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Join a Study Tour for Grantmakers

 

From Guanajuato to North Carolina: A Tale of Two States

September 7–13, 2008

 

The Challenges of Transnational Communities

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Introduction and Invitation

You are invited to join the Council on Foundations and Hispanics in Philanthropy for a transformative ex­perience of communities across borders. This study tour is the first in a series of unique tours for grantmakers focusing on transnational com­munities in the United States and Latin America. These tours are designed for executive-level funders and intended to spark a dialogue among philanthropic leaders to increase understanding of the complex dynamics of emigration/immigration by taking an up-close look at several transnational communities.

 

During the first tour, a core group of phi­lanthropic leaders will visit several Latino communities in North Carolina and Guanajuato, Mexico, over a one-week period. The group will meet with local leaders and visit community projects to witness firsthand the challenges that both immigrant-receiving and immigrant-sending communities are facing and what they’re doing about it.  

 

Additional travel tours are tentatively scheduled for Guatemala in 2009 and the Dominican Republic in 2010.

 

Context

Today, we are witnessing a blending of cultures and economies on an historic scale between the United States and Latin America. A 2006 study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that Latino immigrants in North Carolina have a net, annual cost of $61 million to the state’s budget for education, healthcare, and corrections. The study also found that immigrant workers and consumers contributed approximately $9 billion to the state’s economy through purchases, taxes, and labor. This workforce contribution represents a loss in economic and social input in the immigrants’ native countries, even when remittances are counted. There are towns in Mexico and Central America that at any given time, half the population is living and working in the United States. At the same time, the influx of immigrants into small cities and rural towns can add to perceived economic pressures and result in backlash from the receiving communities.

 

The numbers are compelling. Consider these factors:

·        Today, 42 million Latinos live in the United States. By the year 2050, Latinos will comprise 29 percent of the population. Every region of the United States has been affected.  

·        Shifting demographics and regional economic development take on a sense of urgency and opportunity at the heart of the immigration debate.

·        As the social, economic, political, and cultural impact of these transnational communities continues to grow in im­portance, it is appropriate for the phi­lanthropic sector to take a closer look and understand what is really happen­ing, and explore the greater role it could play in contributing to positive outcomes in these communities.

·        The current relative stability, the im­portance of the region to the United States, and the wealth of opportunities for impact make Latin America an in­triguing and attractive region for phi­lanthropic investments.

 

Why should these issues matter to philanthropy?

Philanthropic support for Latino civil society has reached a critical juncture in the United States. Foundation support for Latin American organizations declined 30 percent between 2002 to 2004 to 5.9 percent of all U.S. foundation dollars spent for international purposes. Furthermore, philanthropic giving by wealthy Latin Americans falls below their counterparts in other regions of the world. Foundation support for U.S. Latino-focused organizations has remained steady at about two percent of all U.S. philanthropic giving over the past 20 years, despite the dramatic growth in the U.S. Latino population during that time.

 

Ironically, this decline in relative funding comes at a time when Latin America’s philanthropic infrastructure—once virtually nonexistent—is emerging, and the philanthropic landscape is changing with many possibilities for growth. In Mexico, there have been 19 community foundations or similar organizations created. There are an estimated 300,000 millionaires in Latin America, and wealthy individuals like Mexican businessman Carlos Slim are drawing unprecedented media attention to the role of philanthropy. In 2006, remittances from Latino workers to Latin America and the Caribbean were estimated at $58 billion; and increasing numbers of the 600 hometown associations in the United States are serving as vehicles for philanthropic giving back to communities of origin, often in partnership with government. 

 

While the more established foundations that have traditionally invested in the region—Kellogg, Hewlett, Ford, MacArthur, and Packard among others—continue to build on knowledge and experience gained through years of focused initiatives, a new wave of entrepreneurial philanthropists is addressing big global issues with a business approach to measuring risk and outcomes. Therefore, despite the relative decline in philanthropic funding to Latin America and Latino communities in the United States, there is a great deal to be excited about in the philanthropic field. The current relative stability, the importance of the region to the United States, and the wealth of opportunities that can have a considerable impact will make Latin America an intriguing and attractive region for philanthropic investments. Philanthropists have the opportunity, the tools, and the resources to impact a critical region at a critical time.

 

Design and Theme

The study tour aims to facilitate a dialogue among philanthropic leaders who see the potential for impact of social investments in Latin America and Latino communities. This transnational, high-level, practical tour will provide participants an opportunity for learning, peer exchange, and a sharper understanding of the complex dynamics of immigration to the United States from Latin America, including the economic, social, cultural, and political dimensions of both the sending and receiving communities.

