Many Questa locals know the LOR Foundation as a funder and sponsor that provides grants to projects and events that benefit the community. But that’s just the start of our work. At LOR we strive to help Questa locals however we can. Community officer Maria Gonzalez and the LOR team can assist residents and local groups as they prepare their grant applications. Looking for state, federal, or other sources of funding? Starting a nonprofit? We can help you with those efforts too. But there’s one particularly meaningful way we can support the community beyond money: connections.
Gonzalez regularly meets with Questa locals who have valuable, innovative ideas. For these residents, finding others willing and able to support their projects is half the battle. It was at an entrepreneurship breakfast that one local journalist shared the idea for creating a Questa women’s networking group. After some discussion, Gonzalez connected her with a member of 100% Taos County, an initiative that aims to ensure families have access to essential services like medical care and housing. The connection led to the launch of the Questa “Women of Impact” networking group, which held its first meeting on June 12. With more than 30 women in attendance, the meeting was a resounding success. And now, with a grant from LOR, Women of Impact will be hosting bimonthly networking events so that women throughout Questa can find support, build connections, and grow professionally.
“We’re in the business of funding community projects, but we’re also in the business of creating connections,” Gonzalez says. “We want residents with great ideas to be able to share them and find other people who will help them champion those ideas.”
Collaboration is central to LOR’s work in Questa. Earlier this year, staff with the village contacted Gonzalez to share their concerns about beavers along the Red River. Dams had created growing marshlands that were causing erosion and posed a risk to the village’s wastewater treatment plant. Gonzalez already had a working relationship with staff at Trout Unlimited, and she knew that the group had dealt with beaver problems on the Rio Costilla and Chama rivers. So she put the two in touch. A partnership formed, and a plan quickly emerged to address the problem. With a grant from LOR, Trout Unlimited and the village are working with a team of volunteers to break up the dams, install “Beaver Deceivers,” and restore proper flow to the river.
“Connections often lead to collaboration and collaboration makes our community stronger,” Gonzalez says. “When we work together, we can get a lot done.”
When talking with Gonzalez, residents continue to point to housing as one of Questa’s most pressing challenges. Affordable housing rarely has one-person solutions; it’s solved when neighbors connect with neighbors, when skills meet needs, and when ideas find the right collaborators. Do you have an idea that would make housing more affordable or accessible for Questa residents? Share your solution with Gonzalez at maria@lorfoundation.org or (575) 665-2001 to learn how LOR can help. Sometimes all it takes is one person willing to start the conversation that brings the right people together to make a difference.
LOR works with rural communities in the Mountain West to enhance livability and prosperity while preserving the character that makes each community unique.
