The Hispanic Development Fund (HDF) is dedicated to improving the quality of life of Latino families in Greater Kansas City. HDF carries out this commitment by engaging the Latino community in philanthropy through grantmaking, scholarship support, and college advising. Since 1983, HDF has granted over $3 million to more than 50 Kansas City Latino-led and -serving nonprofit organizations and over $10 million in scholarships to 5,450 Latino students across the metro area.
We recently spoke with Executive Director John Kearney to learn more about HDF’s remarkable growth, impact on the community, and exciting plans for celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024.
Q: Can you tell us about HDF’s founding and history?
A: In 1983, the Hall Family Foundation approached leaders in Kansas City’s Hispanic community with an innovative idea that had never been done before. They wanted to give the Latino community control of philanthropic resources for their own community. Through the leadership of Tony Salazar and others in the community, the group rose to the challenge of investing the initial funds contributed by the Hall Family Foundation. These funds turned HDF into a reality. A few years later in 1986, the Hall Family Foundation made a pledge to further support the fund by helping create an endowment. With hard work and perseverance, HDF leadership continued to raise more endowment funds over the years, many from within the Latino community.
Q: What is the HDF Family College Prep Program, and how has it helped students and families prepare for college?
A: In 2019, the Family College Prep Program (FCPP) was created to increase community access to bilingual, professional college advising. Although it is HDF’s newest program, it has become our largest and fastest growing. This past year, our FCPP advisors worked alongside counselors and college advisors at nine of Kansas City’s largest Latino-serving high schools to provide one-on-one college advising, FAFSA support, scholarship workshops, college visits and family programming. In 2023, Excelencia in Education recognized our FCPP as one of 8 “Programs to Watch” for its innovative and positive impact.
Q: Can you describe the impact HDF has had on removing the financial barriers to going to college through the HDF Scholarship Program?
A: The HDF Scholarship program is now one of the largest scholarship programs exclusively serving Latino/Hispanic students in the nation, currently supporting 509 scholars. HDF scholars are predominantly first-generation college students and Latino students who come from low- to moderate-income households. Collectively, they attend 70 different institutions nationwide; most are bilingual in English and Spanish and have an average GPA of 3.5.
Q: Are there any new projects HDF has planned for the rest of 2024 and beyond?
A: 2024 is our 40th anniversary celebration, which includes a $1 million fundraising goal where every dollar donated until the end of the year will directly support students through the HDF Scholarship Program and FCPP.
In August 2024, HDF also expanded our FCPP to provide free, bilingual direct college advising services to Kansas City Latino families. For the first time ever, Spanish-speaking parents and families can connect with HDF by booking an appointment on our website.
Q: How can donors support HDF and its initiatives?
A: As part of our 40th anniversary celebration, HDF will engage the Kansas City community in our annual “Cambio para Cambio” (Change for Change) fundraising campaign. Cambio para Cambio has become the largest community-led and -supported fundraiser in the Kansas City Latino community, showcasing its giving power and changing narratives about what philanthropy is and who can be a philanthropist.
Last year, 47 Cambio fundraising teams, most of which are led by students, engaged more than 700 individual donors to raise $500,000 in support of the HDF Scholarship Program. Cambio para Cambio makes philanthropy accessible and manifests our belief that small-dollar giving, or change, creates real and lasting change for the community. Donors can donate to any of our fundraising teams during Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15) and receive a 100% match on their donation, increasing the impact of their gift.
The Greater Kansas City Community Foundation aims to empower nonprofits, philanthropists, business and civic leaders, government officials, and others to understand the important role they can play in advancing racial equity. Learn more about the Community Foundation’s work with racial equity, HDF and more.