OVERVIEW: The Latino Community Foundation is a San Francisco-based regional funding intermediary, grantmaker, and giving circle convener, primarily supporting Latino-led grassroots organizations in the Bay Area and throughout California that focus on building civic and economic power within Latino and BIPOC communities.
IP TAKE: The Latino Community Foundation (LCF) has grown tremendously in recent years and has recently expanded into Nevada and Arizona with support for voter mobilization. While its direct grantmaking budget is relatively small, with about $5 million going out the door annually, LCF also acts as the organizing hub for substantial pooled funds, including the Latino Power Fund, and dozens of giving circles. Between 2015 and 2023, under former CEO Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, the LCF helped raise more than $100 million to advance its mission. In a 2024 interview with Inside Philanthropy, Garcel said that her replacement, former secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, is the “perfect leader for LCF to usher us into a new era.”
This is a transparent funder, with information about past grantees, as well as information about its giving circles, available online. LCF prioritizes smaller, Latino-led grassroots organizations. LCF does not accept unsolicited proposals or requests for funding, but it invites interested grantseekers to reach out with inquiries about securing support. This is a key funder to know about for Bay Area Latino groups.
PROFILE: Established in 1989, the Latino Community Foundation (LCF) is based in San Francisco, California and committed to unleashing the “power of Latinos in California.” LCF is the largest network of Latino donors, philanthropies and nonprofits in the nation, with over 400 members and 20 giving circles. It was originally founded as a United Way of the Bay Area affinity group to increase donations to Latino groups. Sandra Hernandez, the past CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, established it as a supporting organization of the San Francisco Foundation in 2003. Then in 2016, LCF became its own independent foundation. LCF’s current grantmaking, fundraising, and donor engagement falls into three general issue areas:
Its Building Political Power program includes LCF’s get out the vote efforts, as well as the Latino Power Fund, the Latino Nonprofit Accelerator, the Latino Giving Circle Network, and the PoderArte fund.
Its Building Economic Power program includes the Latino Entrepreneurship Fund and the Roots of Latino Power program.
Its Rapid Response campaigns currently include the NorCal Wildfire Relief Fund as well as the Love Not Fear Fund.
Grants for the Bay Area and Northern California
The LCF supports grassroots organizations in California through several distinct means, including direct grantmaking, supporting giving circles, and working with other area donors and foundations to establish collaborative funds.
LCF’s unique role in supporting giving circles via the Latino Giving Circle Network is notable. Currently, there are over twenty giving circles supported by the Network that collectively have funded over 150 Latino-led grassroots nonprofits. Members of the giving circles donate at least $1,000 per year, and each giving circle has its own funding priority. For example, there is a San Francisco Latina Giving Circle, an East Bay Latina Giving Circle, a Latinos in Tech Giving Circle, and a Latinx LGBTQ Giving Circle.
Grants for Democracy and Civic Engagement
LCF has made a big push to mobilize the Latino vote in recent years, including by investing at least $1.4 million in grassroots nonprofits that focus on voter engagement and mobilization. In advance of the 2024 elections, LCF has expanded its work beyond the Bay Area to other parts of California, as well as parts of Arizona and Nevada—states with large Latino populations. Civic engagement is at the heart of this funder’s mission.
The Building Political Power initiative supports civic leadership and “facilitates conversations between community leaders and policy makers, mobilizes the Latino vote, and leads a California Latino Agenda.”
The Mobilizing the Latino Vote program is an initiative that seeks to increase Latino voter participation and advance issues important to the Latino community.
The Latino Power Fund is a $50 million pooled fund that works to “be the impetus for a just, equitable California where Latino-led grassroots organizations have the resources needed to achieve the political and civic wins [the] state requires for a representative democracy and an inclusive economy.” Dozens of fellow philanthropies have contributed to the Power Fund.
Grants for Economic Equity and Racial Justice
LCF seeks to build economic power in the Latino and BIPOC communities through a handful of programs. The Latino Nonprofit Accelerator program is “an incubator that gives grassroots nonprofits the boost they need to grow into strong anchor institutions. Our unique recipe is a focus on branding, fundraising, and opening doors of opportunity for visionary Latino nonprofit leaders.”
Additionally, The Latino Entrepreneurship Fund supports Latino and Latina entrepreneurs and “has invested more than $1.6 million in Latino nonprofits working to create an inclusive economy for Latino Entrepreneurs and the Latino small business ecosystem.”
Grants for Humanitarian and Disaster Relief
The foundation also makes Rapid Response and Just Recovery grants that have supported everything from recovery from California wildfires and COVID-19 to hurricane and earthquake relief. These grants respond to the immediate needs of communities in times of crisis and are designed to be temporary and fast moving, while also serving to build power and connection in communities. According to the LCF website, “LCF has built a unique model that uses disaster as an opportunity to unite community leaders, invest in their infrastructure, and organize community to prioritize collective power building.”
Important Grant Details:
Foundation grants vary based on which fund they come from. View the foundation’s website to learn more about past support. The Bay Area and Northern California are priorities for LCF. However, the funder supports groups and causes throughout California.
As a grantmaker, LCF funds community organizations whose boards and staff are more than 51 percent Latino. Groups must have operating budgets of less than $1.5 million and work in California to be eligible for grants.
In order to be considered for funding, organizations must be Latino-led, promote civic engagement, and be deeply rooted in the community.
Grant applications are by invitation only, but grantseekers should reach out to grants@latinocf.org for more information.
Direct general questions to the LCF staff at info@latinocf.org or 415-236-4020.
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