What The Encantado Foundation does

The Encantado Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation established in 2022 by Encantado Technical Solutions, LLC (ETS) — a joint venture between Edgewater Federal Solutions and ECS Federal. The foundation was created in connection with ETS's contract vehicle for providing third-party telecommunications and IT support services to Sandia National Laboratories. Its mission is STEM workforce development across six counties of Central and Northern New Mexico — Socorro, Valencia, Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, and Los Alamos — with a programmatic focus on cybersecurity, application development, and IT operations designed to build a regional talent pipeline for the federal IT and national-laboratory workforce.

The foundation does not sell products or services and has no commercial revenue stream. It functions as a grantmaker, operating three structured programs: Impact Grants of $50,000 to $200,000 for larger institutional recipients, Community-Based Grants of up to $5,000 for smaller community organizations, and Collaborative Grants of up to $10,000 designed to pair national nonprofits with local partners. Since founding, it has awarded more than $2 million to 47 organizations. In 2025 it announced a $400,000 Impact Grant cohort across four recipients and partnered with the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation to establish New Mexico's first high-school STEM center, representing a move from direct grantmaking toward place-based institutional co-investment. Operating funding is provided by ETS and its corporate parents rather than via disclosed public fundraising.

The foundation runs a lean 2–5 person staff led by Executive Director Louis Jeantete (promoted April 2024) and Program Manager Leanna McClure. Governance is drawn from Edgewater Federal (Cherie Wigfield, Lorelie Yockman), ECS Federal (John Heneghan), and external federal-IT advisor Jay Galvan Heneghan (CEO, EMR-Bear LLC). Organizational design is intentionally lightweight: the foundation acts as a programmatic extension of the ETS federal-IT contract vehicle, channeling sponsor-funded dollars into local workforce development rather than operating standalone programs.

Name

The Encantado Foundation

Legal name

The Encantado Foundation

Website

https://theencantadofoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Encantado Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2022 by Encantado Technical Solutions (an Edgewater Federal–ECS Federal JV tied to the Sandia National Labs IT support contract) that funds STEM workforce development in six Central and Northern New Mexico counties through Impact, Community-Based, and Collaborative Grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grantmaking

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Workforce Readiness, Career Pathways & Youth Employment Nonprofits (BPAGADAF)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grantmaking
• STEM workforce development
• Nonprofit foundation
• Charitable giving programs
• STEM education grants

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking: The Encantado Foundation operates as a philanthropic organization that provides charitable grants to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. The Foundation does not generate revenue from products or services but rather distributes funds to support STEM workforce development initiatives. Funding originates from Encantado Technical Solutions, LLC (ETS), a Joint Venture between Edgewater Federal and ECS Federal, formed upon award of the Sandia National Laboratories Third-Party Telecommunications and IT Support Services contract.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Encantado Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation that provides grants to nonprofit organizations and educational institutions for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) workforce development in New Mexico. It funds programs that build STEM pipelines from K-12 through career pathways, with an emphasis on underrepresented communities and hire-ready technical talent for the local technology economy.

Product overview

The Encantado Foundation is a charitable grantmaking organization that operates three distinct funding programs to advance STEM workforce development: Impact Grants (competitive $50,000-$200,000 awards for established programs in cybersecurity, application development, and IT operations), Community-Based Grants (smaller up to $5,000 awards for STEM access and career pathway initiatives), and Collaborative Grants (up to $10,000 for partnerships between two organizations). The foundation's programs specifically target Central and Northern New Mexico communities and prioritize underrepresented populations in tech careers including women, people of color, native people, and people with physical limitations. The foundation does not offer technology products or platforms; its offerings consist exclusively of grant funding programs administered through its website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Impact Grants
• Community-Based Grants
• Collaborative Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $2,000,000 awarded to 47 unique charitable organizations since 2022
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Cal Ripken, Sr. FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation received an $85,000 Impact Grant to establish the first high school STEM Center of its kind in New Mexico at Belen High School. The Foundation focuses on youth mentoring, youth development parks, and STEM Center initiatives.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Sandia National Laboratories Foundation: Local philanthropic vehicle historically associated with Sandia/Lockheed stewardship of New Mexico STEM and education initiatives. Comparable as a regional corporate-backed foundation funding STEM and workforce development in New Mexico, though broader in scope and tied directly to Sandia rather than a contractor JV.
• PNM Resources Foundation: New Mexico utility company's philanthropic arm funding education, workforce development, and community programs across the same six-county footprint. Comparable as a regional corporate foundation addressing STEM and career-readiness in central and northern New Mexico.
• New Mexico Community Foundation: Statewide community foundation providing grants across education, economic development, and workforce priorities in New Mexico. Comparable as a New Mexico-based grantmaking foundation with overlapping geographic and mission alignment.

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft Philanthropies (TEALS / Skills initiative): National corporate philanthropy arm funding computer science education and digital-skills workforce programs, including direct high-school CS curriculum support. Comparable in mission (hire-ready tech talent) and grantee orientation but operates at vastly larger scale and scope.

Direct peers

• Infosys Foundation USA: Corporate foundation funding STEM education and computer science teacher training/pathways across U.S. communities. Directly comparable as a tech-industry-backed foundation seeding hire-ready tech talent through nonprofit and educational grantees.
• American India Foundation (Digital Equalizer): Tech-industry-anchored philanthropic organization funding digital literacy and workforce pathways for underserved populations. Comparable in structure (corporate-spawned nonprofit), mission (digital workforce uplift), and grantee-driven delivery model.
• ECMC Foundation: Education- and career-focused philanthropic foundation funding postsecondary credentials and workforce pathways, including CTE and STEM-aligned programs. Comparable as a foundation focused on moving learners from education into employment via credentialed training.
• Pathways to STEM (Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation): Youth development foundation that operates Badges for Baseball and STEM Center programs; an existing Encantado grantee ($85K Impact Grant). Comparable as a foundation building hire-ready and STEM-exposed youth pathways in underserved communities.

Others

• Workforce Connections (NV) / Workforce Development Boards (national network): Workforce-development intermediaries funding and operating training programs for tech and adjacent trades. Comparable as a workforce-development funder/operator ecosystem, but service-delivery rather than pure grantmaking — an adjacent, enabling peer.
• Perkins+Voss (Sandia Education Grant): Sandia operator (NTESS)-affiliated education outreach programs supporting K-12 STEM and university research in New Mexico. Comparable as a thematic neighbor in Sandia/contractor-aligned STEM education funding in the same New Mexico geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-encantado-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments1 record

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Frequently asked questions about The Encantado Foundation