Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund

Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund Grants Support 2020 Census Outreach Efforts

June 5, 2020

The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia announced that it has awarded $85,500 in total grants to four local nonprofits who have been chosen as the recipients of the 2020 Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund (LEAF), which provides grants to organizations supporting the Latino population’s path to civic integration in American society.

Latino Civic Education as Investment in American Democracy

April 4, 2018

Abigail Golden-Vazquez, Executive Director, Aspen Institute Latinos and Society ProgramLatinos comprise one in four students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade and, as such, they will have a direct and lasting impact on the nation’s democracy and prosperity. This is why it’s absolutely necessary to foster a culture of civic participation among Latino students inside and outside of school. Research shows that exposure to civic engagement at an early age can create lasting habits of civic participation throughout a person’s life. Edu-Futuro is an organization that seeks to engage Latino youth in civic activity for a better American future, a vision that aligns with the goals of its newest grantor, the Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund (LEAF).

Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund Announces First Grant

January 30, 2018

$25,000 Awarded to Northern Virginia Non-Profit Serving the Latino Community

Paty Funegra and Diana Katz at April '17 LEAF LaunchThe Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund (LEAF) announced today that it awarded a $25,000 grant to Edu-Futuro, a nonprofit with offices in Arlington and Springfield. The grant will support Edu-Futuro’s Emerging Leaders Program which targets the next generation of leaders and professionals in the Latino community. Edu-Futuro empowers under-resourced Latino and immigrant youth and their parents through education, leadership development, and family engagement.

Diana Katz, Co-Founder of LEAF and Giving Circle of HOPE

May 9, 2017

This is an interview with Diana Katz, who recently established the Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund (LEAF) with the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. Diana is also a co-founder of the Giving Circle of HOPE.

Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund Launches

April 17, 2017

Anonymous Donor Challenges Community with $50,000 Matching Gift

The Community Foundation launched the Latino Engagement and Achievement Fund (LEAF) to promote and invest in the civic engagement, education, economic success, naturalization, health, leadership development, volunteerism, and advocacy of the Latino community in the Metro DC region. Inspired by a 2016 Aspen Institute Latinos & Society Program report titled “Unlocking Latino Civic Potential: 2016 and Beyond,” two visionary Northern Virginia leaders, Paty Funegra and Diana Katz, formed this committee advised fund at the Community Foundation to create a source of strategic, permanent funding that will strengthen and encourage the Latino community now and for generations to come. Abigail Golden-Vazquez, Executive Director of the Latinos & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and author of the report stated, “I am confident that the Latino community and many more will benefit, because when you have a fully participatory and inclusive society, you have a stronger healthier community and democracy for all.”