Latinos as Financial Agents of Change

Last year on the main stage at SOCAP15 I announced the launch of Raíces, Calvert Foundation’s initiative focused on engaging Latinos in impact investing through a portfolio focused on small business, access to finance, education and housing throughout Latin America and in predominantly Latino communities in the U.S.

We went through a visioning exercise and I asked the audience to close their eyes and picture an investor. And when they opened them I had three pictures on the screen - of women, of millennials and of Latinos and explained that if you hadn’t pictures these groups, then you were missing the future, because the major trends in our country all point to this new reality.

Last week, at the Impact Hub in San Francisco this vision became more of a reality. More than 80 leaders from the Latino community joined Calvert Foundation, Univision and Fusion for a discussion on the importance of engaging Latinos as financial agents of change. Univision and Fusion are committed to the financial empowerment of their viewers and to creating positive outcomes in their viewers' communities.

"Latinos want to pay it forward. We lift each other up." LCF CEO @martinez_garcel #ParteDeLaSolution pic.twitter.com/1uNp70j1Yw

— Latino Community Fdn (@LatinoCommFdn) September 15, 2016

From the panel discussion and the questions in the room, there was a tremendous sense of potential and empowerment. As the Latino community in the U.S. has grown in numbers in the past few decades, they have also grown as a clear cultural and political force. Now, more than ever before, they are also poised to be a significant economic force.

In recognition of this, we are eager to mobilize the financial power of Latinos into a force for social good.

And that’s why we’ve joined forces with Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU) and Kiva, as part of the #ParteDeLaSolution campaign, a network of partners that offer unique online opportunities - whether it’s investing in our Community Investment Note at Vested.org, saving with LCCU or lending through Kiva - to put your money to work for social good.

PARTE DE LA SOLUTION VO-SOT from Sely Colón on Vimeo.

Whether you have $20 to invest or $20 million; whether you’re opening a savings account or deciding where to donate, there’s a power in your financial decisions. It can be a new form of activism and one that we can all be a part of.

As was made clear last week, there are many ways to put your money to work to make a difference, but we need to take action.

Visit ParteDeLaSolution.com and get started today.

¡Adelante!