At the heart of the Latino Community Foundation’s (LCF) mission to unleash the civic and economic power of Latinos are our most passionate advocates: the members of our Latino Giving Circle Network®. Now the largest network of Latino philanthropists in the U.S., they inform us of new organizations who are on the frontline of social change in their communities; beloved organizations to the LCF family, including TODEC, Brown Issues, and Digital Nest, came to our attention because they initially received grants from our Latino Giving Circle Network.
It all started in 2012 with a visionary group of 14 Latinas in San Francisco with a dream for our Latino grassroots leaders. This group pooled their resources and supported community programs that mattered to them, removing the bureaucracy and top-down formality of traditional philanthropy that can often alienate communities rather than unifying them. Instead, this new people-powered giving model reflected the best of the Latino community itself: generous, collaborative, and deeply rooted in a shared love for community.
The San Francisco Latina Giving Circle sparked a movement that has become the nation’s largest network of Latino philanthropists. Today, the Latino Giving Circle Network has launched more than 20 Giving Circles across the state of California with more than 1,000 members participating in the program. Latino Giving Circle Network members have invested more than $2.9 million into 151grassroots organizations, supporting a diverse range of efforts such as voter mobilization, environmental justice, and legal aid. Our team at LCF has stood with them as they’ve built communities across California, forged lifelong friendships, and even strengthened the bonds of our democracy.
Measuring the Impact of the Giving Circles
Thanks to a two-year evaluation led by Adriana Loson-Ceballos, Ph.D. in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Effective Philanthropy, we’ve quantified the profound impact of the Latino Giving Circle Network. Through bilingual surveys and pláticas, or discussion groups, members shared their feelings of joy, connection, and belonging with the family they have built in their Giving Circles.
The evaluation affirmed what so many of us at LCF already knew in our hearts. We learned that 68 percent of members felt more confident about the actions they could take to change their community and roughly three quarters said they now understood their voice mattered on social issues. This study not only validated the emotional and communal benefits of the network but also underscored the rising civic engagement among our members.
Expanding the Impact and Empowering Latinos Nationwide
According to Hispanics in Philanthropy, less than one percent of philanthropic funding supports causes benefiting Latino communities. At LCF, we are led by the idea of self-determination: We aren’t waiting for someone’s charity, we are going to lead the change our communities need. These values are present throughout LCF’s programs and at the heart of the Latino Giving Circle Network. It is this North Star that our Latino communities need at this moment in our nation’s history. We want to make sure we are using all the tools at our disposal to strengthen our democracy.
With these values front and center, in 2024, for the first time, LCF is expanding its reach beyond California’s borders to other states with Latino populations, marking a new chapter in our commitment to national impact. In April, we announced our Get-Out-the-Vote grants to support grassroots leadership in Arizona and Nevada. Building on this momentum, we are excited to announce that the Latino Giving Circle Network will also extend to new regions in California as well as Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. This expansion is a call to action, a moment to intensify our support for Latino-led organizations and ensure our collective voice is not just heard but leads the way forward.
The destiny of the United States and the destiny of the Latino community are intertwined like never before. LCF understands that when the Latino community prospers, so does the nation. Much like the California Latino Giving Circles informed and guided our grantmaking and provided us with insights into their community, LCF needs philanthropists in Las Vegas and Phoenix to partner with us during this moment of national expansion.
As we look to the future, the Latino Giving Circle Network continues to be a beacon of hope and a testament to the power of collective action. We invite you to learn more, join our cause, and help write the next chapter in our story of community and national impact.
Julián Castro is CEO of the Latino Community Foundation. Anais Amaya is director of the Latino Giving Circle Network® at the Latino Community Foundation.
