UnidosUS Esperanza/Hope Fund Grants $775,000 in Community Grants to 31 Affiliates and Community Partners in Second Round of Giving

on

WASHINGTON, DC—In its second round of giving, UnidosUS (formerly National Council of La Raza), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, announced today that it has awarded $775,000 in grants to 31 Affiliates and community partners from its Esperanza/Hope Fund, as part of its celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

With this round of grants, the Esperanza/Hope Fund, established in April to support its Affiliate Network as they respond to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the Latino community, has now disbursed $1.525 million to support short-term emergency response efforts and sustaining longer-term programmatic initiatives that have shifted to virtual or semi-virtual delivery.

“This pandemic is hurting not only individuals, it is also hurting our community organizations,” said UnidosUS President and CEO Janet Murguía. “Recent research shows that up to 40 percent of nonprofits may not make out of this crisis. It is a priority for UnidosUS to support our Latino Affiliates—they are a critical lifeline to some of the most vulnerable in our communities. Without Hispanic community-based organizations, our community’s and country’s recovery is compromised.”

In deciding on grantees for this round, UnidosUS prioritized projects focused on health, housing, employment, education, immigrant integration or civic engagement. Each of the 31 Affiliates and community partners in in 14 states and the District of Columbia will receive $25,000 to support emergency assistance to clients; technology to support remote work and service delivery; new programs to respond to the health and economic crises and operational support to ensure these vital organizations can keep their doors open, now and in the long road to recovery from this crisis.

The Affiliates and community partners receiving grants include: La Clínica de La Raza, Inc. (Oakland, CA); Building Skills Partnership (Los Angeles, CA); Cesar Chavez Foundation (Los Angeles, CA); El Concilio (Stockton, CA); Visionary Home Builders of California, Inc. (Stockton, CA); Self-Help Enterprises (Vasilia, CA); Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (Montebello, CA), Campesinos Sin Fronteras (Somerton, CA); Colorado Latino Leadership, Advocacy & Research Organization (Denver, CO); Latino Community Foundation of Colorado (Denver, CO); Encuentro (Albuquerque, NM); Gads Hill (Chicago, IL); The Latino Alzheimer’s Memory Disorders Project (Cicero, IL); Spanish Coalition for Housing (Chicago, IL); Enlace Chicago (Chicago, IL); Centro Hispano Nebraska (Columbus, NE); Spanish American Committee (Cleveland, OH); CARECEN (Washington, DC), Latin American Community Center (Wilmington, DE); Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (Brooklyn, NY); ConnectFamilias (Miami, FL); Housing and Education Alliance (Tampa, FL); Latino Leadership (Orlando, FL); El Pueblo, Inc. (Raleigh, NC); Centro Hispano de East Tennessee (Knoxville, TN); Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition (Nashville, TN); Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe (El Paso, TX); El Paso Community Action Program Project Bravo, Inc. (El Paso, TX); Project Vida Health Center (El Paso, TX); YWCA El Paso del Norte Region (El Paso, TX) and El Centro de La Raza (Seattle, WA).

The coronavirus pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for all Americans, but several factors make Latinos especially vulnerable both to COVID-19 and the many health and economic threats the nation currently faces. Latinos make up 18 percent of the U.S. population, but they account for 28.3 percent of COVID-19 cases and 16.4 percent of deaths. Among Latino children it is even worse: according to the CDC, Latino children account for 38.2 percent of cases and 36.7 percent of deaths among children age 5-17.

UnidosUS launched the Esperanza/Hope Fund in April as part of its response to provide immediate financial support and assistance to families, ensure accurate and trusted public health information was reaching Spanish-speaking communities and provide advocacy leadership on the relief and recovery efforts.

UnidosUS is grateful for the generous contributions of its anchor funder, PepsiCo, along with those Esperanza Hope Fund supporters who each contributed $100,000 or more: AARP, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Cargill, Charter Communications, Kemper, Pfizer, Target, Toyota and Walmart. The support of these companies along with many other corporate and foundation partners and individuals enables UnidosUS to provide this important financial support along with valuable capacity building, communications tools and more.

Click here to find out more about the UnidosUS Esperanza/Hope Fund and how you can support it.