Opinion | Not All Latino Giving Is Down. My Giving Circle Is Proof.
September 25, 2023 | Read Time: 1 minute
To the Editor:
For the last five years, I have been part of a Latino giving circle in Los Angeles, organized by the California-based Latino Community Foundation. While recent data highlighted in Kay Dervishi’s Sept. 19 article shows that charitable giving among Latinos has dropped since 2008, my experience in the giving circle demonstrates the opposite.
Despite a pandemic and economic upheaval, our members have increased their giving and recruited additional people to join. We don’t view this work as charity but as a fight for the justice that our Latino and immigrant communities deserve. That’s why we’re successful. In 2021, for example, after witnessing street vendors lose work due to Covid-19 restrictions, we donated $10,000 to help them get back on their feet. More recently, our circle gave $90,000 to three local, Latino-led nonprofits working on tenant, immigrant, and LGBTQ+ rights — our largest set of grants to date.
Even when the challenges facing our families and communities feel insurmountable, we know they’re no match for the strength of our time, advocacy, and resources.
Steven Almazán
Member
Los Angeles Latino Giving Circle
