ACTION SUMMARY

August 2022

philanthropy serving

A message from the FiPR team:

First of all, we hope that our whole community is safe and healthy. We send you strength during this difficult time.

We started September with a clear objective: to amplify the voice of the organizations that have worked tirelessly in Puerto Rico’s recovery efforts over the last five years. Our island has been through a lot during that time period, including a fiscal crisis, natural disasters, earthquakes and a global pandemic. During the first few weeks of the month, we ran the “La voz del sector social en la recuperación del país” campaign, where we held multiple conversations with organizations that are transforming Puerto Rico.

While in the middle of this, Hurricane Fiona struck our island, leaving millions of dollars in damages, an island-wide blackout and the majority of the population without clean water. This gave the work we were doing previous to the hurricane new meaning and importance, and reconfirmed the value of providing a voice for those who work every day for the island’s recovery.

As the island’s main convener of the philanthropic sector, we continue to lead efforts with our vast network of grantmakers, aligning and coordinating a strategic response to this crisis. We continue to be committed to that mission. We are all in this together, and we know that a better and stronger Puerto Rico is possible when we help and support each other in times of crisis.

Here are some of the efforts we’ve developed to contribute to Hurricane Fiona’s disaster response:

FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund: Fiona Relief

After the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Fiona, FiPR took it upon itself to start strategizing, mobilizing, and coordinating an effective response to the disaster. As part of this effort, we started holding Funder Alignment meetings, an all-inclusive funders meeting where everyone could come together and participate. We were mainly working on creating a map to see where the help is going, identifying possible gaps, and of course figuring out solutions that can impact the future of the recovery process.

As the island’s leading philanthropy-serving organization, we sustain spaces where the path towards progress and recovery can be discussed, pushing the people’s agenda forward.

Funders Alignment

Once more, the FORWARD PUERTO RICO Fund, powered by Filantropía Puerto Rico, is present in the disaster and recovery response after Hurricane Fiona. We recognize that today’s mobilization started long before 2017, and we remain committed to moving FORWARD towards a better and stronger Puerto Rico.

The FORWARD Fund has spent the last five years supporting key nonprofit organizations and innovative projects that advocate addressing the layered crises facing Puerto Rico in an equitable manner, while increasing the resilience of vulnerable populations on the island.

Learn more about the impact of the FORWARD Fund during the past years.

Fiona Funds Landscape

To support these efforts, we have created the Fiona Funds Landscape Page, a list and consolidation of funds that will help support communities and individual organizations with proven records of effective management.

Fiona Supporting Efforts

A crucial part of Filantropía Puerto Rico’s purpose is serving as a bridge that amplifies the efforts of nonprofit organizations and collectives that are on the front lines of disaster recovery.

To see the large network of organizations coming up with diverse and effective ways to respond to this crisis, visit our Fiona Supporting Efforts page, where we have consolidated the many organizations working to mobilize the social sector’s agenda.

We also co-sponsored, along with Hispanic Federation, a free webinar for nonprofit organizations on how to maximize the resources and funds available for them through FEMA.

Annual Convening

We recognize that Puerto Rico is going through a difficult, vulnerable and critical time that brings social inequities to the surface and puts the social sector at the center of problem solving. Now more than ever, the philanthropic ecosystem must lean in to co-create the present and future of Puerto Rico. This year’s convening will tackle a variety of themes that look to bring us closer and strategize as a collective.

The Annual Convening page will keep everyone updated on new speakers, agenda items and other important details as we prepare to come together, Lean In and Co-Create!

If you’re a grantmaking organization in Puerto Rico and would like to attend the event, visit the landing page and register now.

Action Dialogues

Action Dialogues are one of the main pillars of our Membership, these spaces also serve as one of the many ways in which FiPR mobilizes and convenes philanthropy in Puerto Rico. In our September Action Dialogue we discussed different topics, including a walkthrough of our Philanthropic Investment Tool. Other topics involved a new fund for Reproductive Justice managed by the Fundación de Mujeres en Puerto Rico and the Community Investment Fund ran by Fundación Comunitaria PR.

Through these conversations, we continue to delve into philanthropic trends and harvest collective intelligence that will ultimately strengthen the philanthropic ecosystem.

Member Meetups

We recognize that the philanthropic ecosystem is on the front lines of the Hurricane Fiona recovery response. We also recognize the great importance accompanying each other in the process and realizing that we are in this together. Keeping this in mind, we held our bimonthly Member Meetup as a way to provide our members with a safe space to contemplate on the month’s events.

La voz del sector social en la recuperación del país

At the start of the month, our main objective for September was highlighting and amplifying the voices of the organizations that have been working day after day for the equitable and just recovery of Puerto Rico. This is why we held the “La voz del sector social en la recuperación del país” campaign, where we spoke to some of the leading voices of the social sector, including Siri Rolón, Ingrid Vila, Ariadna Godreau and Raúl Ríos in a series of live webinars, broadcasted on all our channels.

We also let multiple nonprofit organizations take over our social media channels, so they could talk about the important work they do to contribute to the island’s recovery.

To see a recap of all the conversations, click here!

philanthropy leading

Robusteciendo la Justicia Social (Strengthening Social Justice)

“Feeling everything we feel is what pushes us to do what we do as an organization”, was the phrase Issel Masses of Sembrando Sentido used to kick off the third RJS cohort meeting held on September 9, 2022 in Santurce Puerto Rico. FiPR’s purpose during these spaces is to  continue to move and shake the social sector, questioning and at the same time recognizing better practices that will improve the work of these organizations.

To see the full cohort meeting recap, click here.

Learning to Listen

After two years of connections and progress, Filantropía Puerto Rico’s Anja Paonessa and Glenisse Pagan participated in the final cohort meeting of the Fund for Shared Insight: Funder Listening Community of Practice. Along with six other Philanthropy Serving Organizations, this cohort hosted quarterly meetings to explore different projects of high quality listening and feedback as a central feature in the grantmaking process.  

To learn more about FSI’s community of practice and our role in the cohort, visit their Funder Listening Community of Practice page here!

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