A community of foundations is coming collectively to align historic investments in Puerto Rico in parallel to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Puerto Rico Financial Dialogue. These commitments will help capability constructing in native municipios, promote arts and tradition, bolster renewable vitality, and guarantee sustainable agriculture. Committing organizations embody: Ford Basis, Filantropia Puerto Rico, PolicyLink, the Communities First Infrastructure Alliance, La Liga de Ciudades, Sembrando Sentido, Mellon Basis, Hispanic Federation, and Rockefeller Basis.
The Biden-Harris Administration is investing unprecedented sources in Puerto Rico’s financial progress and is dedicated to working intently with companions throughout the archipelago—in communities and within the authorities, nonprofit, and personal sectors—to make sure that progress is inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
Final week, the federal authorities and the Puerto Rican authorities launched the Puerto Rico Financial Dialogue to align on shared coverage priorities that profit all Puerto Rican communities, particularly given the latest, unprecedented movement of federal funds to the island. As a part of that effort, philanthropic leaders are coming collectively to help the Puerto Rican authorities, municipalities, civil sector, and communities, targeted on native options and methods strengthening.
Within the lead-up to the Financial Dialogue, senior Administration officers and philanthropic, native authorities, and community-based leaders held a roundtable with over 100 philanthropic companions to debate how philanthropy can help Puerto Rico’s municipalities to beat the challenges dealing with their communities. This was the primary federally-hosted philanthropic convening targeted on Puerto Rico, emphasizing the significance of civil society engagement in making certain personal and non-profit sector sources are aligned with federal priorities for fairness, financial alternative, and sustainability within the island’s long-term reconstruction.
Leveraging investments made to strengthen the island’s civic sector since Hurricane Maria, taking part foundations expressed their dedication to prioritizing the wants of municipalities and frontline community-based organizations to speed up the equitable deployment of federal sources to native communities; enhance transparency and accountability; and pilot and scale revolutionary, community-led options that promote local weather and vitality resilience, financial alternative, and neighborhood engagement. Foundations may also proceed in search of alternatives to braid philanthropic and federal sources to strengthen the capacities of native municipalities and community-based organizations to extra successfully entry and deploy billions of {dollars} in federal funds allotted to Puerto Rico.
Main nationwide and Puerto Rico foundations in addition to philanthropic and civic intermediaries made commitments aligned with the priorities of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Puerto Rico Financial Dialogue, together with:
- Ford Basis, Filantropia Puerto Rico, PolicyLink, the Communities First Infrastructure Alliance, La Liga de Ciudades, and Sembrando Sentido
- The partnership has dedicated over $1 million in seed capital to help the launch of a Municipal Innovation and Civic Engagement Hub designed to strengthen the capability of native municipalities and community-based organizations to extra successfully entry and deploy federal sources to serve the wants of the island’s Justice 40 communities.
- Mellon Basis
- The Mellon Basis just lately granted greater than $10 million to help Puerto Rico’s post-Fiona restoration, and is pledging an extra $13 million earlier than the tip of the 12 months as a part of its ongoing dedication to the humanities and humanities sectors– leading to greater than $50 million in whole grants from the Basis to organizations in Puerto Rico and the diaspora since 2018, with extra to return in 2023 and past.
- Hispanic Federation
- In 2023, Hispanic Federation will construct on their dedication to Puerto Rico with a pledge of roughly $3 million in philanthropic funding and almost $5 million in federal funding by a brand new partnership with the USDA. These funds will help grantmaking for community-based organizations in Puerto Rico and the enlargement of renewable vitality, sustainable agriculture, and different long-term restoration initiatives that promote equitable neighborhood growth. These new commitments are along with the Hispanic Federation’s $51 million in prior philanthropic investments to advance Puerto Rico’s simply and sustainable restoration from pure disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Filantropia Puerto Rico
- Filantropia Puerto Rico will convene a follow-up “Motion Dialogue” to align sources and technical help with the federal and Puerto Rico authorities commitments highlighted within the Puerto Rico Financial Dialogue, with a purpose to maximize coordination of presidency and philanthropic actions.
- Rockefeller Basis
- The Rockefeller Basis will proceed to help Puerto Rico of their vitality resilience targets, specializing in crucial services all through the island in 2023.
Collectively, the Biden-Harris Administration, authorities of Puerto Rico, and philanthropic companions are laying the inspiration for strengthened and sustained collaboration to ship outcomes for the individuals of Puerto Rico lengthy into the longer term.
