Calling all New Mexico nonprofits! Now until August 19, your nonprofit can apply for a Project Awareness grant on ShareNM.org. If you are chosen to receive a Project Awareness grant, CNM & DATA students will create a FREE video that will help to spread the word about your nonprofit and all of the great work it does.

Project Awareness is a Leadership Albuquerque Initiative that provides nonprofit organizations with FREE online videos. The videos are custom-created by students at Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) and Digital Arts and Technology Academy (DATA). This is without any cost to your New Mexico nonprofit. To be eligible,  you have to apply on ShareNM.org before August 19, 2016. Three to five nonprofits will be awarded a Project Awareness grant.

Tapping Student Talent

Donna Diller, dean of Business and Information Technology at CNM, said that Project Awareness is a win-win-win situation that benefits students, nonprofits and the community. Students are involved in every aspect of the process, from choosing the grant winners to creating and completing the videos.

Students decide which nonprofits are awarded the grant. This helps students to learn interpersonal skills, teamwork, communication and how nonprofits give back to the community.

“We felt like the community piece was important, for students to learn about nonprofits and ways to give back,” Diller said. “It’s an important part of the community.”

The students at CNM and DATA review the applications at the beginning of the fall semester and spend the next year creating the videos. Some do the videos as part of a class curriculum, others as part of an internship.

“It gives our students a hands-on opportunity to do a real-life project using the same skills they’re learning in the classrooms,” Diller said.

After students choose the grant winners, they work directly with the nonprofit to create the video, which gives them hands-on experience working with customers.

Diller gives credit to Leadership Albuquerque for creating Project Awareness and bringing organizations like SHARE New Mexico, CNM and DATA together.

“It’s a win-win for a lot of folks, and we’re excited to get more of the videos up and rolling,” she said.

Apply Online at ShareNM.org

Don’t miss the opportunity to get a FREE video made for your New Mexico nonprofit! To apply for a Project Awareness Grant, you’ll need to login or create an account at ShareNM.org. Once you are logged in, you can see instructions and view our available grants in our common online grant application. Questions about our online common grant application? Visit our blog to learn more about how it works