The Puerto Rico Community Foundation: A Case Study - Synergos

SynopsisOriginsThe idea of establishing the Puerto Rico CommunityFoundation (PRCF) began at a forumsponsored by the National Puerto Rican Coalition(NPRC), a non profit organization led bymainland (US) Puerto Ricans. Support for theidea grew through extensive discussionsinvolving Puerto Ricans on the island and inthe US, as well as among businesses in PuertoRico and US foundations.The US foundations — led by the FordFoundation and the Carnegie Corporation,and the Rockefeller, Charles Stewart Mott,and MacArthur Foundations — supported thecreation of an indigenous foundation whichwould mobilize local and internationalresources and channel them as grants tocommunity organizations and nonprofit organizations.Susan Berresford of the Ford Foundationexplained "...our staff could not spendenough time in Puerto Rico to know the islandwell enough to make good grants." The USfoundations provided technical assistancewhich helped the PRCF start operationsquickly.The PRCF "started big," with over half amillion dollars in grants in its first year. Itsboard believed that starting big wouldincrease the Foundation's visibility andencourage both donations and inquiries aboutgrants.FinancingOne of the businesses active in the discussions,Schering-Plough, identified anothermajor source of funding: US corporationsthat, like Schering-Plough, received tax creditsunder Section 936 of the US Internal RevenueCode for investing in manufacturing onthe island. These benefits were under attackin the US government. By supporting thecommunity Foundation, these 936 corporationshoped to demonstrate their commitmentto Puerto Rico, thus enhancing their standingin Washington.The founders had hoped that, in addition tosupport from the 936 corporations and USfoundations, significant funding would also beavailable from local corporate and individualdonors, but local donors have lagged behindthe other sources. Two reasons for the relativelyless successful local fundraising are thatlarge local corporations prefer to give moneydirectly to charities close to their communities,or they are already leading sponsors of UnitedWay (a workplace giving program).In 1986, the Foundation began acceptingearmarked grants that it administers from otherdonors. It also manages nine donor-designatedfamily funds. Those donors benefit from thePRCF's local expertise in grantmaking.The Ford Foundation has been the largestdonor to the PRCF, contributing $7.6 million,much in the form of challenge grants. Over $8million has been received from 936 corporations.Today the PRCF's endowment standsat $10 million.GovernanceThe PRCF is governed by a board of directors,which meets four times a year andapproves grants over $5,000. Board membersmay servea maximum of two three-year terms. Much ofthe discussions among the founders of thePRCF concerned board composition. USfoundations and the NPRC wanted largenumbers of community representatives, whilebusiness leaders stressed the importance of1