HISTORY

A VISION FOR BUILDING CAPACITY FOR POSITIVE CHANGE

In 2001 the Ford Foundation approached the Synergos Institute and other donor partners to study the potential of an effort to develop philanthropic leadership and infrastructure in the border region.  The resulting feasibility study consulted with an array of border leaders and institutions and proposed a partnership of border community foundations and funding partners that would strengthen local leadership and increase the capacity of border foundations to mobilize philanthropic resources and provide community leadership on quality of life issues for low income communities across the region. 

The partnership was officially launched with the convening of the first BPP Learning Community in Cd. Juárez in September of 2002.  The Cd. Juárez meeting brought together for the first time representatives of established and start up foundations from eight border states, the Synergos Institute and funding partners.  At this meeting, BPP partners initiated the first-ever bi-national collaborative effort to build and strengthen community philanthropy.

The partnership initiated with eight national and regional funding foundations who contributed to the pooled fund.  These included:

• The Ford Foundation
• Fundación Gonzalo Río
• The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
• The Houston Endowment
• The Inter-American Foundation
• The McCune Charitable Foundation
• The Meadows Foundation
• The Mott Foundation and the Ford Foundation

In addition to supporting the management and capacity building elements of the BPP through contributions to the pooled fund, donor foundations set a goal at the onset of channeling up to $10 million directly to border community foundations, catalyzing an increase in local giving.  At its launch, 20 border community foundations (BCFs) participated in the BPP including eight Mexican foundations and twelve from the US.

As the Managing Partner, Synergos Institute was charged with the responsibility of coordinating all BPP program activities and resources to meet the partnership’s stated objective. 

Phase I – September 2002 to July 2005

The first three years of the BPP were dedicated to the ‘nuts and bolts’ of building community philanthropy institutions.  In this time five community foundation partners, who at the onset of the initiative were considered to be in the idea stage, were legally incorporated, hired executive directors and established governing boards, bylaws, policies and procedures.    Thirteen foundations considered in the emerging foundation phase, significantly grew their administrative and programmatic capacity.   

The established border foundations increased their attention and resources to low income border families.   The BPP provided border community foundations with intensive coaching, tailored workshops, bi-annual learning communities, peer learning exchange opportunities and networking and communications tools in addition to technical assistance funds.   The partnership also established a co-governance structure that included Synergos staff, border community staff and board representation and donor foundation participation on an Executive Committee, Program Committee, and Communications Committee.    The grounding of the program and its evolution was strongly guided by the vision and principals noted in the BPP’s Framing Document

Phase II – August 2005 to July 2008

The following three year period of the BPP continued to address organizational development and strengthening through a similar variety of capacity building tools.   Additionally, this phase saw an increased emphasis on cross- border collaboration in particular through the launch of four programmatic foci of common concern to border community foundations; Family Asset Building, Youth in Philanthropy, Community Health and Grassroots Community Development.    In addition to annual learning communities, thematic meetings on these issues have been held.

Phase III – An Independent BPP; August 2008 and beyond

Synergos Institute staff is working closely with the BPPs governing committees, in particular the Executive Committee to prepare for a transition from Synergos management of the initiative to a locally based, autonomous entity fully directed by its constituent member foundations

The US-Mexico Border Philanthropy Partnership set off with high goals for improving the philanthropic environment in the U.S.-Mexico border region.   While partners are aware that the growth and sustainability of community foundations is a labor of decades, we believe the BPP’s initial investments have established the building blocks for continued growth and success and have already borne significant impact on quality of life in the region.