FORWARD Puerto Rico
An Assessment of The FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund’s Emergency Grants
During the Forward Puerto Rico Fund first year, we raised over two million dollars and applied these funds toward emergency grants for local grassroots organizations with proven records that were providing direct assistance to affected communities. A total of 24 emergency grants were disbursed, mostly between December 2017 and February 2018.
This report examines the results of the nearly $1 M in grants provided through the FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund for those 24 emergency grants.
CONCLUSIONS
- Providing general operating grants was the best thing to do.
- Funds were appropriately used to help their community.
- The grant from Fondo Adelante PR built credibility and helped organizations raise other funds.
- La Red de Fundaciones helped community organizations gain visibility locally and nationally, including with national foundations.
- Local NGOs could benefit from a “rainy day” or reserve fund to help accelerate their emergency responds.
- Local NGOs could benefit from assistance to deal with the emotional effects of the disasters for their staff and community.
The FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund was created by La Red de Fundaciones de Puerto Rico to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit groups to advance social justice and provide innovative solutions to the island’s vexing problems. The Fund was created by the Red de Fundaciones de Puerto Rico in early 2017 as a vehicle to promote partnerships between local, national, and international philanthropic organizations. Investments in the FORWARD Fund grew quickly after Hurricane María devastated the island in September 2017.
