History
Brindle Foundation was established in 2002 as a successor to the M.A. Healy Family Foundation. The Schwanfelder family is grateful for the opportunity to practice philanthropy that is responsive, engaged, and meaningful.

The name Brindle is part of our ​family history and represents our values of looking inside, beyond appearances, to loyalty and commitment.  We bring these values to our partnerships, advocacy, and grantmaking as we look for organizations that are making a difference, and where we can make an impact, establish relationships, and form in-depth collaborations.
Santa Fe Community College's Early Childhood Center of Excellence blends the teaching and research of early childhood development with high quality, innovative early education practice in the College’s Kids Campus
A focus on early childhood
Believing that every baby deserves a great start in life, the Foundation’s board launched Brindle's Early Childhood Initiative in 2005 to focus grantmaking in this area of critical need.  Our mission is to make a difference in the lives of young children in New Mexico by supporting and expanding the services and resources available to them and their families.  By focusing on pre-natal to three, our hope is that this youngest, most vulnerable and vital part of our population can grow, thrive and reach their potential.​

Brindle assisted in creating Books for Babies New Mexico, a program that gives a book and reading information to every baby born in Santa Fe.  The program began January 1, 2012 and has since expanded to Socorro. Brindle also established the Santa Fe Baby Fund at the Santa Fe Community Foundation to give babies a greater voice​​​​​​​​​​​​ in our community and led the effort to create the Diaper Depot, a diaper bank at The Food Depot, serving all of northeast New Mexico. In 2014, Brindle assisted the Early Childhood Advisory Council at Santa Fe Community College in creating a business plan for the Early Childhood Center of Excellence at SFCC.​

Brindle continues to invest in the kind of frontline service delivery that can change a young child’s trajectory in life, from early intervention and home visiting to advocacy in the foster care system to support of new parents.

Throughout Brindle Foundation has been involved with advocating for better policies so that our communities and our state become more baby friendly and more supportive of families.  We strongly encourage our colleagues in philanthropy and all those who work on behalf of babies and families to make advocacy a central part of their efforts.
Why Babies?
Babies represent our future:  if we want a better world, a stronger society, safer and more secure neighborhoods, and a healthier planet, then we need to focus on and invest in those who will come after us.  Investing in babies is a social justice issue and an economic development issue.​ Most of a baby's brain development happens from prenatal to age five.  That's a small window of opportunity  to make a real difference and to give that child the great start in life she or he deserves. ​By investing in babies and their families we are creating a ripple effect that touches every aspect of our communities and our lives.  And a community that supports and celebrates its babies is one that is robust, forward thinking, caring, healthy, safe and thriving.  When babies thrive, we all do!
Partnerships and affiliations

Brindle is a member of the following groups:
   New Mexico Early Childhood Funders Group
   Groundworks New Mexico
   Bay Area Early Childhood Funders
   Zero to Three
   National Center for Family Philanthropy
   Exponent Philanthropy
Weekly Juntos dinners at the Adelante Program of Santa Fe Public Schools, which supports homeless students and their families, many of which include infants and toddlers.
Contact us
The best way to contact us is via email, as we prefer to save paper and trees

Email      info@brindlefoundation.org

Telephone/Fax      (505) 986-3983

​Mailing Address      P.O. Box 31696
                                Santa Fe NM  87594​
Who we are
Staff 
  Mary Nell Wegner (Exec. Director)

​​​Foundation Board
   Kevin Schwanfelder (President, Board Chair)
   Craig Schwanfelder (VP, Treasurer)
   Nan Schwanfelder (Past President)
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2022 - Brindle Foundation ​
P.O. Box 31696   Santa Fe NM  87594​
Contact