Andres Thompson
Program Director, Latin American and Caribbean Programs
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

 Building Bridges Initiative
2000 Learning Community Meeting

Washington, DC
October 21, 2000

 I would like to make some remarks about the distinctiveness of our work, within the same field and with similar values, but within a very different context. 

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded grants in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) since 1941. During that time, the scope and range of its programming in the region has greatly expanded, especially through the 1990s.

By 1980, the Kellogg Foundation had funded 487 projects in 17 Latin American countries, the majority of which (455) were health-related. By 1999, the Foundation’s LAC grantmaking had extended to 28 countries, and encompassed all the Foundation’s basic goal areas: Health, Agriculture, Youth and Education, and Philanthropy and Volunteerism. The total annual grants awarded in the region grew from $9.2 million in 1987 to $26.6 million in 1998. 

A key aim of the Kellogg Foundation’s LAC grantmaking has been to reduce the growth of poverty in the region by demonstrating approaches to break the cycle of poverty.  Despite steady economic growth, a majority of the region’s population continues to be poor. For decades, government agencies, community-based organizations, and international organizations have expended considerable energy and resources in their attempts to improve living conditions. Yet these well-intentioned efforts have suffered from poor coordination and a lack of political will. And while charity and philanthropy have helped to ease human suffering, they have been marginal to the mainstream of public social action. In LAC, philanthropy has traditionally been paternalistic and focused heavily on the self-satisfaction of the giver.

In recent years, the onset of democratic governments and market-based economies in Latin America have created new opportunities for philanthropy and volunteerism (P&V). In response, the Kellogg Foundation has taken a new approach with its P&V grantmaking. It has sought to link the practice of giving and philanthropy with the ideals of participatory democracy. No longer, the Foundation believes, should Latin American philanthropy be regarded simply as a vehicle for short-term charity. It should instead be an emergent force for social change and civic responsibility. And no longer should philanthropy be reserved for the government, church, or wealthy elite. In the democratic tradition, all citizens can give of their time, talents, and resources. 

Since 1994, the Kellogg Foundation has based its P&V programming on the principle that every person is responsible for the well-being of their family, community, and society. Adopting these new attitudes and practices toward giving represents a major cultural shift for the people of Latin America and the Caribbean.   

Between 1994-2000, the Kellogg Foundation invested $13.3 million in its Latin America and Caribbean P&V programming, making it the largest international funder of such efforts. Across LAC, the Foundation has pioneered the concept of philanthropy and volunteerism as a potent, broad-based force for social improvement. 

We have recently completed a year-long evaluation of our P&V programming in Latin America and the Caribbean. Evaluators visited 30 projects in nine LAC countries, and interviewed 40 prominent leaders in the field of LAC philanthropy. The findings show how Kellogg grants have helped create a wealth of new opportunities for philanthropy and volunteerism.

The picture of P&V programming has been this.

The programming was based upon 5 main strategies

And the funds were distributed this way….

A few words about them…

1.      Changes in legal framework: In countries such as the United States, the nonprofit sector has benefited from laws that allow charitable donors to receive tax deductions and other benefits. The U.S. government also awards tax-free status to registered nonprofit organizations. In LAC, the absence of a similar legal framework has greatly restricted growth in the nonprofit sector. Some 25 Kellogg-funded P&V projects have worked with governments to develop policies that encourage giving.  

2.      Generation and application of knowledge: Because the nonprofit sector deals with human problems, the knowledge it generates is of benefit to both nonprofit professionals and the public at large. Capturing and sharing this knowledge has been a top priority for the Foundation’s LAC grantees. They have collected and shared information through means such as databases, surveys, and professional journals.

3.      Spreading the word about philanthropy: What does the nonprofit sector do, and why should people support its growth? Many Kellogg-funded P&V projects work closely with the news media to inform the public of their achievements.

