Providing support for Latino nonprofits in the fundraising space

“As a Latino, it was hard not to notice how rare I was at these events and, more importantly, how few Latino nonprofit representatives were present,” Armando Zumaya, who attended conferences for fundraising professionals, wrote in “Expensive Fundraising Conferences Perpetuate Inequality.”. It’s time for a new approach”, published last year in Chronicle of Charity. Zumaia’s fundraising career spans nearly four decades, much of which was spent as major gifts, leadership giving and annual fund officer on two $1 billion-plus fundraising campaigns at Cornell University and UC Berkeley. Zumaia noted that this is a great loss for the community because these conferences are critical in providing professional development opportunities and sharing innovative fundraising methods.

Zumaya told Convening“First, because they have a positive culture, organizations invest in fundraising,” he said. “Second, because it’s very expensive to attend these events.” Zumaya said this has created huge inequalities in the nonprofit sector, with 95% of nonprofits operating on budgets of less than $5 million. According to the National Council of Nonprofits, 92% of nonprofits operate on less than $1 million per year, and 88% operate on less than $500,000.

According to Zumaia, travel, lodging and registration fees for fundraising conferences can total up to $3,000 per attendee — an expense that is out of reach for many nonprofits, especially smaller, diverse ones that struggle to do community work every day. Zumaia said these cost barriers allow already successful nonprofits to stay up to date on industry trends while “organizations led by and for people of color are left to survive on a few grants, a few government dollars and a once-a-year fundraising mailer.”

“We are the power”

To combat the inequities that exist in the fundraising community, Zumaia founded the professional development organization Somos El Poder (meaning “We Are the Power”) in 2018, which now has more than 180 member organizations. In addition to an online community “Juntos” for questions and conversations, Somos El Poder offers members several educational programs to help grow their organizations’ revenues, including one-on-one consultations with Zumaia, who serves as executive director, or board members, who are veterans from a variety of industries; free online courses; and La Vanguardia Academy, a program designed for Latino college students and early/mid-career professionals looking to transition into fundraising careers.

“When I first opened Somos El Poder, I purposely kept the membership fee low,” Zumaya said. Annual dues range from $100 to $900 per year, depending on the organization’s budget, “and you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on services,” he said. “When I first started talking to people about it, they said, ‘Oh, yeah, (organizations) don’t do it. They’ll tell you it’s too expensive. They don’t have time.’ Just a wave of negativity. I decided to do something so cheap, so convenient, so easy, so culturally relevant that the excuses would evaporate.”

Fundraising meetings require two people from each nonprofit, including a board member, to attend.

Board Certification

Last year, Somos El Poder expanded its learning opportunities, hosting a two-day conference called Fundraising Con Ganas, or “Fundraising with Passion,” at the Langham Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif., for just $550 for two people. Zumaya keeps registration fees low by covering the cost of the conference, which includes two hotel rooms, meals and parking. “People have to invest some money to come to the conference, but it’s a fraction of what they would normally invest to attend other fundraising conferences,” he said.

Zumaya designed Fundraising Con Ganas to be not only affordable but also culturally consistent with attendees’ expectations. Participants only need to stay one night, “because about 89% of our (fundraising) leaders are Latino,” Zumaya said, “and the vast majority of them have families, so the idea of ​​‘come to Philly and stay four nights’ just doesn’t work.”

Another top priority: Organization-focused events should have no more than 35-40 nonprofits represented by two attendees. His secret to making the conference have a big impact on participating organizations? Requiring that one of the two attendees be a member of the organization’s board of directors.

“Over the years, I would go to meetings, hear key ideas we needed to implement, and then go back to the board and the board would say, ‘No, we’re not doing that.’ That was common — the exception was when there was buy-in,” Zumaia says. “When board members go and learn about fundraising and come back, they rub off on the rest of the board” and eventually develop strong relationships with the organization’s development officer. “People tell me, ‘We learned a lot at the meeting, but the best part is, now I have a better board. Thank you.’”

The conference format is a “buffet-style introduction to fundraising,” during which conversations will be led by Latino fundraising leaders to discuss nine different types of fundraising. Bootcamp-style sessions include topics such as designing a development plan and proactively reaching out to potential donors. By 2024, the event will have grown in several ways. Geographically, Fundraising Con Ganas has spread across the country, with its first stop at the Langham Chicago in winter 2024 and another stop in Pasadena last May. In October, a more extensive program will be held at the St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. Zumaya said an advanced workshop will be scheduled for returning attendees, focusing on peer-to-peer collaboration on industry challenges. “We have a lot of events scheduled. We only host them for two days—we’re going to give them the whole pie.”

“The best experiences…are for people who are doing extraordinary things.” —Armando Zumaya

A rewarding experience

When Somos El Poder founder Armando Zumaya decided to host the Fundraising Con Ganas conference, he wanted to create a “beautiful” and “classy” experience for attendees of Latino fundraising leaders, who he says are often underpaid and underappreciated. “If they go to a training, all they can pay for is a crappy sandwich,” he says. “People who come to my conference say, ‘I’ve never been treated like this in my life.'”

Zumayya told the hotels he was working with that his conferences needed to be “top-notch” experiences “because you’re hosting heroes, literally,” he said. “Great experiences like these shouldn’t just be for — pardon the term — people who have made a fortune. They should be for people who have done something extraordinary for this country.”

Casey Gale is convened.

On the web

Visit somoselpoder.org for more information about Somos El Poder.