Email: info@flamboyanfoundation.org

Washington, DC office:
1730 Massachusetts Avenue, NW | Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 315-2410

Puerto Rico office:
P.O. Box 16699 | San Juan, PR 00908-6699
Tel: (787) 977-5522

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Inspiring Effective Philanthropy in Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico, Flamboyan Foundation is working to increase effective philanthropy and to raise the discourse about the potential transformative force of philanthropic giving. Puerto Rico’s unique environment has enabled us to explore ways in which individuals, nonprofits, foundations and government can engage and redefine philanthropy as a clear social investment towards solving some of the most difficult problems facing the community at large.

Around the globe, philanthropy is evolving quickly as individuals and foundations are adopting new approaches to promote major social changes and large-scale transformations. In Puerto Rico, emerging collaborations amongst foundations, a significant change in the tax law, and a growing interest in building the capacity of nonprofit organizations has become instrumental in transforming the view of how philanthropy can partner with nonprofits, government, and business to drive social change. From here, our work will continue to explore “catalytic” or “high impact” approaches that transform both the perception and reality of giving into a shared means of improving civil society.

Our Processour process

Understanding the Local Environment
Landscape Assessment & Selection
Developing a Deep Understanding
Proposed Outcomes & Strategy
Selecting & Working with Partners
Evaluation & Results

Understanding the Local Environment

In 2007, we began our work in Puerto Rico (PR) by reading the article “Leading Boldly” in order to understand how effective philanthropists operated.  Then, with great curiosity about how philanthropy was perceived and practiced locally, we set out to understand: “What are foundations working on in Puerto Rico?” and “What have they learned over the years?”

With these questions in mind, we interviewed executive directors, program officers and consultants of different philanthropic organizations to learn how they approached grant-making, identified program areas and principal projects, and measured impact.  Furthermore, we asked their overall observations of the role of philanthropy in Puerto Rico.

The principal findings from this overview helped us identify two major areas of concern for people working in the field of philanthropy in PR:

  1. Education was a common area of focus yet measuring impact and driving transformational change was difficult;
  2. The foundations themselves were interested in becoming more effective in supporting social change.

Landscape Assessment & Selection

The informal assessment we conducted to better understand our philanthropic community made clear to us that there was a small group of foundations, including Flamboyan, with great potential to:

  1. Learn from one another, tap into best philanthropic practices and drive major changes.
  2. Significantly increase philanthropic giving overall for both foundations and individuals.
  3. Raise awareness about the impact of a catalytic approach to philanthropy.
  4. Educate the public about the power of non-profits, how we all benefit from their accomplishments, and the importance of strengthening this sector of our society.
  5. Develop better ways to measure the impact that philanthropic institutions have in Puerto Rico, especially those with “education” as an area of focus.

Excited by the opportunity to work with our peers and to grow professionally, we set out to identify ways in which we could address the issues outlined above.

Developing a Deep Understanding

At the same time as Flamboyan was learning about the local landscape, the book, Forces for Good, by Leslie Crutchfield and Heather McLeod, was published.  After reading it, we decided to invite Leslie to Puerto Rico to:

  1. Ignite a dialogue between business, foundation, nonprofit, and government executives on the potential for philanthropy to transform society: “Beyond Charity: How Great Non-Profits Change The World”
  2. Encourage local education nonprofits to adopt the practices described in Forces for Good.

As a result of these two workshops, Flamboyan identified the following opportunities for action:

  1. Improve the local tax law for charitable giving.
  2. Gather and publish comprehensive information about all of Puerto Rico’s foundations.
  3. Join in a conversation with the principal foundations on the Island.
  4. Build the capacity of education nonprofit organizations to advocate, collaborate, and become sustainable.
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Proposed Outcomes & Strategy

Our outcomes and strategies for Inspiring Effective Philanthropy focus primarily on sharing information, collaborating with other philanthropists and carrying out activities to build the capacity of individuals and foundations to engage in effective philanthropy and to support a nonprofit sector that can drive high-impact work.

