A discussion on the role of philanthropy in the Venezuelan refugee crisis drew a large crowd at the Hispanics in Philanthropy Leadership Conference here last week. Experts described the myriad challenges facing millions of Venezuelans who fled to neighboring countries, which have been largely unprepared for such an influx, and the dearth of foundations and other funders who are helping.
As many as 4 million people have left Venezuela in recent years in the face of hyper-inflation and shortages of food, medicine, and other necessities.
The fight for the country’s leadership between President Nicholas Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who is backed by most Western governments, has only contributed to the dire situation. Food shortages are so pervasive and deep that a survey by three universities found that Venezuelans lost an average of 24 pounds in 2017 and the poverty rate hit 90 percent.
‘We Don’t Have the Luxury to Waste Time’
Venezuelans who have fled to neighboring Colombia and Brazil and other countries in the region also face challenges, said Francisco Quintana, program director for the Andean, North America and Caribbean Region at the Center for Justice and International Law. These countries have few services for the refugees and some lack a system for processing them.
“This crisis is so big that we don’t have the luxury to waste time,” said Quintana, whose organization is trying to share best practices among countries and address the structural problems that lead to ongoing disruption in the lives of migrants.
In border towns in Colombia, housing and jobs for refugees are scarce, said Patrick Gage, development director for Scalabrini International Migrant Network. The group works in 34 countries, including in Cúcuta, Colombia, which is on the border of Venezuela and a major route for refugees. fleeing to Colombia. Many migrants can also face hostility from local populations already under economic pressure, he said.
Caroline Kronley, president of the Tinker Foundation and the panel moderator, said the philanthropic community has not been as engaged in the crisis in Venezuela as it has been in other similar humanitarian disasters. When she asked for questions from people who are making grants to aid Venezuelan migrants — or are even exploring the idea — only one person spoke up.
Scalabrini International feeds 4,500 people a day in Cúcuta but can only provide 150 beds a night in its shelter, where every bit of space is covered with mattresses. That is in a city of 800,000, where authorities estimate that more than 30,000 Venezuelans enter the town each day. Though most arrive only for the day, more and more are choosing to stay.
Little Aid From Foundations
American philanthropic institutions have provided little help, said Kronley.
The Venezuelan situation comes as many other large-scale refugee crises have grabbed the world’s attention — Rohingya fleeing Myanmar, Syrian refugees streaming into Europe and parts of the Middle East, and the U.S. migrant crisis on the southern border.
“Then you also have the worst migrant crisis in South America, or even this hemisphere’s history, all at the same time,” Gage said. “For foundations and organizations that focus on immigration or refugees, there is fatigue.”
Amalia Brindis Delgado, director of programs and strategy for Hispanics in Philanthropy, said in an interview that she has been fielding calls from members about Venezuela. “We’re starting to see a lot of interest in funders to get more information, to understand how funders can approach this issue and what they can do,” she said. The answers, which are complex and varied, include programs such as relocating the refugees and providing immediate funding to civil-society organizations for job training and other resettlement assistance.
Hispanics in Philanthropy plans to host more conversations like this one on the Venezuelan crisis. The group is also starting a digital appeal to aid Venezuelan refugees and a crowd-funding campaign through its site hipgive.org.
Foundation Giving to Hispanics
From 2013 to 2017, Latinx (a gender-neutral term) groups received about $2.2 billion in foundation funding, according to Candid, the new nonprofit formed when the Foundation Center and GuideStar joined forces earlier this year.
Education received the most funding, followed by health and human services. Brad Smith, Candid’s president, said that grants made to Latinx organizations represented about 1 to 1.5 percent of total foundation giving, a share that has not changed over the last decade or so. For a group that makes up about 18 percent of the U.S. population, “it’s a relatively small amount of funding compared to other areas,” Smith said.
Smith announced the launch of LatinxFunders.org, a new website run by Candid that tracks foundation giving to Latinx organizations.
According to the site, the largest funder of Latinx organizations was the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, followed by the Ford Foundation and the California Endowment. The largest recipient of funds was the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, followed by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Council of La Raza.
“By giving a more nuanced picture instead of an overall number, it allows funders to think about, if they want to support Latinx populations, what is the best strategy,” Smith said. “It cracks open this overall category and allows funders to make strategic decisions based on how the whole field is allocating resources.”
