In 2017 – 2019, 16 community foundations participated in mapping projects funded through Building Broader Communities in the Americas (BBCA) that helped them learn more about transnational communities in their regions. These communities included Latinx populations in the U.S. and communities with high levels of migration in Mexico.
We’re pleased to share that five of these community foundations across the U.S. and Mexico will be able to further strengthen the relationships within and between transnational communities through new action-based grants provided by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and the Inter-American Foundation. The following initiatives will take place in 2021-2022.
Grant Recipients
Comunidad
Location: Morelos, Mexico
Project description: Comunidad will be offering extensive training to community leaders in Axochiapan, Morelos and Minneapolis in Theory U, followed by support for community-led projects. Their project involves a visit to Minneapolis to present their results to the Minneapolis Foundation and the community from Axochiapan there.
Corporativa de Fundaciones
Location: Jalisco, Mexico
Project description: Corporativa de Fundaciones is deepening relationships with both community foundations (Chicago Community Trust and Southwest Florida Community Foundation) and migrant communities from Jalisco in those places, identified during the mapping process. They will also offer training on community development with Mexican populations in the States and produce audiovisual material in English and Spanish that promotes the work with migrant communities.
Delaware Community Foundation
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Project description: Delaware Community Foundation has been invited to enter in partnership with the community to open a Latino market in Georgetown, Sussex county. Their grant will support the foundation’s ability to initiate fiscal sponsorship for the project and participate in strategic planning with the community, including seed money for a fundraising effort.
Fundación Comunitaria de Malinalco
Location: Malinalco, Mexico
Project description: Malinalco will be opening up a call for community projects that are supported in large part by remittances in communities of the municipality of Malinalco, Estado de México. This is a pilot project to see whether some remittances can be activated to support community development and if family members/communities in the U.S. or Canada can be mobilized toward these projects. Fundación Malinalco will accompany the project development, monitoring and evaluation stages.
Southwest Florida Community Foundation
Location: Hendry County, Florida
Project description: In addition to the visit from Corporativa mentioned above, the Foundation is also planning its own site visit for 10 community/foundation members to travel to Jalisco communities where sugar cane is produced (if/when travel is safe.) SWFCF will also be offering implicit bias training to community stakeholders in Hendry County. The goal of these initiatives is to create a deeper sense of community both at home and in the country of origin and foster deeper relationships between the county and the community foundation.
