Like so many great initiatives, Kids’ Chance of New Mexico (KCNM) began with a conversation.

Brock Carter, owner of Safety Counseling, Inc. and president of KCNM, recalls a chain of events that began in 1995. “The Workers’ Compensation Association of New Mexico holds an annual conference,” he says. “In 1995, I was on the organizing committee, and we decided to add a golf tournament to the conference line-up as a way to give attendees something recreational to do. Much to our surprise, we raised $3,000!"

“There were three of us – Gary Keenan who is now retired, Toby Wright who has since passed away, and me – deciding what to do with this windfall,” Carter continues. “We wanted to help New Mexico families that were suffering because of a workplace accident. We sat at the bar with a paper napkin outlining what that would look like. The result was a scholarship for students living and going to college in New Mexico, who maintained a 2.5 GPA."

“A year or two later, we heard about a similar scholarship initiative in Georgia,” Carter continues. “We connected with them and learned that their scholarship guidelines were very similar.”

When Wright passed away in 1997, Carter doubled down on the cause, organizing what is now an annual golf event in memory of his friend. By 2011, they earned 501(c)(3) IRS designation as the Toby Wright Scholarship Fund, expanded the board to include members who were not affiliated with the Workers’ Compensation Association of New Mexico, and began building out sponsorship support and fundraising.

In 2018, KCNM became the 41st state organization to affiliate with Kids’ Chance of America (KCOA). “Camille Lewis, at the time a member of the scholarship committee, was with Paradigm,” Carter explains. “She learned through her supervisor, who was serving a term as president of KCOA, that for a small annual fee to the national organization, KCNM would receive 15 times that amount in start-up support. With a deal like that, we said yes pretty quickly!”

KCNM scholarships continued to memorialize Toby Wright; the Kids’ Chance logo was added to reflect the new arrangement. Outcomes have been so positive, however, that KCNM is launching an entire rebranding to further solidify the partnership and adopting the KCOA brand officially.

“The financial resources we receive as a Kids’ Chance organization are terrific, but there are other benefits as well,” Carter says. “The national organization provides guidelines for boards and fundraising events. We save money through a streamlined application process as well as a free website. Webinars and conferences make it easy to connect with other state Kids’ Chance teams. We share expertise and tips.”

All of these resources have helped KCNM maximize its fundraising potential. “Over the years we have raised nearly $2.5 million,” Carter notes. “That has enabled us to award $1.5 million to 77 New Mexico students. We have no limits on the financial assistance we provide to recipients, and we stay in contact with our scholars to make sure they have what they need.”

Carter points out that the national Kids’ Chance of America network supports the state organizations’ efforts to cultivate the next generation of leadership. “I have known our incoming vice-president since she was a high school student,” he says. “Attending national events broadened her idea of what KCNM can be. I’m not ready to give up my role just yet, but I know that when I do, she will be ready.”