Fathers Building Futures (FBF), a difference-making Albuquerque-based nonprofit organization, is making a major transition to become part of the Atrisco Companies. The Atrisco Companies is the modern organization descended from the Atrisco Land Grant, established in 1598 by the settlers who came to New Mexico with Spanish explorer Don Juan de Onate.

Fathers Building Futures will join six other organizations under the Atrisco Companies umbrella: Atrisco Heritage Foundation, El Campo Santo, Inc. (operating three nonprofit cemeteries in the Albuquerque area), Rio Grande Educational Cooperative, Ascend Business Services, Atrisco Oil & Gas, LLC, and Mariachi Spectacular de Albuquerque.

Fathers Building Futures empowers formerly incarcerated parents by providing on-the-job workforce training and supports to enable sustainable futures for themselves and their families.

I’m a member of the FBF Advisory Board. With my expertise in the funeral business, I’m helping them market the kosher caskets and wooden urns they make in their woodworking shop as part of their training program. I’m thrilled to share this news about the organization from FBF Executive Director Joseph Shaw.

Announcement from Fathers Building Futures

Before we talk about anything, I want to express our wishes that you stay safe and healthy. We are one community and we all must come together…by staying apart. Our prayers go out to everyone who has been touched by COVID-19 in any way.

I have been grappling with how to deliver such good news in such a heartbreaking moment throughout the world. We have had to overcome such barriers in our lives, but this is unlike anything that we could have imagined. We will have to find out together.

Together is how we have made it this far. Over the time that you have supported our mission, Fathers Building Futures has shown that it is a very adaptable program. With every change that we have gone through, it has always been to find better ways to improve the lives of the dads that we serve and their families. 

One of these moves was to become completely led by and for the people that we serve. Our peer-led model is why we’ve been so successful over the years and extending that through to the leadership is one of the things that we are most proud of. Today, we are announcing another decision that we are very proud to be able to make.

As of April 6th, Fathers Building Futures is one of the sister companies to Atrisco Companies. Our desire to deliver the best future possible for our dads means that we must continually strive to learn more.

The Atrisco Companies understand how to successfully run a social enterprise. They have the leadership that will empower us to better run our social enterprise, giving us sustainability for the dads who are coming out of prison. We will receive some of the best professional development and guidance, as those at the Atrisco Companies have a wealth of knowledge. Our glass ceiling has moved so much higher because of this! 

As an Atrisco Company, we will be able to share some overhead resources, which will allow us to devote more money and energy to the dads. Our operational leadership will remain the same, being led by the same dads that have built the program. Oversight and governance will be overseen by the board of Atrisco Companies. This will allow us to focus on what we do best: serve vulnerable New Mexican families.

We will maintain the same staff and program, as well as our standalone nonprofit status. The same strong team of amazing leaders that have stood on our board will remain as advisers to us. They have guided us through every barrier imaginable, so we owe them a big thank you!  

We are honored to bring our company into a strong, historic organization that was started from the Atrisco Land Grant. Theirs is a story that is over 400 years in the making. The first immigrants to the land that has become known as the United States, they viewed their lives and their opportunities as coming from the land that they worked; land that represented hope for their children and the community.

The people of the Atrisco Land Grant still possess the same dreams for their children, and they pursue this generation’s hopes through the Atrisco Companies. Read more about their history and mission here. 

Thank you all for your support! We look forward to giving you more great news in the future! 

Atrisco Companies Statement

Atrisco Companies President/CEO Peter A. Sanchez provided these comments:

With great excitement and optimism we would like to announce the addition of Fathers Building Futures as the newest member of the Atrisco Companies. All aspects of the business arrangement including legal requirements and Board Member approvals have now been completed.  Congratulations everyone!

Our discussions began just a few short months ago, however, there was a strong belief from the outset that both parties to this business combination could mutually benefit from this merger. We feel the mission of FBF fits in seamlessly with the educational mission and interests of the Atrisco Companies. 

We also believe that FBF has a very high ceiling to its programmatic mission. We are optimistic and hopeful that leveraging Atrisco Companies’ resources and expertise in building and scaling organizations will once again prove fruitful. We look forward to expanding the social impact of FBF by reaching greater numbers of clients in the years ahead.

We are also very excited to further broaden the diverse Non Profit entities that comprise the Atrisco Companies. There is strength in numbers and we certainly believe the combination of these organizations will be able to do great things for our communities here in New Mexico.

Learn more at the Fathers Building Futures website and at the Atrisco Companies website.