• Make Grants
• LCF Children and Youth Initiative
• Building a Learning Community
• Special Grant Opportunities
• How to Apply

/ What We Do / Our Grantmaking / Building a Learning Community

Building a Learning Community

Strengthening Latino-based Organizations

In addition to direct grantmaking, LCF convenes grantees several times a year for trainings aimed at building organizational capacity. We know from experience that too often funding is tied to services, leaving few opportunities to focus on organizational development. Our grantees participate in a learning community with instructional sessions to increase fundraising capacity, organizational effectiveness, board development, and information sharing about program outcomes and populations served.

Building Relationships

Participation in the learning community also provides grantees increased access to interested foundations, corporations and individual LCF donors. These donor briefings communicate and highlight the work of LCF's community partners with the broader funding community. We will also arrange for foundations and individual donors to visit and become more acquainted with the work of our grantees. Funder's briefings and site visits are an effective way to communicate the work of LCF's community partners to the broader community. LCF's goal is to introduce grantees to other funding sources, thereby increasing their ability to sustain this work beyond the Initiative.

If you are interested in supporting a community tour, please contact LCF at 415-733-8591.

Case Study: Mission Neighborhood Health Center & La Clinica de la Raza

In April 2008, LCF convened our first group of grant recipients. The post-evaluation indicated that organizations were especially appreciative of the opportunity to communicate with one another. They shared ideas and reflections and discussed the idea of developing partnerships based on the focus of their work.

For example, Mission Neighborhood Health Center made plans to meet with La Clinica de la Raza to share information as they each implement CenteringPregnancy programs for pregnant teenagers. Before their exchange at the LCF meeting, the two organizations, whose constituency and missions are similar, had not known they were implementing the same program. As a small, nimble and community-centered foundation we have the capacity to identify services in the Bay Area's Latino community and connect them to each other to increase information sharing and promote possible future collaborations.