Powering Greater Boston's Economy

Latino Equity Fund

Creating more equitable access to prosperity and well-being


The Latino Legacy Fund

The Latino Equity Fund (formerly the Latino Legacy Fund), a unique partnership between local Latino leaders and the Boston Foundation (TBF), is the first Latino-focused fund in the Commonwealth. The Latino Equity Fund (LEF) uses its influence and platform to amplify diverse voices and perspectives within the Latino community and beyond in Greater Boston and the state, with a focus on achieving greater and more equitable access to economic prosperity and well-being.

We partner closely with nonprofits, funders, government leaders, and the private sector, leveraging the strengths of the Latino community to educate stakeholders about issues and surface the most effective solutions to achieve systemic change. Since it was established in 2013, the LEF has raised more than $4 million, established an endowment to support the Latino community in the Commonwealth in perpetuity, made over $1.1 million in grants to community-based organizations, and created a dynamic platform to increase and galvanize Latino philanthropy.

Over the past few years, the LEF has evolved from a grantmaking entity to an emerging civic leadership engine, commissioning research and reports that address critical issues facing the Latino community and other communities of color and lead to policy change.

Latino Equity Fund logo

  Applications Open Now!

The Latino Equity Fund is accepting submissions for its FY24 grantmaking cycle.

For this cycle, LEF seeks applications from community nonprofits in Massachusetts who are working towards the advancement of Latinos by creating economic prosperity opportunities or addressing health disparities and well-being.

Deadline: Sunday, October 22, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. ET

Resources for Applicants:

RFP information and guidelines

Download a PDF of the application

SmartSimple login guide

 
A collage of four scenes, each depicting Latino communities
Vitas mori. Albus orexiss ducunt ad gabalium. Ubi est altus nomen? Liberi de castus bubo, pugna species! Persuadere diligenter ducunt ad bi-color barcas.

¡Avancemos Ya! Advancing Latino Prosperity in Massachusetts

On May 12, the Boston Foundation in partnership with the Latino Equity Fund and the Gaston Institute at UMass Boston hosted a forum to share and build upon the findings of a new report by Boston Indicators, '¡Avancemos ya!: Persistent Economic Challenges and Opportunities Facing Latinos in Massachusetts.' Following a presentation of research findings, WBUR’s Cristela Guerra facilitated a panel of experts who discussed strategies to expand the tremendous assets Latino communities bring to the Commonwealth. The event included live translations in Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Click here for the recap and event video

THE LATINO EQUITY FUND’S UNIQUE ROLE

Research, Convening & Policy: Lift up the power of data to inform the public—raising awareness of the challenges and opportunities facing the Latino community— and identifying more effective and innovative solutions for them. Engage with leaders and policy influencers on issues and work with partners to affect policy and positive change.

Leverage Philanthropic Resources: Partner with individual donors, foundations and companies with aligned missions and values to deploy resources to impactful Latino-led and Latino-serving organizations—helping to build their capacity and lift up Latino leadership.

Partnerships & Collaboration: Collaborate with grantee organizations and other strategic partners to advance the economic prosperity, health and health equity of the Latino community—and in doing so, the region overall.


Your donation, driving impact

Community support for the Latino Equity Fund has made it possible for the Fund to:

  • Commission a major research report which evaluated the social and economic return on investment in the region’s ESOL system. Produced just before the COVID-19 pandemic, this report may prove to be an important baseline for further analysis on the connection between ESOL and post-pandemic employment levels.
  • Develop a wide-reaching and culturally sensitive educational campaign in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. This campaign connected thousands of Spanish-speaking individuals to information and resources for support.
  • Provide rapid response grants to a dozen Latino-led and Latino-serving nonprofits across the state.
  • Double the impact of funds directed towards the city of Chelsea by matching $16,000 in received donations.

In total, the Latino Equity Fund was able to contribute over $80k towards emergency relief through a combination of funding from the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund, the Latino Equity Fund and dollars entrusted from members of the community.

Grantmaking and research

Massachusetts is one of six states to attribute all of its population growth to the Latino population, but the Latino community continues to be underfunded. A report by Hispanics in Philanthropy showed that only 1.3 percent of spending by U.S. foundations is specifically targeted to Latino programs, even though Latinos are the fastest growing part of the American population, and comprise nearly 25 percent of all children and youth. The Latino Equity Fund is looking to change that.

