Hispanics in Philanthropy's Response to COVID-19
Corazón Colectivo: Hispanics in Philanthropy Supports Pandemic Grantmaking Efforts in Latin America
Within days of the global realization of the size and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, HIP responded by launching an emergency response campaign for frontline nonprofits and small businesses.
HIP understands the urgency of the moment and the needs of our community. The first rounds of grants through the emergency fund were disbursed in the first week of April and we are currently reviewing second and third rounds. This work, however, is just the beginning, as our communities will need major, sustained investment for healing. Latinos represent more than 27 percent of COVID-19 deaths in hotspots across the U.S., yet they only make up 18 percent of the population in these places. Many have low-paying service jobs that require them to work through the pandemic, interacting with the public. A large number also lack access to healthcare (with almost twice the probability of being uninsured as the non-Hispanic white population), which contributes to higher rates of diabetes and other conditions that can worsen infections. Only 16 percent of Latino workers can telework; that number is lower for undocumented workers. Essential service-based jobs, including home health aides, food delivery workers, and agricultural workers, disproportionately employ immigrants—particularly guest workers and those who are undocumented—as well as Afro-Latino/as. According to a Pew Research Center survey in April, about half of the Latinos questioned said they or someone in their household had either lost a job, taken a pay cut, or both, because of the outbreak—compared with a third of all adults in the United States.
HIP has launched emergency funding to help Latino-led and serving organizations offset unexpected costs incurred by the rapidly-changing situation concerning COVID-19, thus far targeting six sectors of the Latino/Latin American community: farmworkers, other essential workers, migrant services, civic participation, domestic violence, and small businesses. These grantees—many of whom are grassroots organizations with little cushion to withstand a crisis of this magnitude—will be supported in their efforts to adapt and survive the current disruption and participate fully in forthcoming recovery efforts.
- Farmworkers’ Fund | In partnership with HIP’s fiscal sponsoree, Justice for Migrant Women, we are assisting grassroots organizations who are providing direct services (supplies, food, and cash assistance) to frontline agricultural workers.
- Essential Workers | Our Essential Fund targets organizations serving essential Latino workers and families in the United States, with a clearly defined focus on vulnerable target populations, particularly undocumented, multi-generational, and/or mixed-status families.
- Migration Rapid Response | HIP is offering philanthropic support in the form of emergency mini-grant funds to current and potential grantee partners of our Migration and Forced Displacement Program.
- Civic Participation | This fund focuses on ensuring Latinos are counted in Census 2020 as nonprofits shift to digital platforms as part of the rapidly-changing situation concerning COVID-19 and subsequently to ensure that Latinos participate in the civic commons in 2020 and beyond.
- Women’s Rights in Mexico | Acknowledging the increased need for shelter and resources for victims of domestic violence in quarantined households, HIP has distributed over $200,000 in mini-grants for immediate needs through our Issues Affecting Women program in Mexico.
- Powering Up Latino Small Business | HIP’s PowerUp Fund aims to mitigate the financial damages to Latinx-led small businesses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
- #GOMujeres | Our annual #GOMujeres campaign was impacted as it occurred at the height of the quarantine. We kicked off the campaign on March 6, with $15,000 USD in matching funds for over 44 nonprofits that support women and girls in the Americas.
- #Give5on5 | As an emergency rapid response campaign we launched our #Give5on5 campaign on Cinco de Mayo to help raise funds for nonprofits who were responding to the pandemic and providing immediate and direct relief to communities on the ground throughout the Americas. In one day, we provided $13,500 in matching funds and raised $47,0000 for 29 nonprofits with the support of 619 donors.
The pandemic has shown us that inequality is killing the poorest as our essential workers aren’t deemed essential enough to survive. This pandemic has put the most vulnerable in danger, has widened the gaps of inequalities, and has shown the monumental systemic failures of governments in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil. This is a moment for us to come together to identify solutions that include a robust philanthropic response while providing an avenue for individuals to support organizations who are providing immediate relief to our most vulnerable in the Americas and the Caribbean. We must think locally but also respond and act with a global mindset, as a collective corazón.
