Latino Community Fund Georgia (LCF Georgia) is a philanthropic, membership organization and direct service provider that works to fill service and program gaps for Georgia’s Latino communities, advance knowledge of who we are through research, data aggregation and narratives, strengthen a representative and participatory democracy, support Latino-serving organizations across the state and expand economic opportunity for all.
Our members are nonpartisan organizations led by, governed by and serving Latinos in Georgia. In addition to having a collective impact model with our members, we work collaboratively with various nonpartisan organizations serving all communities across the state.
Our theory of change is grounded in our three pillars of work:
Our Mission
To be a catalyst for investment, collaborative work, and positive narrative for the Latinx/Hispanic Community in Georgia.
Our Vision
Be the most trusted connector between funders, nonprofits, individuals, and businesses working with and within the Latinx community in Georgia.
Our Promise
We commit to investing in Latino organizations and leaders so that together, we can accelerate positive and equitable change for our diverse communities in Georgia.
View our 2023-2025 Strategic Plan
Our Model
LCF Georgia is a 501(c)(3) membership organization that works as both a direct service provider and philanthropic intermediary.
Our Impact
We are the only nonprofit in the state dedicated to providing funding to the Latinx community and capacity building to strengthen its member organizations. Learn more about the impact of our work.
Team
LCF Georgia’s team (board, staff and contractors) includes individuals from various experiences, backgrounds, heritage, races and ethnicities. Additionally, many of team members have worked in industries that Latinos often work in, including hospitality, construction, and farm work.
Our staff and contractors are 100% bilingual, bicultural, and compassionate.
We have staff members based in different areas of the state, our model is to go where the community is:
- Atlanta – Fulton County (central operation)
- Tifton – Tift County (various locations, daily)
- Valdosta – Lowndes (various locations, daily)
- Gainesville – Hall County (various locations, daily)
- Mexican Consulate – Dekalb County (daily)
- Latin American Association – Dekalb County (weekly)
- Peruvian Consulate – Dekalb County (weekly)
- Salvadoran Consulate – Gwinnett County (weekly)
- Guatemalan Consulate – Gwinnett County (weekly)
Impact/Strengthening the Latinx Community
LCF Georgia is the only organization in the state committed and dedicated to financially investing in Latinos through our community leaders, organizations, students, and entrepreneurs. We are an active and effective convener for our network of members and partners and have successfully shown collective impact in critical moments: COVID-19, Hurricane Helene (and others), response to fast changes in policies negatively affecting our community.
Through the Years
Highlights of what LCF Georgia has accomplished since it was first imagined in 2015.
- Over 600 people came together to advocate for Latino Day at the Capitol, Farmworking Farmers at the Capitol and “Orgullo” advocacy events
- Over 2,000 people joined us to kick-off Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month with “Estamos Aquí Fiesta” community event.
- Issued the first ever “State of Latinos in Georgia” Report to advance knowledge of challenges, opportunities and barriers we face
- 21 bills tracked and 2 legislative proposals with favorable hearings and support
- Over 12,000 free health screenings to uninsured / underinsured people across the state
- 401 farm workers supported by disaster relief applications and $600 payments
- Touched every single Latino voter three times through various tactics and supported 50 polling locations with election protection volunteers
- 40 bills and resolutions tracked during the Georgia legislative session.
- 39 polling locations supported by volunteers for election protection and assistance
- Re-granted over $550,000+ supporting civic participation, advocacy and health & wellbeing efforts as well as capacity building and operations’ support for our members
- Over 200 people came together to advocate for Latino Day at the Capitol
- Launched the first ever Latino LGTBQ Pride celebration (“Orgullo”) at the Atlanta City Hall
- Distributed over 7,000 bilingual health guides to help families navigate the system
- Certified 14 individuals as Community Health Workers (including all our Health & Wellbeing team)
- Over 12,000 health screenings across the state
- Launched the “2023 Health Status of Latinos in Georgia” Report
- Touched every single Latino voter twice through various tactics and supported 50 polling locations with election protection volunteers
- 40 bills and resolutions tracked during the Georgia legislative session.
- Trained 16 artists on how to secure funding and run a creative business and supported 6 groups with grantmaking and ACE trainings for their tems
- Re-granted over $350,000+ supporting civic participation, advocacy and health & wellbeing efforts as well as capacity building and operations’ support for our members
- Brought 80 students and parents from Farmworking Families to the Georgia Capitol to advocate for their priorities
- 622 nonprofit leaders with technical assistance and coaching
- Over 2,000 health screenings across the state
- Touched every single Latino voter twice through various tactics.
