Dean Decker/Courtesy photo
LACF NEWS RELEASE
Music plays a significant role in Los Alamos, providing entertainment, community, and culture to our little town on the mesa. Concerts and performances, however, require funding to pay for music, performance space, and special guest musicians. Resident Dean Decker, who has been involved in the Los Alamos music scene since 2004, has established two new endowments to help fund established music organizations: one for Los Alamos Community Winds and one for Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra.
“I want to provide for the long-term financial stability of these organizations,” says Dean. Decker’s fund is called a “Seed Fund,” which means that the community has five years to raise the $10,000 necessary to create permanent endowment funds to benefit the Los Alamos Community Winds and Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra.
While Decker has kicked it off with a personal donation, these are public funds. Anyone may contribute to them. While we still have four years to hit the minimum amount, the sooner the seed funds are fully endowed, the sooner disbursements begin to help these programs. You can help by donating to Los Alamos Community Foundation, with a note designating Los Alamos Community Winds and/or Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra.
“If you enjoy local music, please consider designating a gift through your will or trust to these organizations. Or give a gift now, so that you can see your donation in action,” says Liz Martineau, Executive Director of the Los Alamos Community Foundation.
Endowment funds are invested, with annual disbursements designated to specific organizations. Regular long-term endowment funds help sustain organizations. Your gift becomes funding that lasts! LACF accepts online donations on their website (losalamoscf.org), monthly donations through the LANL giving tool, Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), and one-time gifts.
A current list of the 24 permanent endowment funds LACF manages is available on the website losalamoscf.org under “donate to a fund.”
We hope to see you at local concerts!
Los Alamos Community Winds invites everyone to their 2025-2026 Season Finale Performance, “From Hammer to Bow” at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 16 at Crossroads Bible Church in Los Alamos, NM. Los Alamos Symphony Orchestra’s next concert will be on Saturday, Oct. 3.
About the Los Alamos Community Foundation
Established in 2015, the mission of the Los Alamos Community Foundation is to build enduring philanthropy to empower our community’s nonprofit organizations. LACF stewards twenty-four permanent endowment funds and supports local nonprofits through training, initiatives, and grantmaking. For more information about the Los Alamos Community Foundation, visit www.losalamoscf.org.