 

The one week study tour will include interactive sessions that focus on:  

·        issue briefings with noted experts, academics, and practitioners

·        site visits to projects to hear firsthand from communities and their leaders

·        discussions of best practices, innovative models, and new ideas

·        reflections and peer exchanges

 

In addition, the curriculum incorporates readings, case studies, and other resources to introduce participants to the subject matter.

 

The program will encompass a broad subject area on topics such as:

·        perceptions of Mexican immigration versus the reality in the United States

·        resource mobilization for communities of origin, including remittances

·        the social, economic, and environmental factors that drive migration from Mexico

·        strategies for revitalizing communities of origin in Mexico

·        community support systems and organizing in new and rapidly expanding immigrant destination cities

 

Agenda

September 7

Arrive in North Carolina. There will be an evening welcome reception, introductions, and orientation. A briefing by community leaders will be held to introduce the subject matter and set the basis for the site visits and subsequent discussions.

September 8

Meet with federation and confederation leaders, visit nonprofits, and meet with Latino and non-Latino media and business leaders. These meetings will offer participants opportunities for peer exchanges and discussions. 

September 9

Morning site visits to local organizations that are working with Diaspora communities on local, sustainable development projects. Depart for Guanajuato, Mexico, late afternoon.

 

September 10

Listen to presentations by academics and local leaders in Guanajuato on the cost of high migration in the region and the effects of remittances on community life. Participants will also visit a community-led productive project and tour the historic town of Guanajuato.

September 11

Meet with Guanajuato state and municipal leaders, which will be followed by strategy sessions focused on social leadership, potential investments, and an agenda for long-term engagement in the region. These strategy sessions will also provide an opportunity to reflect and begin to identify lessons learned. Depart for Mexico City. 

September 12

Meet with academic and social leaders, and members of the media, which will be followed by a closing reception hosted by corporate and philanthropic leaders. 

September 13

Gather in the morning to assess experiences and share insights gained over the course of the study tour, discuss ways that participation in the delegation may impact individual grantmaking, and explore the potential for future joint initiatives among funders interested in the issues covered during the tour. Study tour closing and afternoon departure.

 

Fees and Costs

The total cost for the one week study tour is $3,200, which covers hotels, meals, materials, ground transportation, and airfare to Guanajuato and Mexico City. It does not cover airfare to and from the study tour or incidental expenses, which is your responsibility.

 

Space is limited to 25 participants to ensure the highest level of interaction and exchange with the local hosts and among the participants. Preference will be given to senior executives from grantmaking institutions who have influence over their organizations’ strategic goals and programmatic activities. In order to guarantee your place for this exciting study tour, download the registration form and register early. A $300 deposit is required at the time of registration. Deposits are refundable for cancellations made by July 31, 2008.  

 

If you would like to to register online, please click on on of the options below. Please note that in addtion to this online registration you must download and submit the registration form provided at the top of this page.

 

To pay Deposit Only
 
To pay the Full Amount
 
If you have already paid a deposit, and would like to pay the reamining Balance
 
For additional information, please contact either Natalia Sturla, Hispanics in Philanthropy, at natalia@hiponline.org or Nadia Martinez, Council on Foundations, at Nadia.Martinez@cof.org.

 
About Philanthropic Initiative for the Americas

Philanthropic Initiative for the Americas (PIA) is a collaboration between the Council on Foundations and Hispanics in Philanthropy, which arises out of a common interest in increasing strategic philanthropic investments in the U.S. Latino civil sector and fostering the growth of philanthropy throughout the Latin American and Caribbean regions. A core component of the initiative is a series of travel study tours that will offer peer exchanges and learning opportunities for leaders in the philanthropic community. The purpose of the study tours is to focus on the economic and social inequalities at our southern borders that call for a strategic, unified investment by philanthropists today. The study tours are modeled after the highly successful travel seminars to South Africa—organized by the Council’s former CEO Jim Joseph—during the dissolution of apartheid to illustrate the role for foundations in support of emerging democracy in that country.

 

PIA brings together U.S.-based funders, local philanthropists, philanthropic support organizations, corporations, government agencies, researchers, and others in an effort to grow philanthropy’s role in supporting the transformation toward greater economic and social justice in the Americas. PIA has three main goals:

1.      encourage philanthropic leadership and enhance institutional capacity

2.      share information and foster trust among philanthropic networks

3.      increase philanthropic collaborations and outreach with Latino communities in the United States and Latin America

 

In order to shape this initiative, HIP and the Council convened an advisory committee of leaders engaged in philanthropy from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States to define a five-year action agenda. A leadership council of stakeholders meets 2–3 times per year to guide the initiative’s development and monitor its progress.
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