Call Cathy Hill at 533-4020 for more information. 

Our annual report is available as a downloadable PDF file under the "About us" section of our site located in the upper right hand side of the page.

Please call 533-4020 if you would like to request that a hard copy of our annual report be mailed to you.

Thank you. 

The Foundation is not a membership organization, but you can become a partner with others who want their money combined to accomplish the most possible for our community. These people contribute on a regular basis--monthly, annually or for a special project. Use our contact form to participate in the numerous activities scheduled throughout the year. 

It is a private foundation that legally associates itself with a community foundation. This affiliation provides both tax and administrative expense savings. It eliminates the IRS payout requirement and provides continued expert grants administration. Affiliated foundations can have a separate local board of directors. 

There are three major elements to the Foundation:

Donor services: You can invest your charitable gifts with the money of others, and consequently, increase the amount available to give. You may contribute monthly, annually or for special events and projects. The program staff of the Foundation is made up of professionals who know the intricacies of the non-profit community. They can assist you with finding a special program that perfectly fits your interests.

Grantmaking: The Board of Directors is responsible for developing policy and providing oversight of the grantmaking program. They make final decisions on grants to organizations. They receive input and recommendations from various individuals and advisory committees that participate in specific program areas.

Community Leadership: Our community needs a neutral entity that gives people on all sides of an issue the opportunity to work toward a common goal. The Foundation offers this option. Its only bias is that all initiatives promote the public good.
 

The Community Foundation consists of a wide group of donors who pool their charitable contributions and create their own individual permanent endowment funds. Money earned from their invested funds is granted to organizations that address critical needs in our geographic area of far west Texas, Cuidad Juárez, and southern New Mexico. 

We partner with donors and non-profit organizations not only in far west Texas, but also in Cuidad Juárez, and southern New Mexico. 

Yes, priority is given to:
More effective ways of doing things - ideas that require risk-taking.
Projects where a moderate amount of grant money can have an impact.
Projects that show collaboration with other organizations. 

Yes, the Foundation generally does not consider grants asking for:
Academic Research
Capital campaigns
Fundraising events or projects
Projects of a religious nature
Medical or academic research
Travel for individuals or groups
Annual appeals and membership contributions
Ongoing requests for general operating support
Initiatives that are political or partisan in purpose
Requests from organizations outside the El Paso geographic area.
 

Grant information can be found on our website. Visit grants and scholarship for information relating to grants and grant deadlines.  

The Board of Directors is responsible for giving guidance to the staff and approving requests that have been recommended by various individuals and advisory committees. 

About 400. It’s important to know that we receive at least four times as many requests as can ever be funded. 

Grant requests will be considered only from agencies located within or offering services to the citizens of our community, which includes far west Texas, southern New Mexico and northern Chihuahua, Mexico. Applicants must be exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code. Grants will generally not be made for annual campaigns, dinners or special events, individuals, capital campaigns or travel.  

Most of our grants are between $3,000 and $10,000. However, larger grants are possible for critical community projects or emergencies, depending, of course, on availability of resources. 

February 1 and August 1. 

Arts and Humanities
Education
Public Benefit
Health and Disabilities
Environment and Animals
Human Services 

Some important issues to address include:
Does the project fill an unmet need?
Is the budget reasonable?
Does the request show collaboration with other organizations?
What is the reputation of the applying organization?
 

Yes. Upon review, the staff will determine if the request falls within the guidelines of our affiliated foundations, donor advised funds or area of interest funds. 

Currently, we are not offering grantwriting seminars. The Nonprofit Enterprise Center offer a variety of workshops to include grantwriting. Visit the Nonprofit Enterprise Center website a www.nonprofitec.org 

Yes. 

Not exactly. Tiles start at the front door of the theatre and continue to the sidewalk. Tiles are being placed on a first-come-first serve basis; therefore, the sooner you purchase a tile, the closer you will be to the front of the theatre.  

Yes. There are only a total of 200 restored theatre chairs. They can be purchased in sets of two for $1,000.00. If you are interested, you should contact the Foundation at 915-533-4020.  

A computer mapping system located in the historic ticket booth will allow you to find your tile, seat, or other named part of the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre. All you have to do is type in a keyword to search. 

