Latino Groups Seek United Voice

Federation Forms To Attract Funds

From left, Chris Covelli, Juan Romagoza, Eugenio Arene and Luis A. Moreno at an event for a new Latino federation. (By Willie Heinz)

Hispanic nonprofit organizations have banded together to create a new philanthropic entity that hopes to win a bigger share of contributions and grants from a wider variety of private and public sources.

Nonprofit groups from the District, Maryland and Virginia will be part of the new Latino Federation of Greater Washington, an umbrella group that hopes to collect more money for Hispanic programs. By speaking in a unified voice, the organizations believe they have a better chance of being heard by foundations and other donors, as well as governments.

The effort is modeled after a federation in New York that has generated millions of dollars in grants for social service agencies in that region, officials said.

The Council of Latino Agencies, a coalition of about 40 social service providers in the Washington area, recruited other nonprofit groups to join the federation. The lineup includes Identity, which helps Latino youths at school and at home; CASA of Maryland, an advocacy group; and the Hispanic Committee of Virginia, which offers an array of services.

"Latinos are waking up to the fact -- as many women's organizations and other large ethnic groups in the U.S. did years ago -- that there is solidarity in numbers, and when we consolidate, our demands are better received," Eugenio Arene, executive director of the Council of Latino Agencies, said in a statement. "In this case, we know that Latino nonprofit organizations are under-funded and therefore understaffed, and we believe the time is ripe for us to act."

The federation hopes to identify new funding sources to go along with the traditional sources aiding the organizations here.

Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA of Maryland, said the federation "will let us speak with one voice" so that prospective donors and government policymakers will be more inclined to address Latino needs and say, "Wow, those people are organized."

Leaders kicked off the program at an event last Thursday and announced their first big contribution: $25,000 from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Luis Alberto Moreno, the bank's president, gave a keynote speech in which he noted that the Washington area's Latino immigrant population annually sends $1.2 billion to its home countries. In the same spirit of giving, he said, the bank agreed to be a founding sponsor and catalyst for the new federation.

The bank, established in 1959, provides financing for various economic and social development projects in Latin America. But it has a large investment in the Washington community, too. The bank has given $2.3 million to local community organizations over the past eight years, according to Marta Estarellas, coordinator of its community relations program.

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) and council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (D-Ward 5) were among the local government officials at the kickoff event. Williams promised that the city will contribute to the federation's efforts.

Arene said he believes the Inter-American Development Bank's donation will spur contributions from other financial institutions.

Besides raising money, Arene said, Latinos must push to get more representation on the boards of foundations so they can participate in the decision-making on who gets philanthropic dollars. Although Latinos make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, they fill only 4 percent of foundation staff positions and receive only 1.5 percent of foundation grants, Arene said. The federation, which acts much like a foundation, will address that issue by staffing its board with Latinos.

The Council of Latino Agencies is handling the federation's start-up, but Arene said it eventually should be run by local business leaders to draw the private sector into the decision-making.