- 40 bills and resolutions tracked during the Georgia legislative session.
- Re-granted over $650,000+ supporting civic participation, advocacy and health & wellbeing efforts as well as capacity building and operations’ support for our members
- Administered over 16,000 vaccines in the arms of community members through Latinx and immigrant-centered efforts to ensure equitable vaccine access and distribution
- Co-chaired the Georgia Latinx Redistricting Caucus with GALEO to advocate for fair districts and a transparent redistricting process
- Re-granted over $1,000,000 supporting civic participation, advocacy and health & wellbeing efforts as well as capacity building and operations’ support for our members
- Launched the K-12 English Learners Advocacy Table to ensure quality and equitable public education for English Learners across the state
- Announced the South Georgia Navigation Program after a landscape analysis identified a lack of services, programs and information to agricultural workers and neighbors. Over 600 families received emergency assistance, Know Your Rights materials, civic education and navigation.
- Convened and organized the Unidos Georgia coalition to respond, mitigate and reduce the harm created by the COVID-19 pandemic in the Latinx and immigrant communities
- As part of our COVID relief and mitigation services in coordination with member organizations, over 152,000 families received food, 13,4000 families received rental assistance, over 7,000 received utilities assistance, and close to 5,000 COVID-19 tests were provided.
- UnidosGeorgia.com website providing resources and education in Spanish in the context of COVID-19 consistently reaches 1,000 unique monthly visits
- The Capacity Building Program provided over 399 educational sessions to nonprofit professionals and volunteers working with the Latinx community.
- The Latinos for Democracy Coalition touched every single Latinx voter TWICE to educate and mobilize the community for Presidential elections and Senate run-off elections.
- Over $2,000,000 invested in grants, direct financial assistance and scholarships
- Membership rises to 40 organizations and community groups
- Co-Chaired the “Georgia Latino Complete Count Committee” aiming for a full count of all individuals of Latin American descent in Georgia for the decennial census. Over $90,000 granted to members of the committee to advance outreach and educational efforts.
- Published the 2018 Latino Entrepreneurship Report, the first research study done on barriers affecting small Latinx-owned businesses in Georgia. This study was done in collaboration with professors from the Emory Goizueta Business School, University of Georgia Terry College of Business, and various member organizations.
- Revealed the Asset Map & Resources for Spanish Speakers, which documents organizations that have at least one consistent Spanish-speaking volunteer or staff and therefore able to provide language appropriate services to English-learners. Over 380 programs and services were featured in this state-wide map.
- The Capacity Building Program provided over 260 educational sessions to nonprofit professionals and volunteers working with the Latinx community.
- 42 entrepreneurs graduated from our Entrepreneurship 101 Program with UGA SBDC certification in Dekalb and Whitfield counties.
- Graduated 19 Spanish-speaking promotoras on recognizing sexual harassment at work and Know Workers’ Rights in partnership with TimesUp Legal Defense Fund
- Invested over $350,000 in grants and scholarships
- Launched the Latinos for Democracy (L4D) coalition. L4D is the first nonpartisan alliance of Latinx-led groups to advance civic education and participation in Georgia.
- The “Delivering on the Dream-Georgia” table is launched to advance immigrant leadership and support organizing and legal protections in the state, joining 20 other states with that program since 2013.
- Over $ 280,000 invested in grants and scholarships in Georgia
- The Capacity Building program provided over 150 sessions to professionals, students and volunteers working to provide more effective and coordinated services to the Latinx and immigrant community in Georgia.
- 10 entrepreneurs graduated from our Youth Entrepreneurship Pilot with UGA SBDC certification, aiming to provide critical business education to those individuals whose parents have been in commercial activity for years as a self-sufficiency strategy.
- Membership grows to 28 groups
- Latino Community Fund (LCF Georgia) is born, following a federated model with a membership of Latinx-led, Latinx-serving and Latinx-governed organizations. The Giving Circle is consolidated with 11 people that commit $1,000 a year dedicated to support educational scholarships, DACA and naturalization financial assistance and seed capital for micro-entrepreneurs.
- Membership begins for 15 inaugural member organizations
- $36,768 is invested in grants, scholarships and disaster relief after hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
- A group of community leaders considers the idea of a giving circle or a philanthropic mechanism to bring dollars from the community, for the community to those groups that were doing critical work across the state, yet had no access to networks with power or money. A period of researching effective and successful models nationwide begins.
Have a question about who we are, what we do, or how it helps? Please reach out to us through our contact form.