HIP is unique in that we unite individual, local, and national funders with the shared goal of investing in Latino leadership to strengthen Latino communities. We seek to remedy the historic underfunding of Latino-led, Latino-serving nonprofits by changing the field of philanthropy itself. We achieve this by connecting funders with our network of qualified nonprofits and leaders working tirelessly to inspire real change in their communities.

By encouraging and guiding funders to pool their resources and work collaboratively, we have raised awareness and increased the scale and impact of philanthropic investments in Latino communities. With an expansive network of funders, we are also able to leverage each funder's investment in Latino communities to maximize results. In other words, for every $1 invested with HIP, we are able to multiply this investment by at least two-fold by securing matching local or national funders. This model has allowed us to invest over $45 million back into the Latino community.

We recognize the pressing need for general operating and capacity-building support among Latino nonprofits, especially when tasked with providing services in a struggling economy. We give grants but also provide grantees with trainings, webinars and convenings to give leaders networking opportunities and to encourage practices that will increase the sustainability and growing power of these organizations.

By becoming a member of HIP, individuals will join other foundations, corporations, grantmaking entities and individual philanthropists who have taken a leadership role in the guidance and development of HIP's mission to strengthen the Latino community. Membership is evidence of a strong and active level of involvement in the Latino and Latin American civil sector. Our members are committed to collaboration and diversity and work in partnership with HIP to serve the Latino community.

HIP is: An Unmatched Transnational Network of Leaders:

• HIP's network of local and national funders and nonprofit organizations is unmatched in terms of scope and breadth.
• HIP brings together grantmakers to identify solutions to the structural underfunding of one of the nation's greatest resources: the growing Latino community and its assets. An Incubator of Innovation:
• HIP has identified and prescreened in its sites the most innovative Latino nonprofit organizations who are at a tipping point in their growth. With the right amount of support for capacity building, these organizations can significantly expand their services and make a dramatic impact in their local communities. A Promoter/Guarantor/Multiplier of Results:
• Because of its expansive network of funders, HIP is able to leverage each funders' investment in Latino communities to maximize results. In other words for every $1 you invest with HIP in Latino communities, HIP multiplies this investment at least two-fold by securing matching local or national funders.

"The HIP Collaborative has helped in many ways over the past 10 years. It spurred us to recruit the first Latina foundation board member in the state and helped us develop relationships that have led to establishing several funds advised by Latinos. Our association with HIP has helped to strengthen our cultural competence as an organization."

– Tara Sandercock Vice President, Grants and Initiatives, Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro

"HIP is a wonderful way for me to connect to what is going on related to philanthropy with other Hispanic communities around the country and in Latin America, and for me to share what is happening in Miami, one of the most diverse cities in the United States."

– Javier Alberto Soto President and CEO, The Miami Foundation

"I am officially connected to HIP through the Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities. Unofficially, I'll always be connected because of what the network means to me personally and what it continues to mean to the Latino community here in Philadelphia."

– Helen unningham Executive Director, Samuel S. Fels Fund

The Funders' Collaborative for Strong Latino Communities has been very successful- through this model, HIP has partnered with over 150 local and national funders to raise and regrant over $40 million dollars to build the capacity of deserving Latino nonprofits working to strengthen their local communities. HIP identifies organizations that are at a tipping point in their growth. With the right amount of support for capacity building, these organizations can significantly expand their services and make a dramatic impact in their local communities. In 2003, HIP was awarded the prestigious Scrivner Award for Creative Grantmaking from the Council on Foundations; and in 2008, an external evaluation determined that the Funders' Collaborative "achieved virtually every one of its aims." Highlights from this report:

• On average, HIP grantees reported increases in annual growth of about 11 percent, nearly double the national average rate of five to six percent for U.S. nonprofits during the last decade.
• The average number of collaborative projects in which each grantee was involved nearly doubled from 2001 to 2007.
• There were also measurable changes in funder practices. Grant dollars to Latino organizations increased nearly 4.5 times more than the participating funders' grantmaking overall. Moreover, funders indicated that if not for the Funders' Collaborative they never would have considered these grantees that, for the most part, had previously lacked the capability to apply for funding or were "below the radar."
• Grantees also indicated significant growth in staff size, number of programs, clients served, and collaborative involvement with other organizations, in addition to praising the value of trainings, technical assistance, and networking opportunities provided by HIP. 

Here is what some grantees had to say about partnering with HIP through the Funders' Collaborative:

"HIP has helped to launch Corazon Community Services from a small, emerging non-profit in Cicero, IL with a budget of $5,000 and 4 volunteers to an organization with approximately 30 staff and a budget of more than $1,000,000!"

– Adam M. Alonso, Corazon Community Services, Chicago 

"HIP has helped us staff our development and community outreach areas, while at the same time offering timely and practical training for our administrative team. Congratulations HIP!"

– David Shields, Casa Romero Renewal Center, Wisconsin