Building and strengthening the Latino nonprofit network doesn't just require good leadership and great ideas, it requires substantial financial resources and the willingness to make strategic investments where they're needed most. Through a strategic and targeted focus on supporting community grassroots organizations, the Hispanic Federation has emerged as one of the nation's most important Latino philanthropic entities.
In 2017, HF awarded more than $3 million in grants to 140 Latino community based organizations in the U.S. mainland to support their capacity-building needs. That's a record amount for us. But that's not the full story. This year, we also committed more than $2 million to support the work of 15 community-based organizations in Puerto Rico working on recovery efforts.
Much of that money comes from our donors who generously support our work and allow us to make important investments in the organizations that matter most. This year's Hispanic Federation Unidos/Unity Gala, for instance, raised a historic $2.1 million, an amount that has allowed us to provide more aid than ever before.
Finally, thanks to the continued support of the New York City Council, our Communities of Color Nonprofit Stabilization Fund (CCNSF), once again made significant investments in communities of color-led nonprofits in New York City. CCNSF is a historic partnership of nonprofit leaders in the Latino, African-American and Asian communities which seeks to address the historical lack of financial support for the nonprofit sector in New York City's communities of color. The program's success was acknowledged by the New York City Council which, under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, awarded CCNSF $3.7 million in funding for this and next year, a $1.6 million increase from 2016.
