As President and CEO of Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP), Ana Marie Argilagos, who is also a Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors’ board member, leads the world’s largest philanthropic transnational network strengthening Latine leadership and influence. This is a particularly crucial task, as almost one in five people living in the U.S. identifies as Latine, yet only around 1% of philanthropic giving is allocated to Latino causes. RPA sat down with Argilagos during Hispanic Heritage Month to discuss her time in the philanthropic sector, the past and future of Hispanic giving, and the hopes she has for the diverse communities she serves.  

RPA: You have had an impressive career in service to others. How did you find your way to the philanthropic field and why have you stayed in this sector? 

Ana Marie: I found my way very young when I was 15 and living in Miami. We grew up in a little bubble on Southwest Eighth Street in Little Havana. It’s such an intense and vibrant place with a cacophony of people, the cafecitos, and lots of talking about politics. We were recent immigrants, and so we just stuck together. My first job was at the pharmacy at the Omni Hotel, which was the tallest high-rise in downtown Miami. When the Liberty City riots happened, and I was there, stuck in the tower for three days, it was a very visceral experience. It made me realize that the world is not just a little bubble here on Southwest Eighth Street.  

I have fond memories of the summers I spent in Puerto Rico every year. We weren’t rich, but we had people we loved all around us. All the cousins got together at Abuela‘s house every Sunday for lunch – often lechón (roast pork) with rice and beans! I realized things weren’t so easy. We didn’t have much but we had what we needed – I knew that there were people that didn’t even have that. And so those experiences sparked my commitment to social justice. It was physical, it was spiritual, it was mental, it was all of that put together. So when I was deciding where to go to university, I went to Washington, D.C., because if you want to change systemic issues, you go to Washington, D.C. I started working at a legal clinic, Ayuda, and I worked there for a long time as a job developer, a paralegal, and a deputy director. Ayuda was all about the question: “How do we help the immigrant community?” It was during the time that Temporary Protected Status was created, so we were trying to help folks sign up. That really brought my belief in the power of collective action. 

I didn’t get involved in philanthropy until way later and only by happenstance. After I went to grad school, one of my professors hired me to work at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and that’s how I ended up in government. After the 2000 election, the Annie E. Casey Foundation hired me from HUD. They wanted to have folks that understood the intersection of nonprofits and government. 

Since then, I’ve strongly believed in the power of philanthropy and the need to elevate Latino voices and leadership in the field. Just like when I was 15, I still think about how we can build a more equitable, more inclusive future through strategic partnerships. Philanthropy is one piece of the puzzle, government is one piece of the puzzle, and nonprofits are another. How do we all work together in alignment?  

RPA: How has philanthropy changed since you started working in the sector? 

Ana Marie: There are good things and there are bad things. The field has become more curious about who we are as a community. When I first went into philanthropy, there was little diversity. When the Annie E. Casey Foundation hired me, they asked me to help develop new portfolios for the Latino and Native American communities. That was a dream job because they were asking what they should be doing in the Latino community; it allowed me to be very creative. I think folks now understand they should consult people with lived experiences. Philanthropy is more democratized now and trust-based philanthropy is understood, but we’ve also had serious setbacks. Did anybody ever think there would be attacks on Roe vs. Wade, on affirmative action? Even though there are steps forward, there have been lots of steps backward. At HIP, I’m really proud that we’re part of the Racial Equity Advancement and Defense Initiative (READI), which is a collaborative effort to support race-explicit and equity-centered grantmaking and programs. We are not going to stop. We are going to promote and defend race-explicit grantmaking and programming. That’s part of our DNA.  

RPA: What changes would you like to see both individually and through your work with HIP? 

Ana Marie: Only 1% of giving from philanthropy goes to Latine communities, yet we are almost 20% of the population. What would happen if that 1% grew to 5%? Additionally, I would love to not have to defend affirmative action, and I would love for foundations not to be in a position where they’re scrubbing their racial justice initiatives. I would love to see greater Latine representation through trustees at foundations.  

RPA: Have your lived experiences informed what issue areas you work on and, if so, how? 

