Supporting Latinx nonprofits by training leaders and fundraisers 

The Latinx community is often missing from philanthropic discussions—both about donors and about nonprofit organizations. We are 20% of the U.S. population, but from every measurement in philanthropy including grants to Latinx-focused nonprofit organizations to representation among board members and staff, you wouldn’t know there were 62 million of us. In 2022, the U.S. Latinx community had the equivalent of a $3.6 trillion GDP. Based on my own basic calculations, I estimate that the Latinx population has an annual giving capacity of $24.7 billion. Meanwhile, thousands of small and midsize Latinx-focused nonprofits are serving our communities—from a women’s shelter in Chicago to a scholarship program in Tucson. These organizations overwhelmingly have small budgets and limited staffing and fundraising capacity. They cannot meet the needs of our growing community. 

What would it mean if we both greatly increased Latinx giving to these nonprofits from Latinx individuals and helped these organizations to improve their fundraising? 

Three years ago, I founded Somos El Poder, the first Latinx fundraising institute in the United States, to help Latinx-focused nonprofits improve and diversify their fundraising. Our most recent survey finds that 80.5% of our members report improvements in their fundraising initiatives. How are we doing this? Here’s what we are learning: 

Be culturally competent 

We’ve learned that Latinx leaders benefit when there’s a high level of cultural competency and comfort. Latinx nonprofit staff need a unique sense of familia, safety, and empowerment that speaks to our experience with giving, money, women’s leadership, and more.  

I cannot emphasize enough that Latinx leaders and fundraisers learn “in community.” Our community has both financial realities and carino (caring, both goals and corazon (heart). When our leaders feel that community, they get ready to learn, take risks, and imagine what’s possible.  

Be ‘ridiculously accessible’ to small nonprofits 

When I started Somos El Poder, I surveyed Latinx nonprofit leaders about the issues they faced when it came to learning about fundraising. The lack of money and time were big ones. I also heard that fundraising training is “not for us,” meaning it was designed for large nonprofits like universities, museums, and hospitals.  

So, we offered support so culturally relevant, so inexpensive, and so generous Latinx nonprofits simply would feel foolish to say no to it. Membership includes tens of thousands of dollars in services, but the fee is $100 a year for organizations with budgets under $5 million. For $100, members can attend in-person classes, join professional learning groups, enroll in a certificate program, access recorded webinars, get one-on-one coaching and support. That’s what being accessible to leaders of small nonprofits looks like. 

Confront internal demons 

We’ve learned that the barriers to successful fundraising include internalized racism and misogyny that only Latinx leaders truly understand. There is a culture of silence and hard work many of us working at Latinx nonprofits are raised in. We have our own internal divisions we need to confront. Every leader we train fights both internal and external voices saying, “No, you can’t.” For women leaders, it’s worse. We call those issues out, and only mutual support from others who have overcome those issues and succeeded in raising more money can help.  

Get the board on board 

Unique to our fundraising training is that we require board member participation. I spent years going to conferences and events, coming back with great ideas—only to have a board that didn’t understand fundraising veto improvements and new investments.  

When you educate and empower one board member, they can influence the rest of the board. I’ve heard again and again from members that bringing in the board has been game-changing for their organization and its fundraising.  

Educate grantmakers about Latinx nonprofits 

Those outside the Latinx nonprofit space assume we work on immigration. They don’t look further. Yet Latinx nonprofits work on climate change, conservation, the arts, health, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights and empowerment, voting rights, education, etc. Many program officers who love what we do don’t see how we align with their climate change portfolio, for example. How do we advance any policy or issue while ignoring 20% of the population as allies, donors, and activists? We need to expand grantmakers’ understanding of what we do. 

Keep it going 

One last thing we’ve learned is that training has to be continued and supported. One-off programs and conferences don’t change most organizations. Long-term support and mentorship do.  

Too many in philanthropy see Latinx as victims or people who need to be helped. But the lessons we’ve learned make it clear that empowering Latinx nonprofit leaders and fundraisers and investing in Latinx community members as philanthropists, change agents, and assets to be valued and nurtured benefits the broader community. 

Photo credit: Somos el Poder