HISPANIC FEDERATION DISTRIBUTES AN ADDITIONAL $1 MILLION TO PUERTO RICO ORGANIZATIONS LEADING EQUITABLE, SUSTAINABLE RECOVERY EFFORTS
For Immediate Release: November 14, 2023
Contact: media@hispanicfederation.org
PUERTO RICO—Hispanic Federation (HF), the nation’s premier Latino nonprofit membership organization, announced the distribution of $1.125 million to 23 local, grassroots organizations that are leading equitable and sustainable long-term recovery and resilient efforts to mitigate against the impacts of climate change in Puerto Rico. The fund is part of HF’s Amanece: Road to Recovery initiative which launched in November 2017 in partnership with award-winning songwriter, actor, director, and producer Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Miranda Family shortly after Hurricanes Maria and Irma decimated the archipelago.
With today’s announcement, the Amanece fund has provided 80 grants totaling $6.5 million to 54 local community-based, non-profit organizations since its launch in 2017. These grants are part of larger philanthropic investments Hispanic Federation has made totaling more than $53 million to advance Puerto Rico’s just and sustainable recovery from natural disasters and the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Amanece grants empowered these organizations with the resources needed to execute long-term recovery initiatives focused on housing, agriculture, economic development, environment, renewable energy, emergency preparedness, and more. The latest iteration of Amanece prioritized initiatives addressing climate change, community resiliency, and economic development while also promoting equity, community self-sufficiency, and collaboration. More than 240 project ideas were submitted for consideration, marking the most competitive round yet.
“Six years after Hurricanes Maria and Irma, Puerto Rico is stronger and more resilient. This is in large part due to the incredible work and commitment of our nonprofit community partners on the ground who are funded by grants such as Amanece. I congratulate the latest round of Amanece recipients and look forward to working closely with them to continue building a more sustainable and just Puerto Rico where everyone can thrive. I also want to thank the Miranda Family for their leadership in helping create this transformative fund, and our generous donors for making this latest round of funding possible,” said Frankie Miranda, President and CEO of Hispanic Federation.
“The road to recovery has been long but thanks to Hispanic Federation and the Amanece grants program, we continue to rebuild, and reimagine a future for Puerto Rico,” said Luis A. Miranda Jr, patriarch of the Miranda Family and Miranda Family Fund. “By funding grassroots grantees focused on equitable and sustainable recovery efforts in their own backyards, the result is a more self-sufficient community, run by the community, for the community. Congratulations to this latest round of Amanece grant recipients.”
Charlotte Gossett-Navarro, Chief Director of Hispanic Federation in Puerto Rico added, “We received an outpouring of positive responses to our open call for proposals from communities across Puerto Rico who presented creative and compelling ideas to mitigate climate change and promote community economic development and resiliency in all its forms. This latest Amanece process further validated the valuable knowledge, experience, and solutions embedded within our communities, and that when empowered with the financial resources needed, can help lead Puerto Rico into a better future.”
The latest round of Amanece grant recipients include:
- Acción Valerosa
- Alianza Pro Desarrollo Económico de Ceiba (APRODEC)
- Asociación de Residentes de La Margarita, Inc
- Asociación de Residentes Camino Pagán,Inc
- Casa Tereques, Inc.
- Centro para la Reconstrucción Del Hábitat (CRH)
- Corporación de Servicios de Salud Primaria y Desarrollo Socioeconómico El Otoao (COSSAO)
- Fideicomiso de Conservación de Puerto Rico / Para La Naturaleza
- Fundacion Bucarabón Inc.
- Fundación Monte Azul
- La Mesa Multisectorial del Bosque Modelo de Puerto Rico, Inc. (La Mesa)
- Mujeres de Islas, Inc.
- Parceleras Afrocaribeñas por la Transformación Barrial, Inc.
- Plenitud Iniciativas Ecoeducativas Inc.
