Latin American Groups See Drop in Support as Many Corporations Cut Contributions

While the effects of the economic downturn vary greatly in Latin America, charities there say they are experiencing declines in support.

In Mexico, where philanthropy is perhaps best established in the region, 55 percent of charities reported a drop in donations in 2008, according to a survey by the Mexican Center for Philanthropy, the country’s largest association of nonprofit groups. Thirty-eight percent said donations had held steady.

“Things won’t be easy for charities that live off donations,” said Jorge Villalobos, president of the center, in Mexico City.

However, some donors plan to help hard-hit groups.

The Alfredo Harp Helú Foundation, one of the country’s largest grant makers, said last month it would provide $75-million during the next two years, a 50-percent increase from what the organization awarded in 2007 and 2008. The money will support scholarships, scientific research, and cultural programs. The foundation, which was founded by Alfredo Harp Helú, a wealthy Mexican businessman and banker, said it would “offer help to institutions that find themselves temporarily without funds.”

Mr. Harp’s cousin, Carlos Slim Helú, one the world’s richest men, also plans to do more to help education and health projects. The Mexican billionaire announced in March he would contribute $525-million to charity this year through his personal foundation and corporate grant makers he oversees.

Increasing Awareness

The Wal-Mart Mexico Foundation also said it will increase grant making slightly above the $27-million it gave last year. Gisela Noble, director of the organization, which is one of the largest donors to food and nutrition programs in the country, said the organization would give at least $200,000 more and would also do more to get its 50,000 employees to volunteer.

Mr. Villalobos of the Mexican Center for Philanthropy attributes those efforts to a growing philanthropic culture and an increasing concern about poverty in Mexico, where nearly half the 111 million people live on less than $5 a day.

“We’ve noticed a very important increase in awareness of the importance that citizen and corporate philanthropy play in contributing to the public well-being,” he said.

Elsewhere in Latin America, the mood is less optimistic, especially about corporate philanthropy.

“The economic problems have affected us a lot. Things have become very difficult because the first thing companies cut are these donations,” said Maria Cristina Trujillo Mosquera, executive director of the Matamoros Corporation, a charity in Bogotá, Colombia, that assists soldiers wounded in the country’s long-running civil war. It has experienced a 10-percent decline in corporate contributions compared to the same period last year.

Miguel Rodríguez Siso, president of Let’s Unite the World for Life, a children’s charity in Caracas, Venezuela, said his group is facing a similar loss of corporate assistance.

For example, the Chevron Corporation, which has supported the organization for several years, cut its aid by about 30 percent.

In addition, the government recently ruled that television companies can no longer receive tax deductions for airtime they devote to charity appeals, a move that has hurt Let’s Unite the World’s ability to get its fund-raising commercials on television, the group’s president said.

With Venezuela’s economy hurt by the fluctuations in the oil market, he said the demand for social services is rising.

“The number is growing every day,” he said about needy children. “I know that the problem is growing.”

With such difficulties, Juan Carlos Franco, director of the Mario Santo Domingo Foundation, in Bogotá, said he expects large charities in his country to seek donations in the United States and from donors around the world. “Those who hadn’t knocked on foreign doors are now doing so,” he said.

Mike Ceaser contributed to this article from Bogotá, Colombia, and Marion Lloyd contributed from Mexico City.