This February, the LOR Foundation is inviting Questa residents to share ideas for projects that could improve life in their community and rewarding participation along the way.

As part of the Love Where You Live campaign, idea collection boxes will be placed at local businesses throughout town. Community members are encouraged to keep an eye out for the Valentine’s red boxes, pens, and response cards located near registers at participating businesses, where they can write down ideas for specific projects or local challenges they believe deserve attention. Each week, everyone who submits an idea will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to a local business.

The campaign builds on the recent success of the Shop Local initiative led by the Questa Economic Development Fund and funded by LOR, and is designed to make idea-sharing easy and accessible.

“We want people to know that you don’t need nonprofit experience or a polished proposal,” says LOR Community Officer Maria Gonzales. “If you have an idea that could benefit our community, I’m happy to work alongside you to help figure out how to turn it into action, without long applications or complicated reporting requirements.”

Last year alone, LOR supported more than 50 locally led projects in Questa, investing over half a million dollars in ideas that came directly from community members. These projects supported a wide range of local priorities, including efforts led by first responders, teachers, senior citizens, student athletes, and organizations serving food-insecure families, among many others. Most approved requests receive funding within 30 days.

The LOR Foundation can’t wait to hear your ideas!