- Ponce Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.(Ponce NHS)
- Productores de Café de Puerto Rico (PROCAFE)
- Programa del Adolescente de Naranjito, Inc. (PANI)
- Protectores de Cuencas Inc.
- Proyecto Matria, Inc.
- Red por los derechos de la niñez y la juventud de Puerto Rico
- Taller Salud
- The Vieques Conservation and Historical trust (VCHT)
- Waves Ahead
Hispanic Federation's long-term commitment to Puerto Rico began more than five years ago, when Hurricane Maria made landfall. HF was a first responder to the crisis and has been a major funder and driver of Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts, investing more than $53 million in philanthropic investments to advance Puerto Rico’s just and sustainable recovery from natural disasters and the COVID-19 Pandemic. Specifically, HF launched a multiyear initiative to revitalize Puerto Rico’s coffee sector, funded and collaborated with more than 150 organizations and initiatives across Puerto Rico, contributed to more than 250 rooftop solar energy projects, and bolstered more than 2,500 small businesses, micro-entrepreneurs, and farmers. In September of last year, Hispanic Federation released a comprehensive report - Building a Stronger and More Resilient Puerto Rico - detailing the success and impact of these recovery efforts and the road ahead to build Puerto Rico’s resilience.
In 2023, Hispanic Federation is continuing its commitment to Puerto Rico with an additional pledge of approximately $3 million in philanthropic funding and nearly $5 million in federal funding through a new partnership with the USDA. These funds will support grant making for community-based organizations, the expansion of renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and other long-term recovery initiatives in Puerto Rico. The funds will also aid in promoting equitable community development and support the island’s own long-term vision for recovery, resilience, and change. A detailed factsheet outlining the progress made six years after Hurricanes Maria and Irma can be found.
According to Francisco Valentín, president of the Corporation of Primary Health Services and Socioeconomic Development El Otoao, Inc. (COSSAO for the initials in Spanish) in Utuado, which received a grant from Amanece for the first time, "the AMANECE fund awarded to COSSAO, for our recycling and organic matter project, allows us to support the economic development of our communities and sustain our farmers. Additionally, it helps us promote and educate our communities about more eco-friendly and responsible lifestyles in response to the climate change challenges we are facing. This grant reinforces our commitment to the future of our communities."
Elizabeth Colón Rivera, executive director of Ponce Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc. (Ponce NHS), an organization that collaborates throughout the southern region and will use the Amanece grant to strengthen resilience and access to water in communities, stated, "Ponce NHS appreciates the Amanece program and the Hispanic Federation for their contribution and support to the development of community resilience, as well as raising awareness about climate change. Thanks to these funds, several communities will have the opportunity to implement strategies to address the challenges brought by climate change, adapting community resilience initiatives to the existing reality they are facing, with little or no assistance. We urge foundations and collaborating organizations to model these projects that Hispanic Federation will assertively fund, with the purpose of preparing and making our leaders, residents, and communities much more resilient across Puerto Rico."
From its headquarters in Loíza, Tania Rosario, Executive Director of Taller Salud, Inc., added that, "The emergencies of recent years have allowed us to witness the levels of food insecurity experienced by communities facing greater social and geographical vulnerabilities. The Amanece Fund will allow us to expand the reach and strengthen existing projects for the improvement of community kitchen infrastructure, community organizing around them, and steer the solutions we need for climate change adaptation and resilience. When we generate collective solutions, we protect communities, elevate women's leadership, and build a future full of hope."
About Hispanic Federation
Hispanic Federation (HF) is a nonprofit membership and advocacy organization, founded in 1990, committed to empowering and advancing the Hispanic community, with a focus on low-income, marginalized and immigrant Latinos. With programs in 40 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, HF’s focus areas include immigration, economic empowerment, civic engagement, disaster relief, philanthropy, education, health, and the environment. HF also maintains ongoing public education campaigns and meets the organizational development needs of its member agencies through grant-making and capacity-building assistance.