Ana Marie: Yes and no. On the one hand, HIP doesn’t have its own endowment, so we are donor-directed. However, we only take work that is in alignment with the things we feel are important. Right now, we’re doing a lot of work around gender, education, climate, and the intersection of climate and migration, which is so important because it doesn’t get talked about enough. On the other hand, we’ve previously received money from MacKenzie Scott, and when you have those resources, you can do more of what we feel is important. With the MacKenzie Scott dollars, we started Incio Ventures, an initiative seeking to increase the Latine participation rate in the startup economy and enable Latine startup leaders to access capital and resources. We also started work that was so important, our Power Building & Justice Program—or PB&J—which works to co-create spaces of trust and building power across Latine, Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities. 

RPA: Is there an issue area you’re most passionate about? 

Ana Marie: Oh, wow, that’s hard. I’m going to say no. That’s because everything is connected, and if you only work on one thing, you’re ignoring the rest of the ecosystem. At HIP, we try to look at the different elements because we need to shift the whole system. That’s why we think about HIP as three pillars – we convene and build power, mobilize resources, and advance thought leadership. Under those pillars, we focus on movement and infrastructure building, where we leverage resources to accelerate equitable funding and create collaborative learning spaces. We’re also focused on impact investing to build wealth by providing resources, amplification, and partnership to Latine startup founders, funders, and field builders nationwide. And we’re transforming philanthropic practice by educating, organizing, and advising donors to craft equitable giving strategies. We build, fund, and fuel Latine power through these interconnected efforts because everything is connected, and we need to look at the big picture to drive systemic change. 

RPA: What misconceptions about the Hispanic philanthropic communities do you have to dispel? 

Ana Marie: Latine contributions to the United States are undeniable, but they’re under-recognized. Today, we’re 62 million people, but we’re still thought of as new immigrants, new to this country. If you look at depictions on TV or in movies, you would think most of us are farmworkers, janitors, maids, and restaurant workers – all amazing jobs without which society wouldn’t function. But we are a lot more diverse than that. My father started as a dishwasher when he first came to this country, but then he grew to have his own restaurant. The diversity of who we are is not understood. We’re looked at as a monolith. Yet, we account for 80% of the net new workers, which is why we need to invest in this community.  

If the U.S. Latine population were to be a country, we would be the world’s fifth-largest economy. It’s huge! It’s time we advocate for greater recognition and support of the U.S. Latine community because we really will have an impact in shaping society.  

RPA: What does the future of Hispanic giving look like?  

Ana Marie: It’s bright and exciting. Philanthropy is just now coming to understand that generosity and giving happen in different ways. It’s not just through United Way, community foundations, and donor advised funds. Giving circles are popular, but we have so many other ways of giving that are now being looked at. It’s a much more inclusive approach, a much more democratic approach, and it’s a much more culturally competent approach. We’re starting to understand how philanthropy and generosity can also be rooted in these informal practices that are also community-supported. If you look at Hurricane Maria and how Puerto Rico came back from the devastation, I think the community-based response emphasizing mutual aid and demonstrations of generosity have a lot of lessons that traditional philanthropy can learn from. Remittances are also a part of generosity. Latine donors share similar values of faith, family, communities, and strong social commitment that is rooted in a very intergenerational approach. 

RPA: How can the philanthropic ecosystem be a proactive ally and partner to HIP and the broader Latinx community? 

Ana Marie: Start by looking at who’s on your board. If there’s only one Latine individual, you don’t get to check the box because that’s only one. Even when you have a CEO – if that CEO doesn’t have anybody on the board, that’s not getting us there. We’re not going to move resources until we have folks at that strategic level with lived experiences who understand the community.  

I’d also say that you should become a HIP member! At HIP, we mobilize resources from foundations to strengthen Latine communities. Because of our deep relationships and cultural understanding, we’re a crucial bridge in philanthropy. We’ll know the ecosystem is a proactive ally and true partner when we finally see the amount of funding to Latine communities go beyond the 1% number! 

So please join us in Albuquerque, N.M., next year for our conference. It’s really where you’ll get a sense of who we are and the incredible community we’ve built over the last 40 years. 

For more information on Hispanics in Philanthropy, click here. 

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