A PHILANTHROPIST’S STORY INFORMS HER GIVING
At the core of D5’s work is a commitment to making more financial resources available to diverse communities and building the capacity of diverse donors.
D5 caught up with Ana Valdez, a philanthropist and political and media consultant based in Los Angeles, to hear more about her personal story, and how it influences the way she helps the Latino community tell its own.
This interview is from the annual D5 State of the Work report.
D5: What is it about your own story that fuels your philanthropy?
Ana Valdez: I grew up in Mexico City in a privileged home, and there were many treats to it, but I always knew there was something wrong. The differences between the haves and have-nots was very painful, for me at least.
Latinos are very generous — with our family, our friends, our environment, and our church. There is a culture of giving, but it’s a very different culture of giving from what the foundation world is used to. We Latinos may not know much about structured giving, and that I think is an education process that we could all use to achieve tremendous results in the future.
D5: As an activist philanthropist, you are taking your commitment to the next level by working with peers and colleagues to strengthen the ability of the Latino community to tell its own story. How can individual philanthropists play a more active role, beyond contributing financial resources, to strengthening the communities they care about?
AV: There are many ways to have an impact in the communities philanthropists care about, besides donating money. They can volunteer doing the work that the organization does, in the field. This has an impact both on the people the organization serves and the staff of the organization; it creates a better understanding of the organization’s challenges, and it helps with work that otherwise would have to be paid.
They can also recruit their peers to volunteer with them. This creates awareness of the need of the mission in a larger number of people, who can eventually become supporters of the cause, too.
They can volunteer at a higher level, with their time and expertise, by being on the board of directors, helping with important decision-making, donating their expertise and professional ideas, and being the voice of specific demographics they are serving.
Philanthropists can also be spokespeople who tell the story of the organization and its mission wherever they go, both in their social and professional circles.
Philanthropists can also create awareness of the cause by writing articles and books, giving talks, being part of panels, etc.
D5: How is the field doing in terms of building authentic partnerships with donors from a diverse set of backgrounds and experiences?
AV: I believe there is a will to include more diversity, and I know of many boards and non-profit human resources departments that have the mandate to do so. Unfortunately, I don’t think they have been very effective in the majority of cases. Recruiters need to be even more innovative in their systems and processes.
I recently heard a COO of one of the largest entertainment companies in the U.S. encouraging his VPs to “go against your instincts” as a possible way to achieve more diversity in hires. I am not sure it is “going against your instincts” as much as it’s “going out of your comfort zone.” The traditional demographic that has made hiring and recruiting decisions most of the time has no connections or relationships to other demographics.
They have the obligation to achieve optimum performance for the organization, to dedicate time and effort to create those connections and new networks, and to have a robust pool of candidates to consider every time they have staffing needs.
There are some organizations and businesses that have achieved these goals. They made it a priority, created the commitment, and made it a requirement of good practices. And they have achieved unimaginable levels of success in their mission overall by having a staff and board that represent the people they serve.
Read more stories from the movement to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in D5’s State of the Work report.
