Hispanics In Philanthropy | Rosetta Thurman

Young Latinos Will Shape America. Do Nonprofits Care?

December 18, 2009 by rosettathurman · 4 Comments

We know that white people are fast becoming the minority in the U.S. And contrary to popular belief, African Americans will not be the majority race in the next half-century: it will be Hispanics. Specifically, new Pew Hispanic Center research from a telephone survey of a nationally representative sample of 2,012 Latinos suggests that young Latinos will be the ones who will shape America in the 21st century. Just look at the numbers:

Hispanics are the largest and youngest minority group in the United States. One- in-five schoolchildren is Hispanic. One-in-four newborns is Hispanic. Never before in this country’s history has a minority ethnic group made up so large a share of the youngest Americans. By force of numbers alone, the kinds of adults these young Latinos become will help shape the kind of society America becomes in the 21st century.

You can read the full report here. I think these kinds of reports are quite useful if one is interested in keeping up with the trends. We can start to predict what groups will be key to engage if we want to create real social change. But what I’ve noticed is that in the nonprofit leadership development conversation, the focus is mostly on building a pipeline of African American leadership. I don’t see nonprofits trying at all to tap into the talents of young Latino leaders. I know that Hispanics in Philanthropy offers a wealth of support for Hispanic nonprofit leaders, but the only program I could find that might be supporting next generation leaders was this Talent Bank, which is listed as “coming soon.”

So am I imagining this or are there efforts around the country that seek to help young Latinos build leadership skills for social change? If so, I would really like to learn about them so please share any links if you have them!

Photo credit: Blogamole

Filed Under: Leaders of Color, Next Generation Leadership, Race · Tagged With: Hispanics, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Latinos, Pew Hispanic Center

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month: Meet Danielle Reyes, Program Officer at the Eugene & Agnes Meyer Foundation

October 7, 2009 by rosettathurman · 1 Comment

This is the third interview in this month’s series celebrating the leadership of Hispanics in the nonprofit sector. I’m profiling several nonprofit leaders I admire for the impact they make on their communities every day.

In my experiences working in fundraising, it’s not a rare thing to meet a program officer at a foundation who has never worked in a nonprofit organization, and doesn’t immediately seem to understand the work that we do. That is refreshingly not the case with Danielle Reyes, Program Officer at the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation located in Washington, DC. A former nonprofit Executive Director, teacher, and Peace Corps volunteer, she understands the unique challenges nonprofits face. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Danielle through my DC nonprofit work, committees we’ve served on together, and, of course, Facebook. If I had to describe Danielle in one word, it would be: thoughtful. She is always thinking about how to connect organizations, people, and resources for the greater cause. She sees the big picture of social justice and our Washington, DC nonprofit community is much better for it.

Over the last 17 years Danielle Reyes has worked on issues concerning low-income, minority, and immigrant populations, with an emphasis on education. Before joining the Meyer Foundation, Ms. Reyes served as executive director of the Latino Student Fund. She also worked as a senior program specialist for the national nonprofit, Reading Is Fundamental. Prior to working in the nonprofit sector, Ms. Reyes spent several years teaching as a public school teacher, a university instructor, and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco. Ms. Reyes received her bachelor’s degree in English and in Spanish from the University of Michigan. She also holds a master’s degree in teaching English as a foreign language from Manhattanville College and a master’s degree in administration, planning, and social policy from Harvard University. Ms. Reyes was a Council on Foundation’s Emerging Philanthropic Leaders Fellow 2005-2007. She is the Vice Chair of the board of directors of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy. She is the founding Chair of the Metropolitan DC Hispanics in Philanthropy Funders’ Collaborative.

Check out my full interview with Danielle after the jump… [Read more...]

Filed Under: Interviews, Leaders of Color, Leadership · Tagged With: Danielle M. Reyes, Danielle Reyes, Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation, Hispanics, Hispanics in Philanthropy, Latinos, Meyer Foundation, National Hispanic Heritage Month

Celebrating Nonprofit Leaders in Honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month

September 21, 2009 by rosetta · 4 Comments

This month, I will be profiling the leadership stories of several amazing Hispanic nonprofit leaders. National Hispanic Heritage Month began in 1968 and is observed from from September 15 to October 15. It honors the history, culture and contributions of Americans whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. Each year has a different theme of celebration. According to the official website:

This year’s theme recognizes the strength and hard work of Hispanic Americans, whose zeal for family and country has helped shape society.

I want to start by highlighting the awesome affinity group: Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP). HIP’s mission is to strengthen Latino communities by increasing resources for the Latino and Latin American civil sector; by increasing Latino participation and leadership throughout the field of philanthropy; and to foster policy change to enhance equity and inclusiveness. This month, HIP features a great Q & A with Albert Ruesga, President and CEO of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. It is well worth the 5 minute read, even if simply for this lovely sentiment from Albert:

I have many heroes and heroines. In the work of philanthropy, it’s always the men and women who have no ego and who do great work. I hesitate to attempt naming them for fear of leaving anyone out.

In other domains, I’m not so hesitant to name names: Martin Luther King, Jr., father of us all; Gottlöb Frege, the first man to provide an essentially modern definition of number; and José Martí, the Cuban patriot and poet who wrote:

Yo he visto en la noche oscura
llover sobre mi cabeza
los rayos de lumbre pura
de la divina belleza.

Alas nacer vi en los hombros
de las mujeres hermosas:
y salir de los escombros,
volando, las mariposas.

We can all agree that the hard work and dedication of our Hispanic nonprofit leaders deserves the highest recognition. I’m excited and honored to be able to use this space to provide coverage of their efforts. Stay tuned for more great interviews and stories shared by some of the best nonprofit leaders in our sector!

Coming Up: Meet Ian Bautista, President of United Neighborhood Centers of America (UNCA)