Latino Community Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Latino Community Foundation is a San Francisco-based funder that oversees over a dozen giving circles composed of Latinos who support Latino-led organizations. LCF awards grants to grassroots groups for community and civic engagement.
IP TAKE: The Latino Community Foundation provides Bay Area grassroots groups that are mostly led by Latinos with some great opportunities. It is both transparent and accessible, even though it does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding. The foundation invites interested grantseekers to reach out with inquiries about securing support. This is a good funder for local Latino groups to know.
PROFILE: Established in 1989, the Latino Community Foundation (LCF) is based in San Francisco, California and committed to unleashing the “power of Latinos in California.” LCF is the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the nation, with over 400 members and 13 giving circles. It was founded as part of United Way of the Bay Area to increase donations to Latino groups. Sandra Hernandez, the past CEO of the San Francisco Foundation established it as a supporting organization of the San Francisco Foundation in 2003. Then in 2016, LCF became its own independent foundation. Grantmaking areas of interest are Latino-led nonprofits, community and civic engagement.
Grants for the Bay Area and Northern California
The LCF giving circles have invested substantially in Latino-led organizations in California. It primarily supports grassroots groups who use culture as a tool for positive change. Members of the giving circles donate at least $1,000 per year, and each giving circle has its own funding priority. For example, there is a San Francisco Latina Giving Circle, an East Bay Latina Giving Circle, a Latinos in Tech Giving Circle, and a Latinx LGBTQ Giving Circle. The foundation partners with many donors, foundations, companies and community leaders to achieve its mission. Donors include Karen and Luis Toledo, Angel Chavez, and Alma-Ruth and Arnoldo Avalos.
Grants for Democracy and Civic Engagement
Lately, LCF has made a big push to mobilize the Latino vote. A past campaign reached eight million people and got over 6,500 Latinos registered to vote. The foundation leaders have pointed out that only 1.1 percent of philanthropic dollars go to Latino programs and organizations even though 54 percent of school children in California are Latino and over seven million Latinos in California are eligible to vote.
Civic engagement is at the heart of this funder’s mission. The Building Civic Power initiative supports civic leadership and “facilitates conversations between community leaders and policy makers, mobilizes the Latino vote, and leads a California Latino Agenda.” The Mobilizing the Latino Vote program is an initiative that seeks to increase Latino voter participation and advance issues important to the Latino community.
Grants for BIPOC and Racial Justice and Indigenous Rights
The foundation supports the Latino community at large through all of its initiatives; however, it also makes grants to support Latino-led grassroot organizations serving the local community though The Latino Power Fund, a the $50 million fund that works to “be the impetus for a just, equitable California where Latino-led grassroot organizations have the resources needed to achieve the political and civic wins [the] state requires for a representative democracy and an inclusive economy.” LCF also became the first cohort of the Latino Nonprofit Accelerator, which is a program that provides leadership development marketing and communications training, and fundraising mentorship for Latino-led groups.
Grants for Work and Economic Opportunity
According to the foundation website, 25% of new companies in the US are Latino-owned and operated, with Latina-owned business making up the fastest growing segment. Accordingly, The Latino Entrepreneurship Fund supports Latino and Latina entrepreneurs and “has invested more than $1.6 million in Latino nonprofits working to create an inclusive economy for Latino Entrepreneurs and the Latino small business ecosystem.”
Grants for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
The foundation also makes Rapid Response grants that have supported everything from recovery from California wildfires and COVID-19 to Puerto Rico hurricane and Mexico earthquake relief. These grants respond to the immediate needs of communities in times of crisis and are designed to be temporary and fast moving.
Important Grant Details
Foundation grants vary based on which fund they come from. View the foundation’s website to learn more about past support. The Bay Area and Northern California are priorities for LCF. However, the funder supports groups and causes throughout California. As a grantmaker, LCF funds community organizations whose boards and staff are more than 51 percent Latino. Groups must have operating budgets of less than $1.5 million and work in California to be eligible for grants.
In order to be considered for funding, organizations must be Latino-led, promote civic engagement, and be deeply rooted in the community. Grant application is by invitation only, but grantseekers should reach out to grants@latinocf.org for more information. Direct general questions to the LCF staff at info@latinocf.org or 415-236-4020.
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