Outcomes Strategies
Create a philanthropic environment that facilitates increased effective giving.
  • Commission a study to analyze current tax law and to present potential scenarios that would improve incentives for charitable giving.
  • Support dissemination efforts to share findings and recommendations presented in the study.
  • Promote informed discussions among government officials and key decision makers.
  • Develop materials, case studies and activities focused on effective giving.
  • Educate financial advisors, nonprofits, corporations, donors and the public about the benefits of giving.
  • Develop tools to measure giving and to track whether, and how, it increases.
The public develops a greater awareness and understanding about philanthropy and its potential role as a catalyst for social change.
  • Publish, and keep current, a directory of all active foundations in Puerto Rico including their mission, programs, operational structure and contact information.
  • Develop a series of articles to reach the business sector, presenting news, stories and profiles of local philanthropists and nonprofits.
  • Develop and lead a public relations campaign focused on effective giving.
A community of philanthropists and foundations are focused on promoting effective giving and strengthening local non-profits.
  • Support Red de Fundaciones (Foundations’ Network) in formalizing its structure, developing specific goals and increasing membership.
  • Partner with Red de Fundaciones to establish better relationships between U.S. funders and PR nonprofits.
  • Explore the concept of a donors’ collaborative, including how they are structured, the benefits and the challenges.
  • Share information about collaborative efforts and assess the interest of other foundations in pulling funds together.
  • Work directly with individuals who are enthusiastic and committed to becoming effective philanthropists.
Related Information

Selecting & Working with Partners

To achieve our outcomes, Flamboyan identified and approached a set of partners with the knowledge, experience and drive necessary to carry out each strategy and asked them to collaborate with us. It is our pleasure and privilege to work with the following organizations:

Outcomes Flamboyan Foundation partnered with:
    • Create a philanthropic environment that facilitates increased effective giving.
  • Kinesis Foundation and Jaime Martí (a local donor) to commission a study conducted by The Urban Institute to investigate options for reforming tax incentives in Puerto Rico to stimulate additional charitable giving: An Analysis of Potential Tax Incentives to Increase Charitable Giving in Puerto Rico.
  • The Center for the New Economy to manage the tax incentives project, act as a link between The Urban Institute and PR sources, and to provide communications and advocacy work once the study was completed.
  • Red de Fundaciones (Foundations’ Network), a voluntary group of CPAs, and Ivan García Zapata, Esq. from García, Aponte & Quiñones, LLC to meet with key decision-makers to share the findings of the study referenced above.
  • United Way of Puerto Rico to conduct an analysis of potential options to maximize the effectiveness of the recently enacted (2011) Puerto Rico tax code allowing for an itemized deduction of 100% of all charitable contributions made by individuals up to an amount equal to 50% of their adjusted gross income.
  • Ivan García Zapata, Esq. from García, Aponte & Quiñones, LLC to develop a strategic plan to reach key audiences, including financial and legal advisors, nonprofits, donors and the public at large to raise awareness about the benefits of the new tax code for charitable giving.
  • Asesores Financieros Comunitarios to develop and offer a series of workshops for CPAs and nonprofits on the new tax code.
  • The public develops a greater awareness and understanding about philanthropy and its potential role as a catalyst for social change.
  • A community of philanthropists and foundations are focused on promoting effective giving and strengthening local non-profits.
Related Information

Evaluation & Results

While the work in this area is ongoing and there is still much to be done, between 2007 and 2011 we have been able to achieve major milestones in the area of Inspiring Effective Philanthropy:

  1. The tax code in Puerto Rico was changed allowing for an itemized deduction of 100% of all charitable contributions made by individuals up to an amount equal to 50% of their adjusted gross income. This represents a radical change from the previous law and paves the way for more people to engage in philanthropic giving.
  2. The Puerto Rico Directory of Foundations was published and disseminated. This is the first publication of its kind, bringing together detailed information about foundations in Puerto Rico, including a description of each foundation and its contact information.
  3. Red de Fundaciones, once an informal networking group, officially registered as a local nonprofit organization, created a strategic plan and developed membership criteria. Red de Fundaciones played a pivotal role in promoting a better law for charitable contributions.
  4. For the first time, a series of articles about philanthropy was published in a major local business newspaper.
  5. The Puerto Rico Donors’ Education Collaborative was created. This is the first time that a group of local foundations joins in an effort to improve the capacity of education-serving nonprofit organizations, and does so together with a national group, Hispanics in Philanthropy.