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COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS | FUNDERS | MANAGING PARTNERS
COMMUNITY FOUNDATIONS
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| “The
best way of predicting the future is to create it.” Peter Drucker |
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WHO WE ARE?
The Fundación
Internacional de la Comunidad (FIC) is Baja California’s
first community foundation. As such, it serves all of the
state whose current population (including the floating population)
is estimated at 4 million. Our programs include Philanthropy,
Continuing Education, Communications and Public Relations
and Funds and Volunteerism.
We can share:
- The advantages and experience resulting from our cross-border partnerships with U.S. community foundations.
- Our state-wide continuing education program and our Liderazgo Juvenil de las Californias (youth leadership program).
- The needs assessment of the state of Baja California carried out in conjunction with the San Diego International Community Foundation.
FACE OF FIC
For Yolanda Walther Meade being a founding member of the first
community foundation in Baja California it is the challenge and responsibility
that she welcomes. She has participated in conferences hosted
by CEMEFI (Centro Mexicano Para la Filanthropía) and
the U.S.-Mexico Border Partnership as well as those of Grantmakers
Association of San Diego. Such conferences have allowed her
to become knowledgeable on the legal and cultural differences
that exist between U.S. and Mexican community foundations.
Yolanda values that fact that thanks to the opportunity of working
with the foundation, she has become much more aware of the needs
of the state and appreciative of the great work being done by
civil society organizations for the benefit of the communities.
This has in turn allowed her to become more involved with a
greater number of communities. However, due to a lack of time
she has been unable to work as much as she would like to on
both sides of the border. One of the greatest personal challenges
she faces is that, despite the great deal of recent exposure
FIC and the community foundation model has been given, there
are still many people that are unaware of the existence of the
foundation and of the opportunity to become involved in socially
beneficial activities.
OUR COMMUNITY
Baja California boasts 75% of all of
Mexico’s marine mammal population. In September of 2001
FIC made one donation of $19,600.00. In December of the same
year an additional $25,000.00 to Investigación y Conservación
de Mamíferos Marinos de Ensenada (ICMME) in support of
the project, Educación Ambiental como motor de la Conservación
de Mamíferos Marinos en Baja California. ICMME has hosted
workshops in environmental education for children and conferences
for adults in several communities of the state including, San
Ignacio, Guerrero Negro and Ensenada. They have also posted
signs in beach areas and distributed pamphlets on beached marine
animals.
Additionally, in 2002 several members of the group Grupo Adelante
de Mujeres con Cáncer (female cancer survivors) enthusiastically
participated in the Institutional Development Seminar ultimately
resulting in the official incorporation of the group as a civil
society organization and the inauguration of their headquarters
in March 2003.
Finally, also attending the same meeting were members of La
Vereda de la Vida, a rehabilitation center. As a result of putting
into practice the knowledge obtained at the seminar they were
able to offer more professional services and strengthen their
organization internally. They are presently in the process of
obtaining official donor status from the Mexican Secretaria
de Hacienda y Credito Publico (SHCP).
OUR TREASURES
Offering and hosting our Institutional
Development Seminars facilitates closer relationships with our
community’s civil society organizations and a better understanding
of the projects they run.
The seminar also has allowed us to offer training to directors
of diverse CSO’s, representing a wide array of the state’s
municipalities, so that they can be witness to the exchange
and collaboration that is possible between organizations. There
have been instances in which representatives from one organization
have spoken of information they have about a particular donor
and agreed to share that information with other organizations.
OUR HOPES
We aspire to reach every corner of Baja California with our programs. Participation in the Border Philanthropy Partnership gives us the opportunity to learn about fellow community foundations and their success stories and about bi-national projects we can carry out within our own cross-border community. Presently we are faced with the challenge of promoting a culture of giving by raising funds from all members of the community including children, people of diverse economic backgrounds and professions. Difficulties in our efforts lie in a lack of a savings culture within Mexico that makes it difficult for many to think on a long term basis by contributing to endowment funds. Yet, we remain confident that we can rely on the economic support of a large base of permanent donors with whose help we will be capable of reaching and assisting a number of organizations. Our desire is to involve as many residents of Baja California as possible in socially beneficial activities so that together we can improve our quality of life.