Since 2014, the Latino Equity Fund (formerly the Latino Legacy Fund) has provided annual grant opportunities for Latino-led and Latino-serving nonprofits. The program was paused in 2017, so the Fund could partner with the Boston Foundation to found Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico, the Massachusetts effort to help the thousands of Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria. With the support of Boston Mayor Matrin J. Walsh and Gov. Charlie Baker, MUPR raised more than $4 million to help with emergency needs, recovery and support for the thousands of Puerto Ricans temporarily or permanently displaced to Massachusetts.

Powering Greater Boston's Economy

In 2017, the Fund worked in collaboration with Boston Indicators and the Boston Planning and Development Agency on the publication of Powering Greater Boston’s Economy: Why the Latino Community Is Critical to Our Shared Future, a first-of-its-kind report on the impact of the growth of Greater Boston's Latino population on the region's demographics and economy. The report highlighted the sharp growth in Greater Boston's Latino population since 1980, noting that virtually all of the City of Boston's population growth since 1980 can be attributed to its growing Latino population. Even so, the report noted that Latino representation in leadership, government and business sharply lags the overall population percentage. 

ROI of ESOL cover Read "The ROI of ESOL"
Latino Report cover Read "Powering Greater Boston's Economy"

  Key Facts

Founded: 2013, as the first Latino-focused fund in Boston

Grantmaking: Typically on an annual cycle

Download the Fund brochure

Information for donors

To learn more about the Fund, contact our Donor Services team.

For donors:

The Latino Equity  Fund presents a unique opportunity for donors who want the flexibility of supporting a broad range of organizations and initiatives while meeting the future needs of the Latino community. Any individual, family, or organization can support current grant making through gifts by check, credit card, distributions from Donor Advised Funds or gifts of appreciated stock or other assets. Here is more about the many ways to support the Latino Equity Fund:

  • Planned Gifts – The Boston Foundation offers a full range of planned and legacy giving options.  Planned gifts may be made to the Latino Equity Fund through bequests, retirement plan and life insurance gifts.  In addition, the Boston Foundation offers charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts, all of which may benefit the Latino Equity Fund.
  • Outright Contributions – The Boston Foundation can accept all types of gifts into the fund including cash, publicly traded securities, restricted stock, real estate, and more.
  • Donor Advised Funds – Donors with existing Donor Advised Funds can recommend a grant to the Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation.
  • Succession Plans for Existing Giving Vehicles – Donors with a private foundation or Donor Advised Fund can name the Latino Equity Fund as the successor entity to their giving vehicle.

Call 617-338-1700 for more information.

The Latino Equity Fund Advisory Committee

Zamawa Arenas
Founder & CEO
Flowetik
Member, The Boston Foundation Board of Directors

Carolina Avellaneda
Chief Strategy Officer & Counsel
University of Massachusetts President's Office

Aixa Beauchamp, Co-chair
President
Beauchamp & Associates
Co-Founder, Latino Equity Fund

Dr. Joseph Betancourt
Senior Vice President, Equity and Community Health
Massachusetts General Hospital

Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción
Member, The Boston Foundation Board of Directors

Rafael Cofiño
Partner
Great Hill Partners

Betty Francisco
CEO
Boston Impact Initiative
Co-Founder, Amplify Latinx
Member, The Boston Foundation Board of Directors

Yvonne Garcia
Chief of Staff to Chief Executive Officer
State Street Corporation

Rita German
Vice President, Northeast Community Engagement
JP Morgan

Phillip O. González
Director, Community Investments
Point32Health Foundation

Juan Lopera, Co-chair
Vice President, Business Diversity
Tufts Health Plan

Lazaro Lopez
Director of Engineering Southern New England
Charter Communications

Juan Carlos Morales
Founder & President
Surfside Capital Advisors
Co-Founder, Latino Equity Fund
 

Mary Skelton Roberts
Senior Vice President of Programs
Energy Foundation

Ruben F. Salinas, MBA
Managing Director
Salben Research and Salben Aerospace LLC
Serial Entrepreneur and Ph.D. candidate

Julio E. Vega
Partner
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP