El Paso Community Foundation
Post Office Box 272
El Paso, Texas 79943
United States
Mission
To establish permanent charitable endowments; to provide a vehicle for donors’ varied interests; to promote local philanthropy; to provide leadership and resources in addressing local challenges and opportunities. El Paso Community Foundation was established in 1977 as a permanent endowment for the long-term benefit of the El Paso region, far West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico. We serve as a charitable resource to donors, nonprofit organizations and the community at-large. The foundation is the region’s most trusted philanthropic advisor. Our professional staff offers resources, knowledge and expertise in charitable giving.
Most Meaningful Change
The foundation’s Classroom Fund (theclassroomfund.org) has given innovation grants directly to classrooms. We have also granted to provide outreach to children in Juarez, Mexico, to teach rule of law, and to help fund a world-class children’s museum there. We also are working on a project to deal with hunger in El Paso County, and develop a bona fide local food system to increase access to fresh foods. Finally, the foundation has been instrumental in reviving downtown El Paso through restoration of the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre (theplazatheatre.org), and continues to produce the Plaza Classic Film Festival (plazaclassic.com), which has been a huge economic development boon to El Paso, and a strong cultural education and history tool for the region.
1977 Year Founded
12 Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalent)
$98,000,000 Endowment Value
$5,100,000 Total Annual Grantmaking
Organization | El Paso Community Foundation |
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Address 1 | Post Office Box 272 |
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Address 2 | Did not answer |
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City / Town | El Paso |
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State / Region | Texas |
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ZIP / Postal Code | 79943 |
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Country | United States |
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Continent | North America |
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Map Address (If Different) | 333 N Oregon Street |
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Map City / Town (If Different) | El Paso |
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Map State / Region (If Different) | TX |
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Map Zip / Postal Code (If Different) | 79901 |
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Map Country (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Phone | 915-533-4020 |
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Email | epearson@epcf.org |
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Website | www.epcf.org |
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Organization Leader (Name, Title) | Did not answer |
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Primary Contact’s Name | Eric Pearson |
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Primary Contact’s Position | President & CEO |
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Year Founded | 1977 |
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Mission Statement | To establish permanent charitable endowments; to provide a vehicle for donors’ varied interests; to promote local philanthropy; to provide leadership and resources in addressing local challenges and opportunities. El Paso Community Foundation was established in 1977 as a permanent endowment for the long-term benefit of the El Paso region, far West Texas, Southern New Mexico and Northern Chihuahua, Mexico. We serve as a charitable resource to donors, nonprofit organizations and the community at-large. The foundation is the region’s most trusted philanthropic advisor. Our professional staff offers resources, knowledge and expertise in charitable giving. |
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Organization Description | Community Foundation |
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Other Description | Did not answer |
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Approximate Size of the Population Serviced | 3,000,000 |
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Total Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 12 |
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Total Unpaid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 80 |
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Total Board Members | 15 |
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Organization’s Total Income in Last Fiscal Year | $10,000,000 |
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Organization’s Gifts Income in Last Fiscal Year | $1,958,690 |
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Organization’s Total Expenditures in Last Fiscal Year | $6,500,000 |
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Organization’s Grantmaking Budget in Last Fiscal Year | $5,100,000 |
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Does Organization Have an Endowment | Yes |
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Value of Endowment (or Financial Reserves) as of the End of Last Fiscal Year | $98,000,000 |
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Change in Financial Status Over Last Three Years | A little improvement |
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Factors that Played a Role in the Origins of Your Organization |
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Community leadership | Played a centrally important role |
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Philanthropic gifts | Played a centrally important role |
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Grassroots activism | Played a slight role |
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Inadequate government services | Played a slight role |
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Changes in the political environment | Played a slight role |
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Changes in the economic environment | Played a slight role |
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Government initiative funding | No role |
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Foundation initiative funding | Played a centrally important role |
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Bilateral or multilateral initiative funding | Played a centrally important role |
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Favorable legal or fiscal policies | No role |
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Time Spent Working in Following Areas |
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Neighborhood | Fair amount of time |
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Locally | Lots of time |
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Regionally | Fair amount of time |
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Nationally | Very little time |
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Internationally | Lots of time |
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Rate Importance of the Following Functions |
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Grantmaking | Important but not central |
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Having local people as leaders in the organization | Important but not central |
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Seeking local donations | Important but not central |
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Having a gender balance in the organization | Important but not central |
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Board reflective of community diversity | Important but not central |
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Building an endowment | Important but not central |
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Serving donor needs | Centrally important |
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Acting as a fiscal intermediary for the community | Centrally important |
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Building inclusion and trust in the community | Centrally important |
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Pursuing equity | Centrally important |
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Accountability to local people | Centrally important |
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Raising money for grantmaking annually | Important but not central |
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Community development | Centrally important |
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In the Last Year, Extent to Which Programming and/or Grantmaking Involved Work in the Following Areas |
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Arts and culture | Lot |
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Education | Lot |
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Environment | Lot |
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Health | Lot |
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Human and social services | Fair amount |
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Human rights | Fair amount |
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International relations | Fair amount |
