Building Partnerships: U.S. Community Foundations and Mexican Hometown Associations Prepared by: Julieta Mendez International Community Foundation 2006 Fall Conference for Community Foundations September 20, 2006 Boston, MA.

Building partnerships: U.S. Community Foundations and HTAs Overview of CF-HTA Partnership Study Review of the Mexican immigrant community in the U.S.: potential and challenges Best practices & Lessons learned: how to cultivate a relationship for local development and diaspora giving. Case Study: The International Community Foundation and Oaxacan Migrant Communities Concluding remarks

Objective of CF-HTA Partnership Study To provide an understanding on the importance, potential and challenges that community foundations face when working with Mexican immigrant grassroots organizations.

Mexican Immigrants in the U.S. Overview: Population Statistics 27 million Mexicans living in the U.S.

States of Destination Arizona59 California Colorado45 Florida31 Georgia22 Illinois82170 Indiana-2 Michigan-1 Nevada-1 New Mexico13 New York1527 North Carolina-1 Oregon34 Pennsylvania511 Texas7348 Utah22 Washington77 Total Mexican Immigrants in the U.S.: Distribution of HTAs

The Challenge Communication barriers increase; many are not native Spanish speakers. Skeptical of government assistance HTAs are, for the most part, informal and unincorporated. The Potential Self-sufficient Autonomous Culture of strong civic participation HTAs are philanthropic in nature Mexican HTAs in the U.S.

Remittances & Philanthropy $20 billion in remittances sent to Mexico worldwide, in 2005 It’s estimated that 3% were for community based projects Approx. 75% of remittances came from the U.S.

Distribution of Collective Remittances 30% of migrants send money to family and for community based projects

Key Study Findings Staff and board diversity Flexible policies Community foundations must take the first step: be proactive! Building collaborative partnerships across institutions and across borders How to cultivate a relationship for local development and diaspora philanthropy

Key Study Findings Community foundations must take the first step: be proactive and creative! Establishing funds that promote Latino philanthropy and/or support Latino NGO and HTA development; Get to know your immigrant community and its leaders; Connecting HTAs to other sectors of the community and across-borders to help serve their needs, and effectively channel their remittances geared toward development projects; Serving as a fiscal sponsor for the organization; Engaging donors in a matching funds program for migrant-led and funded initiatives—locally and in community of origin.

Key Study Findings Building collaborative efforts across institutions Hispanics In Philanthropy (HIP) led initiative: statewide funders collaborative CFs building collaborative efforts across borders: U.S. CFsMexican Partnership Baton Rouge Area CommunityFondo Cordova, Veracruz Chicago Community TrustMichoacan Nonprofit and Government sectors Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro Mezquital, Durango International Community FoundationFundación Comunitaria Oaxaca (FCO); Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad (Tijuana).

The International Community Foundation (ICF) Engaging in Diaspora Philanthropy with the Oaxacan Immigrant Community Oaxacan migrants living in Canyons of San Diego County Set up a ICF to remit money to a community based project back home. …to support community based productive employment projects in their communities of origin

ICF: Ties that Bind Us Initiative ICF embarked on its Ties that Bind Us initiative in 2002 GOAL: To encourage economic and social development in the immigrants’ home countries to reduce the poverty and lack of opportunities that cause the need to migrate to the United States. OAXACA

grantmaking in migrant-sending communities, with emphasis on productive employment opportunities. ICF: Ties that Bind Us Initiative ICF has targeted its institutional resources on: Commissioning research Establishing strategic partnerships

ICF: Challenges & Lessons Learned Having a local and experienced NGO is critical but not easy to find; Strong local leadership is also critical; Internal politics inevitably arises; Projects can be time/staff intensive; Cross-border communications are key; Migrant donors’ first priority is to send money directly to family members not community based projects. ICF’s key challenge is matching migrant donors’ community specific interests with viable projects and the right NGO to help execute program.

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