Philanthropy’s Sleeping Giant:
Why Can’t We Engage Latino’s More Successfully?
Despite the fervent wishes of some political candidate’s Latina/o’s aren’t going away from the US. We aren’t all going to pack up and return to the mother country! On the contrary we are growing by every measurement available. You can find Latina/o’s everywhere now compared to 20 years ago. You can be in rural Ohio and hear Spanish spoken or be on a Louisiana back road and smell someone cooking carne asada. (Hopefully properly done).
By 2050, like it or not we will be 102 million people in the US, roughly 1 in 4 residents. Purchasing power is expected to triple to $1.5 trillion by 2016, and 33.9 percent of the Hispanic population is younger than age of 18.
Yet Latino/a’s are wildly underrepresented in nonprofit leadership, staff and donors. A handful of studies have attempted to identify the reasons behind this historic trend. As a Latino and a nonprofit fundraiser with 32 years of experience in our field I have read these studies with great interest. Finding great real life examples of organizations who have figured out the hidden massive resource of Latino/a donors is wonderful. In my career I have worked in the arena of Latina/o Major Donors and mass appeals as well. I have been the one brown person in the room making the appeal to start an effort to reach to Latina/o prospects. I am also a well-known, and annoying evangelist for the power of Major Gifts prospecting and Prospect Research. These unique roads I have walked have given me what I hope is a unique perspective on this thorny issue. Here I have crystallized here into a few key points.
Germans Trying to Build Health Clinics in Turkey: I use this silly analogy which is completely fictional but accurate. Think of a well-meaning German nonprofit trying to build a Health Clinic in rural Turkey. The logistical, language, cultural challenges are huge. It would require serious study and a multiyear investment to make it work. Just building the clinic and translating everything from German wouldn’t work.
This analogy is relevant because most fundraising attempted inside the Latino/a community comes from people who are outside our community. More commonly most nonprofits don’t even bother asking Latino/a’s for philanthropic support.
Simply put, well-meaning nonprofit leaders don’t really think of Latino/a’s of us as a resource and too often thinking of us as only victims. I have worked in major national organizations where Latina/o’s there simply are no Latina’s or Latino’s in any leadership position out of tens of thousands of employee’s. According to a report by The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., of all communities of color in California, Latinos are most underrepresented as nonprofits executive directors, accounting for 6.5 percent. Further, the study found that only 3.5 percent of nonprofit boards include Hispanics. There has been growth in staff in the last 10 years but we haven’t seen the rise up the career ladder yet.
Another huge issue is simply that you need to ask Latino/a’s in order for philanthropy to happen. Ask us. We have a long tradition of generosity, of giving or helping our communities. When I counsel nonprofits on this issue I review their efforts, if any, to reach out to Latina/o’s and its overwhelmingly one of two things. One…it’s never happened, not once. Or secondly it’s been piecemeal, or just their regular mailings translated from English, its sent out and fingers are crossed.
We are a different culture living in the US today. Please understand that. Like building that clinic in Turkey. While younger folks are growing up in American philanthropy older Latinas and Latinos have little experience giving to an organization or being part of a nonprofit outside of church. It’s new and needs to be introduced in a culturally intelligent way. That’s all. We don’t have the income commonly that Caucasian friends have but we do give at the same rate as they do if not slightly higher compared to household income. Find a Mexican American family that has been touched by cancer and ask them for money for cancer research and chances are better than you’d expect they will give generously. And they won’t give from assets like wealthier people, they will give from their daily living money. One could argue that’s even more generous.
One must also remember that there is no one “Latina” for example. The difference between a Colombiana in New York and a newly immigrated woman from Guatemala in Los Angeles is very, very different. They almost speak a different language, have different icons, history, cuisine etc. Yes there are unifying factors but they simply aren’t the same. Many American’s in nonprofits lump Latina/o’s into one pile. Mexican’s. Sure there are a lot of us, but even us Mexican’s come in an incredible diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
Finally, on this point one needs to make a deep investment in studying your Spanish speaking prospect base. Study what’s worked at other institutions. What’s culturally relevant to your work with our population? There will be need to be many tests. There are also many new books on marketing to Latino/a’s out there. There are new young Latina’s who don’t fit in labels or categories who are finding their own power now. Challenge them to use some of that power to aide your cause/institution.
Years ago, I saw a solicitation piece go out to a largely cold Mexican American group of prospects for Breast Cancer. It failed for a range of reasons, but the person who wrote it used terms and words that were Argentine Spanish and Mexican’s were immediately put off. The solicitation letter was from the organizational Executive Director, who was a man (whose picture was printed) to one’s wife and daughters talking about their breasts and self-exams. Conservative Mexican men were put off and even offended.
