mexico.”
While Huenemann may have been speaking within the context of the comparatively lighter presence the New Mexico Foundation has in Southern New Mexico compared to El Norte, and how he wants to change that, his point is well taken. Any organization that purports to serve the public good has a responsibility to reach outside its comfort zone, both in terms of collecting input and deciding how it wishes to focus its attention and resources.
Huenemann also had an interesting take on how the New Mexico Foundation could better serve all the people of the state, indicating he plans to spend some time examining his organization’s procedures and making sure the foundation isn’t discouraging potential community partners with burdensome or intimidating reporting requirements.
“Our most important job is not creating barriers,” he said.