Yes, each tile has 10 lines; therefore single/multiple lines will be combined with other names to fill the 10 lines per tile. One must purchase the whole tile at $500.00 in order to “own” that tile. 

People are putting many different types of messages on their tiles. Poetry, notes to loved ones, memories of the Plaza Theatre, and family names are examples. Each tile well be a meaningful message to the people who will attend events at the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre. 

We anticipate selling tiles at least through 2006 

In the front of the theatre. 

Yes, there are elevators to get you to the mezzanine and the balcony area. Let staff at the Plaza Theatre box office or ticketmaster know that you will need assistance.  

You can get information regarding performances at the Plaza Theatre by calling ticketmaster or via ticketmaster website at www.ticketmaster.com or visit the Plaza Theatre website at www.theplazatheatre.org 

Call 533-4020 and request a membership brochure. The annual dues are:

Active - $35.00
Sustainer - $50.00
Couples - $60.00
Student - $20.00

 

Presently, you can call the Foundation and get the information regarding the location of nameplates etc. A computer mapping system located in the historic ticket booth will allow you to find your tile, seat, or other named part of the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre. All you have to do is type in a keyword to search. 

Hi! Thank you for your interest in the Plaza Theatre tiles. You can purchase them, as well as other naming opportunities, online through our website at www.epcf.org - Name the Plaza Theatre, or call 577-0883 for more information. 

If you are purchasing more than one name, but are not buying an entire tile, please send an email to info@epcf.org listing the names and a request that they be placed on the same tile if possible. Thank you! 

They are members of the Plaza Theatre Guild from throughout our community who are committed to supporting and promoting the Plaza Theatre through service oriented projects.

 

No, but hopefully you will decide to start your own scholarship fund when you reach a point of financial security. 

No. All scholarship checks are made payable to your school and go directly to your school’s financial aid office. The scholarship is divided into two equal payments – one for the fall semester and the other for the spring semester.  

Each scholarship fund has specific eligibility criteria initially defined by the individual, business or organization that sets up the fund.  

Awards for each scholarship vary depending upon the criteria and number of students selected. Scholarships range from $500 to $6,000 with the average award being $1,000. 

People often think of scholarships as being based on either merit or athletic ability. However, this is not always the case. While some of our scholarships are based on merit, others are for students with a financial need, involved in community activities, attending a particular school, or pursuing a specific course of study. 

Ask your counselor about the opportunities available from the Community Foundation. 

It is a charitable fund established at the Foundation by individuals, corporations or organizations for the purpose of assisting students with their education. While some funds are specific to a college or university, others may be directed to a particular field of study. 

Some of our scholarships are for graduating high school seniors; others are for students already enrolled in college, individuals attending graduate school or students enrolling in a trade or vocational school. 

Yes. Some donors know exactly where they want their contributions to go. In these instances the Community Foundation’s responsibility is to ensure that the recipient organization is a legitimate non-profit entity with an active board that meets the standards of the Foundation. 

It depends on why people give their money. If the contribution is meant to go to a specific cause or charity, that is where the money goes. If the organization designated by the donor is unknown to the Foundation staff, some review will be necessary.
 

About 90% of the contributions the Foundation receives are under $1000. Sizable donations often come from individuals who own local companies, people who have inherited family estates, and government agencies that want a good partner. The thread that connects all these donors is that they want to see this community thrive. 

The definition of “endow” is “to provide an income.” Let’s take the example of Denise Beaulieu, the attendant who took our money each day for parking in the building where the Foundation offices were located. At her death, Ms. Beaulieu left her entire estate, $77,000, to the Foundation to create an endowment for the benefit of the El Paso Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The $77,000 was deposited with other contributions to the Foundation and invested by professional money managers using guidelines established by the Board of the Foundation. Each year the beneficiary of the fund, the Red Cross, gets 5% of the year-end fund balance.

To combat the impact of inflation, the endowment managers use a strategy called “asset allocation,” whereby a combination of stocks and bonds maintains at least the real value of the fund (the original gift value plus inflation) and smoothes out the short term “roller coaster” ride which is associated with investing in the stock market.

This strategy leads to an increase of the grantmaking power of an endowment fund. In the case of Denise Beaulieu, her fund grew to $116,800 between 1983 and 2003. That means that the annual contribution from her fund to the Red Cross has also increased through the years. That is the power of an endowment.