After this disaster, this group reached out to local clinic “Promotoras”, lay health workers. They showed this old mailing and after some giggles and jokes they gave them valuable guidance. That the letter had to be not only language relevant but also be “woman to woman”. Have a diverse types of women pictured. The next mailing avoided talking about self-exams but instead encouraged phone calls to the same Promotora’s who now collaborated with that organization. They also identified regions in Mexico where the women pictured were originally from. Knowing that Mexican’s identify and trust people from their own home area more often. They raised a surprising amount of money and the phones rang off the hook with new clients asking vital questions about breast cancer.
The $50 Dollar Bill in Your Pocket: Ever find a $50 dollar bill in an old coat, one you’re forgot about it? If you’re a student or don’t have a lot of money, finding surprise cash is a thrill. That’s what it’s like when you realize there is a whole population of supporters who you have never engaged.
I am speaking now about Individual Major Donors. Nobody talks about Latino’s as major donors.
Yes, there is a huge income imbalance between Latino’s and other Americans in the US today. There are much less Latino/a’s major gifts prospects but they are still many more than you’d think. Applying a 1-10 rating we could say that Major Giving potential amongst Caucasian folks is at a 10 or 9. They have a great record of philanthropy for the past 200 years. Most people think of Latina/o’s as a 0 or 1. I have had the opportunity to explore the Latino/a giving landscape, including Major Giving and what I am saying is that I would rate it more like a 5 than a 1. Not a 10 but much more than you'd think.
The prime tool needed and consistently missing is Prospect Research. Among nonprofits that serve the Latino/a community nonprofits its common that they have never heard of Prospect Research or think it’s too expensive and only for universities. It’s also very common that these organizations heavily focus on corporate or foundation fundraising. For many the closest they get to individual Major Giving is the Annual Gala, which isn’t the same thing. There is no question that individual contributions constitute the single largest source of philanthropic support in the United States. According to recent data, personal giving reached $134.84 billion in 1998, representing 77.3% of total giving; and fully ninety percent of all contributions to nonprofit organizations in the United States come from individuals.
Yet too many Latino/a focused nonprofits survive on this small slice of the fundraising pie that is corporate and foundation funding. Yes it takes courage, time and investment to build an individual major giving program, but it pays big time.
Many large national nonprofits with the potential for substantial giving from Latinos don’t use Prospect Research effectively either, nor would they research Latino’s as they just don’t think they have money. Consistent polls show Latino’s care deeply about the environment, health care, climate change and other issues everyone else cares about.
Want to find Latino/a major donors who will give game changing gifts to your organization? Do your Prospect Research! If one thing comes out of this article, try asking your Prospect Researcher to do a deep dig into Latina/o’s who support you now or who might support you. There are many new areas of wealth for Latino/a’s across the US that nobody notices. There is new wealth in law, tech, bio tech, fashion, entertainment, trade, public relations, construction and more.
If you don’t have a Prospect Researcher, get one. Even a freelance consultant prospect research consultant. There is a free list of these nice folks on my website. www.armandozumaya.com . Interview them and pick one!
An overarching issue I mentioned earlier needs to be emphasized again. That is recruiting, training and retaining Latino/a’s into our profession of nonprofit fundraising. For years there weren’t many of us, especially at a higher management level. This is changing but not anywhere near fast enough. As a profession we need to ask ourselves how we recruit and how we reach out to the communities we serve?
Hanging out with Conquistadores: Few people know that the first European language spoken in what is now the continental US was Spanish in Colonial Florida. I remind people who think Latino/a’s should “go home” that states like California, Florida and Texas are named in Spanish because we named them, thus we were here a long time ago.
Obviously what I am saying is that we are part of your community, call on us. Latino/a’s hate and want to fight Cancer, Alzheimer’s and AIDS. Latino/a homes are hit by the same hurricanes that hit other people’s homes, we suffer from crime and poverty. We will give generously to help our neighbors. Finally, I bet on whatever cause you’re working on there will be at least a few Latino/a major donors waiting to be found, cultivated and asked.
So please study, invest and work to change this great disparity. You just might wonder how you got along before without this big part of your community!
Please check out these great organizations working on these issues, studies and other articles:
Hispanics in Philanthropy: http://www.hiponline.org/
History of Latino's and Philanthropy http://www.philanthropy.org/programs/literature_reviews/latino_lit_review.pdf
The Pew Center, source of great info: http://www.pewhispanic.org/
Great Article about Marketing: http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/marketing-to-hispanics-is-more-than-language/
Chronicle of Philanthropy study: www.philanthropy.org/publications/online_publications/latino_paper.pdf
Famous Philanthropists: https://issuu.com/guerrerohowe/docs/hip_issuu
Great Marketing Book by Isabel Valdes: http://isabelvaldes.com/
Feel free to contact me through my webisite at www.armandozumaya.com
Why Can’t We Engage Latino’s More Successfully?
