AN AGENDA
FOR A BETTER
CALIFORNIA
We believe in the power of our community to lead change. This year marked an exciting
new venture for LCF with the launch of the California Latino Agenda (CLA). CLA is a
platform to increase Latino engagement in policy-making decisions that will shape the
future of California. Through the California Latino Agenda, LCF is creating and supporting
a network of leaders, organizations, and donors that know the challenges of their communities and work together to voice solutions that will improve education, economic, and
health opportunities for Californians.
In May 2013, LCF organized a summit with over 150 community leaders in Sacramento.
Leaders discussed vital issues such as education funding reform, the roll-out of health
care reform and policies that would provide greater protections and rights for immigrant
families. Leaders were joined by over a dozen elected officials that included Senators
Mark Leno and Alex Padilla Assembly Members Tom Ammiano, Shirley Weber, Nancy
Skinner, Mariko Yamada, Manuel Perez, Ellen Corbett, Rob Bonta, Roger Dickenson,
Roger Hernandez, Phil Ting, and Katcho Achadjian.
We did not do this alone. You were there every step of the way. Our Latina Giving Circle
members, 19 of them, granted $10,000 to Puente Pescadero and the Chicano/Latino
Youth Leadership Project. Over 150 donors gave to the DREAMER campaign, reaching
almost 100 students with legal services, direct financial support for the application, and
to build a fund to help DACA students further their academic and career goals.
Community is about each one of us making a commitment to come together to ensure
greater prosperity for all. This is particularly evident and relevant in the Latino community.
There is a tradition of giving that goes back centuries in Latin American and has been
brought to this country. We often hear stories of communities that banded together to help
neighbors after natural disasters or families that saved together to purchase homes when
they immigrated to the U.S. This tradition is still strong in our communities.
We are now asking you to join the Latino Community Foundation as we build and strengthen a network of donors committed to providing opportunities for more families to achieve
the American dream. It is possible, we have seen it first-hand. This is not something we
can just imagine for the future. it is something that we can—and need—to make happen.
Together, we can do more, we can give more, and we can build a better future.