FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 4, 2002

SCHUMER: TOP PHILANTHROPIC FOUNDATIONS' GIVING TO LATINO NON-PROFITS IS LAGGING

New Schumer analysis shows that the nation's largest foundations tend to give only 0-3% of their grant money to Latino non-profit groups

Schumer and non-profits to unveil effort to improve foundations' outreach to Latino groups to help them apply for grants and receive more funding

Standing with some of New York City's Latino non-profit groups, US Senator Charles Schumer released a new analysis showing that some of the largest philanthropic foundations in the US, including The Ford Foundation, The Pew Charitable Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation, gave only a fraction of their total grant monies to Latino non-profits in 2000 and that more than half of the top 50 US foundations did not give grants at all to Latino groups that year. In total, the top foundations gave only $45.6 million to Latino non-profits out of the more than $5.7 billion they gave overall in 2000.

"It's not that the foundations don't want to give grants to Latino organizations and it's not that these organizations don't deserve the money," Schumer said. "The foundations have the money and want to give it and the nonprofits need it and want to get it, but when push comes to shove, there seems to be something standing in way of them connecting."

Latino non-profits provide vital services to the Latino community. These organizations include colleges, violence intervention programs, tutoring programs and community centers. Many of these organizations are grass roots in nature and do not have large staffs that are able to prepare complicated grant applications.

According to data from the Foundation Center, only 13 of the top 50 philanthropic foundations made grants to organizations that primarily served the Latino community. Of those 13 foundations, the average percent of total grant money given to Latino non-profits was only 1.3%. According to the group Hispanics in Philanthropy, nationwide, only 1.5% of grant money goes to Latino organizations despite the fact that Latinos make up 13% of the general population.

Some of the foundations that gave grants to Latino non-profits in 2000 are as follows:
$ The Ford Foundation: $19.0 million or 2.9% of its total grants
$ Bill and Martha Gates Foundation: $7.0 million or 0.7% of its total grants
$ The Pew Charitable Foundation: $4.0 million or 2.1% of its total grants
$ The Rockefeller Foundation: $3.9 million or 2.4% of its total grants
$ Open Society Institute: $2.4 million or 2.1% of its total grants
$ Charles Stewart Mott Foundation: $1.7 million or 1.2% of its total grants
$ The David and Lucille Packard Foundation: $1.5 million or 0.3% of its total grants
$ Carnegie Corporation of New York: $1.4 million or 2.2% of its total grants
$ The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: $1.1 million or 0.3% of its total grants
$ The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: $0.8 million or 0.6% of its total grants
$ The John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: $0.8 million or 0.5% of its total grants
$ The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: $0.8 million or 0.9% of total grants
$ The New York Community Trust: $0.7 million or 0.5% of total grants

"These foundations should be commended for giving some money to Latino organizations, since too many foundations aren't giving anything. But with these foundations and others, more needs to be done," Schumer said. "The Latino population is growing and it has needs that Latino non-profits are striving to meet. Success will only come if the funding is there."

Schumer outlined a 3-point plan that would help Latino non-profits receive grant money from the private foundations. The plan includes:

Increased Marketing to Ethnic Press – Schumer urged philanthropic foundations to advertise in ethnic media markets when their grant applications are due. "Only by reaching out through the ethnic press will large numbers of Latino and other ethnic non-profits know of the opportunities that exist and what the deadlines are for taking advantage of them," Schumer said.

Workshops and Technical Assistance from Foundations – Once the Latino organizations become aware of the grants that exist, they need help in applying for them. Unfortunately, many of these organizations do not have staff with the experience needed to submit successful grant applications. Schumer urged the private foundations to provide technical assistance to grassroots organizations and to hold workshops where the grant writing process could be explained.

Pro-bono work by private consultants – In order to receive the most money, many non-profits turn to consultants who help with the grant writing process. However, many Latino organizations are grass-root endeavors and cannot afford to hire these consultants. Schumer urged non-profit consultants to increase the amount of pro-bono work they do in order to help Latino organizations receive more grants. As these organizations grow, they can then become paying clients to the consultants.

"The bottom line is that we need to do a better job of reaching out to the groups to let them know what opportunities are out there and to help shepherd their applications through the grant process," Schumer said. "If the foundations take these small steps, the word will spread like wildfire, and more non-profits would receive the grants they need and deserve. But it needs to start somewhere and that is why I am asking the foundations to begin here."

Schumer was joined by Carmen Vega-Rivera, Director, East Harlem Tutorial Program, Yolanda Sanchez, Executive Director of PRACA ( Puerto Rican Association for Community Affairs), Grace Perez, Executive Director of Violence Intervention Program, Melissa Mark-Biverito, President Women of El Barrio, Norma Stanton, Executive Director HACER (Hispanic Women's Center) and other leaders of Latino non-profits.

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