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Religion | Little |
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Economic development | Fair amount |
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Conflict resolution/bridging different parts of the community | Little |
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Information technology | Not at all |
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Strengthening local or regional government | Not at all |
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Housing | Lot |
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Children | Lot |
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Water | Little |
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Alternative energy | Little |
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Disaster relief | Not at all |
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Advocacy with authorities | Fair amount |
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Job training | Not at all |
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Nongrantmaking Services Offered to Community in Recent Years |
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Convening for issues of local concern | Often |
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Promote collaboration between grantees | Often |
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Promote understanding of public policy | Rarely |
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Training/capacity-building for local organizations | Occasionally |
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Advocacy | Occasionally |
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Loaned staff | Rarely |
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Research | Occasionally |
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Community needs assessment | Occasionally |
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Leadership development | Often |
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Internships | Often |
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Providing space for local organizations | Often |
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Access to information technology | Rarely |
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Publishing/knowledge sharing | Often |
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Main Trends Over the Past Year in Geographic Area Served |
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Poverty | Getting better |
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Crime | Getting better |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Getting better |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Getting worse |
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Social position of marginalized groups | Getting better |
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Responsiveness of authorities | No change |
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Appropriateness of public policies | No change |
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Value of community assets | Getting better |
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Quality of the environment | Getting better |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Getting much better |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Getting much better |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Getting much better |
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Gender equity | Getting better |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | Getting better |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | Getting better |
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Extent to Which Organization Can Claim Tangible and Measurable Achievements in the Past Three Years |
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Poverty | Some important achievements |
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Crime | Some important achievements |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Much achievement |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | A few small achievements |
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Social position of marginalized groups | A few small achievements |
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Responsiveness of authorities | Do not work in this sphere |
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Appropriateness of public policies | Do not work in this sphere |
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Value of community assets | A few small achievements |
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Quality of the environment | Some important achievements |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Much achievement |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Much achievement |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Some important achievements |
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Gender equity | A few small achievements |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | Some important achievements |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | Some important achievements |
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Active Partnerships |
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Formal community associations and groups | Lot |
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Informal associations of citizens | Lot |
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Non-governmental organizations | Lot |
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Local government | Lot |
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National government | Lot |
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Universities | Little |
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Schools | Lot |
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Businesses | Lot |
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Other Institutions Helpful to Our Work |
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National association of grantmakers | Neither helpful or unhelpful |
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Regional association of grantmakers | Neither helpful or unhelpful |
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Global Fund for Community Foundations | Neither helpful or unhelpful |
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Particular foundation | Helpful |
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Other organization | Helpful |
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Involvement of Local People |
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Regularly survey local people about our programs | No |
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Local people are engaged in the delivery of our work | Yes |
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Local people control what our organization does | Yes |
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Have local people represented on our board | Yes |
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Have regular sessions where local people advise us what our programs should do | Yes |
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Actively engage local people as volunteers | Yes |
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All of our board is composed of local people | Yes |
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Account to local people about our successes and failures each year | Yes |
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Assistance in Overcoming Main Difficulties Faced in Developing Organization Further |
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Increased funding | Very important |
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Better legal or fiscal environment | Neither important nor unimportant |
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More volunteers | Neither important nor unimportant |
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Access to advice or technical assistance | Neither important nor unimportant |
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Better local culture of giving | Did not answer |
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Stronger civil society | Important |
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More responsive authorities | Unimportant |
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Other | Did not answer |
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Most Meaningful Change that Organization Has Helped to Bring About in the Last Three Years | The foundation’s Classroom Fund (theclassroomfund.org) has given innovation grants directly to classrooms. We have also granted to provide outreach to children in Juarez, Mexico, to teach rule of law, and to help fund a world-class children’s museum there. We also are working on a project to deal with hunger in El Paso County, and develop a bona fide local food system to increase access to fresh foods. Finally, the foundation has been instrumental in reviving downtown El Paso through restoration of the Plaza Theatre Performing Arts Centre (theplazatheatre.org), and continues to produce the Plaza Classic Film Festival (plazaclassic.com), which has been a huge economic development boon to El Paso, and a strong cultural education and history tool for the region. |
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