FONDEA Philanthropic Fund: First Step towards a Community Foundation

Marcela Orvañanos de Rovzar, Senior Fellow, International Fellows Program ~ 2003

Abstract

Citing the need for community funding organizations that fit Mexico's unique philanthropic traditions, Marcela Orvañanos de Rovzar proposes to create a fund modeled on US community foundations, but consistent with Mexico's weak foundation sector. In her paper, Ms. Orvañanos de Rovzar presents a plan for creating the FONDEA philanthropic fund as a public foundation that would serve as a mechanism through which the private sector could support selected socioeconomic development initiatives in Mexico. The proposed fund would work in coordination with public programs and in close collaboration with nonprofit organizations and the community.

Because Mexico's Third Sector lacks a clearly defined legal structure and system of support, Marcela Orvañanos de Rovzar argues that Mexican nonprofits require increased financial support, better administration, and improved evaluation and monitoring mechanisms. She proposes to establish a grantmaking organization aimed at helping to address critical community problems, and at the same time that would constitute a useful model for institutionalized giving within the philanthropic sector. The proposed FONDEA fund would work to improve social awareness through donor development, teaching people how to give effectively regardless of economic background, gender or age. It would provide people with professional and monitored alternatives through which they could contribute to the well-being of their communities. Her paper includes an implementation plan that touches among other issues, on the incorporation process and seed capital, fund structure, grantmaking, and personnel.

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