Las Cruces Bulletin

From left, past CFSNM Board President Jeremy Settles, Patsy Duran, CFSNM Board Secretary
Ammu Devasthali.

The Board of Directors and staff of the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico (CFSNM) are deeply saddened to learn that former executive director Patsy Duran has passed away (Feb. 15 – ed.).

Duran served as the executive director of the Memorial Medical Center Foundation, and led the  organization through the transition to the Healthcare Foundation of Southern New Mexico and the merger into what is now the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico. Her 10 years of leadership helped lay the framework for the CFSNM and build a culture of philanthropy in our city.

"Our hearts are heavy with the news of Patsy's passing, but we have been taking time to reflect on Patsy's leadership and her drive to always help our community," said current CFSNM Executive Director

Terra Winter. "She was a mentor to many people, and Las Cruces is a better place because of her."

Aside from her role as executive director of the CFSNM, Duran was heavily involved in sharing her time and talent with the community. She served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Commerce and Industry for the State of New Mexico, chairman of the Board of the Greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce, was one of the founding members of The Bridge of Southern New Mexico and was secretary of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance. She was elected to the Las Cruces Public Schools Board of Education in 1988 and served as president of the Board during the construction of Oñate High School.

Duran was also recognized as a Paul Harris Fellow in the Mesilla Valley Rotary Club, selected as Woman of the Year by the Soroptomist Club, and received statewide recognition by the Governor's Commission

on the Status of Women as an outstanding woman leader in the State of New Mexico.

In June 2005, the Healthcare Foundation of Southern New Mexico and Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico Board of Directors established the Patsy A. Duran Endowment Fund to support

the community's greatest needs and honor Duran's passion for making a difference in the lives of southern New Mexico's most vulnerable residents. Per Duran's request, she asked that the funds be used to assist southern New Mexico nonprofits to continue their valuable work.

Today, earnings from The Patsy A. Duran Endowment are part of the Wellness Fund Grant program,  which awarded $110,000 to 12 nonprofit organizations in 2017.

"To honor Patsy's legacy, the Board of Directors and staff of the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico have all personally committed to donating to Patsy's endowment," Winter said. "It is because of the foundation she worked so hard to build that we are here today and are able to serve our community."

"Everything I know about philanthropy, about serving the nonprofit sector, and supporting endeavors in the community, I learned from Patsy Duran," said CFSNM Board Secretary Ammu Devasthali. "I will forever be in her debt for this gift."

To learn more about the Patsy A. Duran Endowment housed at the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico, contact Terra Winter at 5755214794 or terra@cfsnm.org.

April Anaya is the Director of Development for the Community Foundation of Southern New Mexico. She may be reached at 5755214794 or april@cfsnm.org.