Why Were Latinos Absent From Coverage of Nonprofit Leaders of Color?

To the Editor:

Thank you for shining a light on the challenges facing nonprofit leaders of color in the January 20 article by Alex Daniels. We wonder, though, how much brighter that light must shine to illuminate the unique voices and stories of Latino leaders? These leaders are entirely absent from the piece — reflecting a similar invisibility in the nonprofit world overall.

While Latinos make up more than 18 percent of the U.S. population, only 3 percent of nonprofit leaders are Latino. Compounding the problem, a meager 1.1 percent of philanthropic dollars are invested into organizations led by Latinos.

We are among the few Latina nonprofit leaders in the United States and are all too familiar with these challenges. Our dedication to investing in Latino and Latina leaders drives the work of both of our organizations — the Latino Community Foundation and the Campaign for College Opportunity. The wisdom, lived experience, ingenuity, creativity, grit, and determination of Latino leaders are critical to the future of our nation’s democracy and economy.

The last two years have been particularly devastating for Latinos. The impact of the pandemic layered on top of the pervasive racism and anti-Latino, anti-immigrant political climate has tested all of us.

But our leaders have kept going in the face of constant challenges. They have comforted and supported millions of grieving families who lost loved ones to Covid-19. They have mobilized food banks so those who stock supermarkets and tend the fields can feed their own families. They have fought for quality education, college preparation, and access to broadband and technology in an era of online instruction. They have organized communities to vote and fill out census forms. And they have addressed the aftermath of three mass shootings targeting immigrants and the police killings of more than 2,600 Latinos on city streets.

The lack of media attention to these issues is disheartening. Yet, nonprofit Latino leaders continue to show up, raise money, advocate for critical issues, and serve our community.

As two Latinas working at the intersection of philanthropy, policy, research, and advocacy, the current challenges are deeply personal. Our leadership is needed more than ever, and our community deserves to be seen, heard, and supported. We will not heal, attain justice, or achieve equity without ensuring that our stories are also part of the American narrative in every place and space — including the philanthropic world.

We encourage the Chronicle of Philanthropy, as a trusted and needed national news source, to conduct an internal analysis to assess how your own coverage includes or excludes stories and experiences of Latinos. Does the composition of your own team, executive leadership, and journalists reflect the diversity of our nation and include Latino experience and perspective?

We issue a similar call to foundations. We urge philanthropic leaders to assess how grant dollars support Latinos specifically and if those investments are an equitable representation of the Latino community. We encourage them to lead with investments that build the strength, capacity, and sustainability of Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations.

Because aquí estamo — we are here.

If we are to meaningfully tackle nonprofit-leadership challenges, the philanthropic community must make a greater, conscientious effort to amplify our stories and invest in our leaders.

Jacqueline Martinez Garcel
CEO
Latino Community Foundation

Michele Siqueiros
President

Campaign for College Opportunity

Editor’s note: Thank you for your question about our coverage and our staff. Indeed, we regularly assess our coverage and the diversity of the people we cover and quote, including an audit by an independent company for us to use as a baseline and that we have shared with our readers. We have also undergone an intense yearlong diversity, equity, and inclusion program that involved coaching and education. We have made progress on two fronts since then: Our coverage and the composition of our team are more diverse than they were before. But we are not yet where we want to be, and we strive to continue doing better.