It might be a new organization, but its objective is clear: raise money that can in turn be invested in the Latino community in Georgia, through a joint, cooperative effort among a variety of entities that support Hispanics.
“We hope to achieve greater economic investment in the Hispanic community, because the community has grown but the money invested in it has not,” said Gigi Pedraza, director of the Latino Community Fund Georgia.
According to Pedraza, who has years of experience working for different organizations that support this community, there exists a gaping lack of resources for Hispanics.
“That’s why our mission is to raise funds. The objective is to be able to achieve greater investment in our people,” she explained.
The task at hand is no easy feat, which is why LCF Georgia has created a diverse board of directors that includes corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and lawyers to name a few professions involved with the effort.
“It’s a good mix of voices from the community, who have always been interested in working toward this,” added Pedraza.
Among them is Christopher Perlera, a professional consultant whose parents are Salvadoran and who has seen first-hand the realities the Latino community faces.
“In our case, we collaborated with an organization that prevents drug abuse, but we are also conscious of all that’s happening in our community, with our DACA youth,” said Perlera. “The community is stressed out. We’re one of the fastest growing populations, and we need to refocus our efforts.”
LCF Georgia will follow a three-point strategy, the first of which, according to Pedraza, is to increase the voice of the Latino community.
“We want to tell our stories as they truly are: that we are a hard-working, resilient, creative, entrepreneurial community. We hope to counteract those stories that many times are based on crimes or whether or not we have documents,” said Pedraza.
“The second strategy is to create greater capacity in our non-profits, so they can be ready to receive more funds. That is to say, support existing organizations,” she added.
The third, and perhaps most important, strategy deals with reinvestment.
“We want to raise money and distribute it as scholarships and other monetary assistance to those non-profit organizations that are working to help Latinos,” said Pedraza.
Information about Latino Community Fund Georgia: www.lcfgeorgia.org/
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