4.      Creating an infrastructure for philanthropy: Around the world, organizations such as CIVICUS and the U.S.-based Council on Foundations provide a wealth of services and development opportunities for nonprofits. They provide professional education programs, and serve as a unified voice for the nonprofit sector. In LAC, Foundation grants have helped to establish similar infrastructure organizations. Together, they have raised the profile of philanthropy and brought new competency and credibility to the nonprofit sector.

5.  Developing human resources for the third sector: The number and quality of the training programs for leaders and managers working in the field of P&V currently in place in Latin America, reflect both the fast growing pace of the Third Sector, but also the extent of its needs for better practices and enhanced professionalism. Training will be on the priority list of organizations in the region for many years to come. In some countries, such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica, the conditions are given to satisfy training needs with highly qualified local resource persons. In other countries, more efforts are needed to help strengthen the local training capacity, as a fundamental piece for the growth the Third Sector, its professionalization, and the qualification of other participating actors.

The past six years have been a time of considerable growth for LAC philanthropy. However, as the nonprofit sector continues to expand and mature it will need to take action in several critical areas:

·        Enhancing the value of volunteerism: Despite recent progress, volunteerism is still regarded in many LAC countries as a sporadic hobby for the wealthy. Volunteers are often treated as incidental help and are relegated to perform mundane tasks. Instead, nonprofits should realize the degree to which volunteer staff and board members add value to their organizations. Valuing volunteers is perhaps the best way to build ownership and support for a nonprofit organization. The continued professionalization of volunteers is of urgent concern to the LAC’s nonprofit sector. 

·        Building democracy within nonprofit organizations: If nonprofits are to encourage civic responsibility, then they, too, must adhere to democratic principles. For example, their boards need to be more diverse and include community members and other beneficiaries. They should publicly disclose essential information about their organizations and ask stakeholders to participate in the design of new programs. They should develop leadership transition plans that spare organizations the costs and hardships of leadership conflicts.

·        Leadership based on best practices: The LAC nonprofit sector needs more leaders who can combine visionary leadership with skillful management. To that end, more leadership development and management training programs are needed. There’s also a demand for more leaders who come from less privileged segments of society. Such leaders are essential in order to work successfully with community members and grassroots organizations. 

·        Establishing new partnerships: The nonprofit sector must collaborate more fully with communities and with society at large. There is still much to learn about building successful partnerships between nonprofits, grantmaking foundations, governments, and corporations. Nonprofit organizations are challenged to work with – and learn from – other partners while maintaining the integrity of their mission.

Philanthropy and volunteerism has made remarkable progress in Latin America, yet it is difficult to specify how much of this can be attributed to the Kellogg Foundation. Numerous public and private donors, as well as international funding agencies and community-based organizations have contributed. All parties are to be credited for the advancement of philanthropy and volunteerism across the region. Nonetheless, the Kellogg Foundation’s vision and commitment have clearly placed it at the forefront of this new social movement. In financial terms alone, the $13.3 million spent by the Foundation on P&V programming has leveraged $28.3 million additional funds from international and local donors. 

Most importantly, the growth of philanthropy and volunteerism, with its new emphasis on social responsibility and citizenship, holds enormous promise for the people of Latin America. The values that philanthropy embodies – altruism, participation, service, and inclusion – are powerful tools in the struggle to fight poverty and build a more just and equitable society for all.

It is at the crossroads of these challenges that the association between universities and nonprofit organizations may prove to be a powerful combination. WKKF has made a very small investment to include 8 LAC institutions in the BBI and the results have been enormous. Each one of them has a successful story to tell. During these last two years, many political, social and economic important changes took place in the LAC landscape. It has not been an easy time, but our partners here have been able to "build bridges over troubled waters".

We will build on these efforts and learning for continuing building partnerships for social development.

To close, let me just quote Simon & Garfunkel:

Sail on

Silver girl

Sail on by

Your time has come to shine

All your dreams are on their way

See how they shine

Oh....If you need a friend,

I'm sailing right behind

Yes....Like a bridge over troubled water

Thank you.