Visionaries in Congress created the IAF 50 years ago to advance a simple idea: a little support provided directly to local organizations can go a long way in helping create thriving communities. Over the decades, we are proud to have supported the efforts of more than 5,000 of these communities in 32 Latin American and Caribbean countries as they seized opportunities and confronted economic shocks, political uncertainties, and natural disasters.
This past year was no exception. In 2019, we awarded $18.5 million through grants, partnerships, and investments to 97 grassroots organizations, bringing our total active portfolio of IAF investments to $85.5 million in 24 countries.
Recent News and Stories
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With funds from the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), grantees Ñepi Behña and Ya Montsi Behña have developed Corazon Verde, a jointly-owned enterprise that markets products both domestically and internationally, such as bath sponges, jams, jellies and soaps, all derived from the maguey cactus, which is native to the Valle de Mezquital region of Hidalgo state in Mexico. While she waits to deliver her finished bath sponges, a coop member winds amorphous treated fibers of the maguey cactus into a single thread using a hand spindle. The thread will later be used to knit products for the cooperative Ya Montsi Behña.
Grassroots Businesses: A Virtual Artisan Fair
Over the past 50 years, the IAF has supported an incredible number of innovative and entrepreneurial groups with a common dream: transforming their lives and communities. Join us as we travel north to south through the region to see how agricultural producers and artisan groups have conquered the world with small IAF investments to grow their businesses.
Carrying the Load: A Haitian Grantee’s Tenacity through a Decade of Natural Disasters
From earthquakes to floods and now COVID-19, Haiti has been severely tested over the past few decades. Through it all, however, one thing remains constant—the resilience of the Haitian people.
Inter-American Foundation and USAID Launch Joint Initiative to Foster Caribbean Disaster Resilience
The $5 million initiative, Building Community Resilience in the Eastern & Southern Caribbean, will ensure that U.S. foreign assistance reaches communities most vulnerable to natural disaster throughout the Eastern and Southern Caribbean.