Foundation History
& Mission
In 2022, in recognition of La Fonda on the Plaza’s 100th Anniversary, La Fonda Family Investors formed La Fonda Foundation.
They envisioned creating a nonprofit organization committed to promoting upward economic mobility, improving employees’ living standards, and driving systemic change for hourly wage earners within the hospitality industry.
In August 2023, Leticia Bernal was hired as the full-time Executive Director of the Foundation. Working alongside the University of New Mexico (UNM) ’s Cradle to Career Policy Institute, an employee survey for La Fonda on the Plaza was created to uncover the realities that these employees and their families face.
Based on the analysis provided by UNM, La Fonda Foundation began creating programs to address these challenges.
La Fonda Foundation is a nonprofit organization committed to promoting upward economic mobility, improving the standard of living, and driving systemic change for hourly wage workers in Northern New Mexico's hospitality industry.
Our Work is Family-specific. Our Impact, Intergenerational.
Each success story builds momentum, inspiring others and strengthening our community:
First-Level Impact: Families achieve stability, better education, and access to higher-paying jobs.
Long-Term Impact: Communities thrive as more workers achieve living wages and economic independence.
Core Values
We lead with an entrepreneurial mindset: La Fonda Foundation embraces an entrepreneurial spirit, recognizing that taking risks sometimes leads to the chance of failure. We see failure as an opportunity to learn, innovate, and refine our approach, ultimately enhancing our ability to serve the community more effectively.
We are led by data: La Fonda Foundation is dedicated to making data-driven decisions. We continuously collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate our impact and make corrections and improvements in our programs..
We are a collaborative organization: We value collaboration with the community as a pathway to prosperity. Built on trust and respect for diverse points of view, we celebrate our partners' successes, support their efforts, and connect their programs to the families we serve.
Nonprofit Partnerships
La Fonda Foundation welcomes opportunities to collaborate with philanthropic partners who share our commitment to supporting hospitality workers and their families in Northern New Mexico. If your organization funds initiatives that align with our mission, we’d love to explore how we can work together.