Despite the fervent wishes of some political candidate’s Latina/o’s aren’t going away from the US. We aren’t all going to pack up and return to the mother country! On the contrary we are growing by every measurement available. You can find Latina/o’s everywhere now compared to 20 years ago. You can be in rural Ohio and hear Spanish spoken or be on a Louisiana back road and smell someone cooking carne asada. (Hopefully properly done).
By 2050, like it or not we will be 102 million people in the US, roughly 1 in 4 residents. Purchasing power is expected to triple to $1.5 trillion by 2016, and 33.9 percent of the Hispanic population is younger than age of 18.
Yet Latino/a’s are wildly underrepresented in nonprofit leadership, staff and donors. A handful of studies have attempted to identify the reasons behind this historic trend. As a Latino and a nonprofit fundraiser with 32 years of experience in our field I have read these studies with great interest. Finding great real life examples of organizations who have figured out the hidden massive resource of Latino/a donors is wonderful. In my career I have worked in the arena of Latina/o Major Donors and mass appeals as well. I have been the one brown person in the room making the appeal to start an effort to reach to Latina/o prospects. I am also a well-known, and annoying evangelist for the power of Major Gifts prospecting and Prospect Research. These unique roads I have walked have given me what I hope is a unique perspective on this thorny issue. Here I have crystallized here into a few key points.
Germans Trying to Build Health Clinics in Turkey: I use this silly analogy which is completely fictional but accurate. Think of a well-meaning German nonprofit trying to build a Health Clinic in rural Turkey. The logistical, language, cultural challenges are huge. It would require serious study and a multiyear investment to make it work. Just building the clinic and translating everything from German wouldn’t work.
This analogy is relevant because most fundraising attempted inside the Latino/a community comes from people who are outside our community. More commonly most nonprofits don’t even bother asking Latino/a’s for philanthropic support.
Simply put, well-meaning nonprofit leaders don’t really think of Latino/a’s of us as a resource and too often thinking of us as only victims. I have worked in major national organizations where Latina/o’s there simply are no Latina’s or Latino’s in any leadership position out of tens of thousands of employee’s. According to a report by The Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., of all communities of color in California, Latinos are most underrepresented as nonprofits executive directors, accounting for 6.5 percent. Further, the study found that only 3.5 percent of nonprofit boards include Hispanics. There has been growth in staff in the last 10 years but we haven’t seen the rise up the career ladder yet.
Another huge issue is simply that you need to ask Latino/a’s in order for philanthropy to happen. Ask us. We have a long tradition of generosity, of giving or helping our communities. When I counsel nonprofits on this issue I review their efforts, if any, to reach out to Latina/o’s and its overwhelmingly one of two things. One…it’s never happened, not once. Or secondly it’s been piecemeal, or just their regular mailings translated from English, its sent out and fingers are crossed.
We are a different culture living in the US today. Please understand that. Like building that clinic in Turkey. While younger folks are growing up in American philanthropy older Latinas and Latinos have little experience giving to an organization or being part of a nonprofit outside of church. It’s new and needs to be introduced in a culturally intelligent way. That’s all. We don’t have the income commonly that Caucasian friends have but we do give at the same rate as they do if not slightly higher compared to household income. Find a Mexican American family that has been touched by cancer and ask them for money for cancer research and chances are better than you’d expect they will give generously. And they won’t give from assets like wealthier people, they will give from their daily living money. One could argue that’s even more generous.
One must also remember that there is no one “Latina” for example. The difference between a Colombiana in New York and a newly immigrated woman from Guatemala in Los Angeles is very, very different. They almost speak a different language, have different icons, history, cuisine etc. Yes there are unifying factors but they simply aren’t the same. Many American’s in nonprofits lump Latina/o’s into one pile. Mexican’s. Sure there are a lot of us, but even us Mexican’s come in an incredible diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
Finally, on this point one needs to make a deep investment in studying your Spanish speaking prospect base. Study what’s worked at other institutions. What’s culturally relevant to your work with our population? There will be need to be many tests. There are also many new books on marketing to Latino/a’s out there. There are new young Latina’s who don’t fit in labels or categories who are finding their own power now. Challenge them to use some of that power to aide your cause/institution.
Years ago, I saw a solicitation piece go out to a largely cold Mexican American group of prospects for Breast Cancer. It failed for a range of reasons, but the person who wrote it used terms and words that were Argentine Spanish and Mexican’s were immediately put off. The solicitation letter was from the organizational Executive Director, who was a man (whose picture was printed) to one’s wife and daughters talking about their breasts and self-exams. Conservative Mexican men were put off and even offended.
