Statement on Coronavirus Outbreak
HIP’s Statement on the Coronavirus Outbreak, Response Efforts, and the Impact on the Latino Community Washington, D.C. March 9—Today Ana Marie Argilagos, President and CEO of Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP), issued the following statement on the coronavirus emergency response efforts and the need to ensure vulnerable communities have access to health care. “As the world continues to work toward containing the novel coronavirus, HIP’s work toward health equity is increasingly vital. Migrant and refugee populations are especially vulnerable as they do not have easy access to health care. This could prevent early detection and continue the disease’s spread. Additionally, we have seen an increase of immigration enforcement in the interior and court proceedings continue while social and legal services are forced to close in a quarantine impacting services that are vital in our communities. Another particularly vulnerable group are those in the service sector—many of them Latinos—for whom suggestions of ‘self-quarantine’ are practically impossible. Without paid time off, sick leave policy, insurance coverage, or other protections workers do not have the luxury of taking time off until they feel better and it becomes even more complicated for parents who then have to find childcare if schools close. “For this reason, we as funders must continue to support and trust our partners on the ground who are rapidly making critical decisions on how to shift their operations to better serve our communities. Today, HIP will launch two rapid response mini-grant programs to assist our partners and grantees in providing direct support to the community while ensuring a fair census count for underserved groups. “Rapid Response Migration Fund “The COVID-19 Rapid Response Migration Fund will award at least $200,000 in mini-grants to help frontline migrant-serving organizations develop and launch emergency protocols, cover unexpected costs due to office closures or disrupted revenue streams, increase agility in services and advocacy, and address other unforeseen impacts of the ongoing pandemic. We invite funders to join this emergency effort to ensure that frontline organizations in the region are able to continue serving vulnerable migrant, refugee, and asylum seeker populations in a safe and timely manner. “HIP will offer rapid response funds to current grantee partners of our Migration and Forced Displacement program (as well as a limited number of organizations nominated by HIP’s current funders or partner organizations) who are at the frontlines of providing direct humanitarian, social and legal services to migrants, as well as advocacy and narrative shift work. This comprehensive program has raised over $8M over the last 2 years to promote and protect the human rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers across the Americas. For more details on the Rapid Response Migration Fund see here. “Civic Participation Fund “The Civic Participation fund addresses the critical issues at stake for a fair and accurate 2020 Census to ensure Latinos are counted. COVID-19 has forced organizations to quickly shift from field operations to remote digital efforts. To expedite these new efforts we are announcing a rapid response grant pool for grassroots nonprofit organizations to help ensure Latinos are counted. “In 2018, HIP launched the Latino Civic Participation Grant in key southern states to provide funding to grassroots groups and nonprofit organizations that are using diverse strategies to build political power within the Latino community in places with limited financial and electoral influence to advance supportive policy change. We deployed $160,000 in grants that leveraged more than $1.25M in contributions and matching funds and HIP works with an extensive network of organizations on these critical civic participation issues. We encourage funders committed to racial equity in civic participation to contribute to HIP’s pool and/or match our funding as it is deployed. “For more details on the Civic Participation fund see here. “If we do not take action now, global health crises like these will be harder to prevent and the consequences will be greater than we can imagine. “The inequities in access to health care and other basic services have been and remain glaringly obvious. It is essential that we move quickly to enact a variety of measures such as paid sick leave, enhanced unemployment insurance, waiving fees or reimbursement for health costs related to coronavirus, and better and free access to testing in community clinics.” For our colleagues and friends in philanthropy, we recommend the following best practices as we navigate this moment together:- Check-in with grantee partners and community members to understand what they need to continue providing essential services.
- Consider offering flexible financial support or technology to grantee partners dealing with new expenses, funding shortfalls, or tools needed to facilitate working from home.
- Remember to look at COVID-19 with an equity lens: Who cannot work from home, who is unable to access health care, who has limited access to urgent response resources, who is not being served by broader response measures due to language, illness, disability, legal status or other systemic barriers?
- Offer creative and flexible options for grantee partners to report on existing work or submit pending/new proposals or other documentation on more relaxed timelines.
- Use your power to support grantees and others to advocate for better health, public education, moratoriums on evictions, and labor policies as well as access to health and human services without barriers or discrimination.
- Review deadlines and deliverables and be flexible where possible in situations where work is interrupted or unexpected costs are incurred. Consider offsetting those costs where possible.
PUBLICACIÓN ACERCA DE LAS FORMAS DE TRABAJO DE HIP DURANTE ESTE TIEMPO Y LA SOLIDARIDAD CON EL EQUIPO INTERNO Y EXTERNO.
El mundo atraviesa por un momento complejo que nos preocupa y compromete a actuar con solidaridad y responsabilidad. Es por eso, que las oficinas de HIP Latinoamérica ubicadas en la Ciudad de México nos sumamos a las medidas de seguridad, trabajo remoto y distanciamiento social sugeridas por la Organización Mundial de la Salud. Para nuestro equipo es fundamental seguir las indicaciones de las autoridades con el fin de cuidar a los nuestros y con los que convivimos a diario. A partir del día de hoy seguiremos trabajando y atendiendo a todas las personas aliadas a HIP, organizaciones colaboradoras y a cualquier persona en general a través de nuestro correo electrónico y/o reuniones virtuales agendadas. En HIP sabemos que presenciamos un momento sin precedentes en nuestra vida. A medida que el mundo continúa trabajando para contener el nuevo coronavirus, el trabajo de HIP hacia la equidad es cada vez más vital y continuará adelante con pasión, coraje y esperanza. Durante este tiempo, estaremos trabajando para buscar formas de apoyo para los miembros de nuestra comunidad que serán las personas más afectados por este virus y el impacto económico que tendrá en su vida diaria y su seguridad. Los programas de HIP estaremos trabajando de la manera más normal posible, buscando avanzar y atender todas las necesidades que estén en nuestras manos responder.Por esta razón, nosotros, como financiadores, debemos continuar apoyando y confiando en nuestros socios en el terreno que están tomando rápidamente decisiones críticas sobre cómo cambiar sus operaciones para servir mejor a nuestras comunidades. HIP lanzará dos programas de mini subsidios de respuesta rápida para ayudar a nuestros socios y beneficiarios a proporcionar apoyo directo a la comunidad y al mismo tiempo garantizar un recuento censal justo para los grupos desatendidos. Mas aquí.
Agradecemos tu comprensión y te sugerimos seguir las mejores prácticas recomendadas para poder salir todos adelante y en buen estado de esta situación. ¡En HIP sin importar las adversidades estamos aquí para ayudarte!