The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) and Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (Mott) have worked since 2002 to nurture Mexico’s incipient community foundation (CF) sector, and in 2012, the two organizations launched a public-private partnership providing financial and technical support to CFs in Mexico to support cooperatives, associations, and other grassroots organizations. What makes this partnership special is its commitment to investing in the future health of Mexican civil society by creating a favorable climate for the philanthropic sector to support communities to solve their own problems, rather than focusing on specific, term-limited interventions. The IAF and Mott have invested approximately $2.1 million to date and will invest an additional $600,000 during 2020, with other donors having mobilized over $10.7 million in matching funds. This investment has benefitted over 28,000 rural and vulnerable Mexicans by funding 180 grassroots organizations and has strengthened Comunalia, a network of 16 CFs that serve 400 grassroots communities throughout 15 Mexican states.
Learn more about what makes the Localizing Development: The IAF-Mott Public-Private Partnership in Mexico so innovative in the UVA Darden School of Business’s Ideas to Action article.