After this disaster, this group reached out to local clinic “Promotoras”, lay health workers. They showed this old mailing and after some giggles and jokes they gave them valuable guidance. That the letter had to be not only language relevant but also be “woman to woman”. Have a diverse types of women pictured. The next mailing avoided talking about self-exams but instead encouraged phone calls to the same Promotora’s who now collaborated with that organization. They also identified regions in Mexico where the women pictured were originally from. Knowing that Mexican’s identify and trust people from their own home area more often. They raised a surprising amount of money and the phones rang off the hook with new clients asking vital questions about breast cancer.
The $50 Dollar Bill in Your Pocket: Ever find a $50 dollar bill in an old coat, one you’re forgot about it? If you’re a student or don’t have a lot of money, finding surprise cash is a thrill. That’s what it’s like when you realize there is a whole population of supporters who you have never engaged.
I am speaking now about Individual Major Donors. Nobody talks about Latino’s as major donors.
Yes, there is a huge income imbalance between Latino’s and other Americans in the US today. There are much less Latino/a’s major gifts prospects but they are still many more than you’d think. Applying a 1-10 rating we could say that Major Giving potential amongst Caucasian folks is at a 10 or 9. They have a great record of philanthropy for the past 200 years. Most people think of Latina/o’s as a 0 or 1. I have had the opportunity to explore the Latino/a giving landscape, including Major Giving and what I am saying is that I would rate it more like a 5 than a 1. Not a 10 but much more than you'd think.
The prime tool needed and consistently missing is Prospect Research. Among nonprofits that serve the Latino/a community nonprofits its common that they have never heard of Prospect Research or think it’s too expensive and only for universities. It’s also very common that these organizations heavily focus on corporate or foundation fundraising. For many the closest they get to individual Major Giving is the Annual Gala, which isn’t the same thing. There is no question that individual contributions constitute the single largest source of philanthropic support in the United States. According to recent data, personal giving reached $134.84 billion in 1998, representing 77.3% of total giving; and fully ninety percent of all contributions to nonprofit organizations in the United States come from individuals.
Yet too many Latino/a focused nonprofits survive on this small slice of the fundraising pie that is corporate and foundation funding. Yes it takes courage, time and investment to build an individual major giving program, but it pays big time.
Many large national nonprofits with the potential for substantial giving from Latinos don’t use Prospect Research effectively either, nor would they research Latino’s as they just don’t think they have money. Consistent polls show Latino’s care deeply about the environment, health care, climate change and other issues everyone else cares about.
Want to find Latino/a major donors who will give game changing gifts to your organization? Do your Prospect Research! If one thing comes out of this article, try asking your Prospect Researcher to do a deep dig into Latina/o’s who support you now or who might support you. There are many new areas of wealth for Latino/a’s across the US that nobody notices. There is new wealth in law, tech, bio tech, fashion, entertainment, trade, public relations, construction and more.
If you don’t have a Prospect Researcher, get one. Even a freelance consultant prospect research consultant. There is a free list of these nice folks on my website. www.armandozumaya.com . Interview them and pick one!
An overarching issue I mentioned earlier needs to be emphasized again. That is recruiting, training and retaining Latino/a’s into our profession of nonprofit fundraising. For years there weren’t many of us, especially at a higher management level. This is changing but not anywhere near fast enough. As a profession we need to ask ourselves how we recruit and how we reach out to the communities we serve?
Hanging out with Conquistadores: Few people know that the first European language spoken in what is now the continental US was Spanish in Colonial Florida. I remind people who think Latino/a’s should “go home” that states like California, Florida and Texas are named in Spanish because we named them, thus we were here a long time ago.
Obviously what I am saying is that we are part of your community, call on us. Latino/a’s hate and want to fight Cancer, Alzheimer’s and AIDS. Latino/a homes are hit by the same hurricanes that hit other people’s homes, we suffer from crime and poverty. We will give generously to help our neighbors. Finally, I bet on whatever cause you’re working on there will be at least a few Latino/a major donors waiting to be found, cultivated and asked.
So please study, invest and work to change this great disparity. You just might wonder how you got along before without this big part of your community!
Please check out these great organizations working on these issues, studies and other articles:
Hispanics in Philanthropy: http://www.hiponline.org/
History of Latino's and Philanthropy http://www.philanthropy.org/programs/literature_reviews/latino_lit_review.pdf
The Pew Center, source of great info: http://www.pewhispanic.org/
Great Article about Marketing: http://www.thenonprofittimes.com/news-articles/marketing-to-hispanics-is-more-than-language/
Chronicle of Philanthropy study: www.philanthropy.org/publications/online_publications/latino_paper.pdf
Famous Philanthropists: https://issuu.com/guerrerohowe/docs/hip_issuu
Great Marketing Book by Isabel Valdes: http://isabelvaldes.com/
Feel free to contact me through my webisite at www.armandozumaya.com
