Through our Human Capital Initiative, the NAA Institute has furthered education for Latinos pursuing masters and MBA degrees by contributing almost $1 million in scholarships to date. Starting in 2000 and through 2003, NAA partnered with Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) to establish an MBA scholarship fund, with NAA members contributing over $200,000. These contributions were matched by the HSF with the support of the Lilly Endowment Inc., advancing the education of nearly 200 American Latino students with a total scholarship distribution of more than $400,000. Additionally, from 2003 through 2008, the NAA Institute contributed nearly $500,000 in scholarships to Latino MBA students through a partnership with The Robert A. Toigo Foundation. As part of this collaboration, NAA increased benefits available to American Latino Toigo Fellows by augmenting the scholarship award and assigning an NAA member for mentorship.
In 2006, the NAA Institute and JP Morgan collaborated to create the Emerging Leaders Program, a membership program for Latinos age 35 and under, who are “rising stars” in their fields, have a proven track record of significant community involvement and identify strongly with the mission, vision and approach of the NAA Institute. This effort evolved in the establishment of the NAA Young Leader membership.
In 2009, the NAA and The Executive Leadership Council (ELC) joined forces to launch the NAA-ELC Education Initiative at the “Encuentro” on Education. The effort aimed to promote a national will to reform public education for the benefit of all children in our country. Thought leaders from the education, government and non-profit sectors, and prominent Latino and African-American business leaders, examined the current state of education for all of our nation’s students, and in particular Latino and African American students. An important outcome of this effort was the endorsement of the Santa Barbara Declaration, which outlines the shared interests of business leaders to make a difference in the state of education with actionable steps.
As a result of a healthcare presentation at the 2006 Philanthropy and Human Capital Conference by Patrick Dowling, M.D. of UCLA, NAA members contributed over $130,000 to support the UCLA Hispanic IMG Program. The UCLA program brings bilingual graduates of medical schools outside North America and Puerto Rico to the U.S. and helps them compete for primary care residency training positions in California teaching hospitals. The goal is that upon completion of their residency training graduates work in the state’s underserved Hispanic and other minority communities.
Our Philanthropy Initiative includes the identification and promotion of strategic philanthropy through an awards program honoring American Latinos, organizations and others who practice exceptional civic and charitable responsibility and whose generosity encourages others to take philanthropic leadership roles for the benefit of the American Latino community and our nation. The awards program takes place at our Human Capital Conference, where NAA reviews the economic, political and social framework of the U.S. and the community-building methods employed by Latinos in different regions to drive positive change.
