Origin Story

The LCCL didn’t set out to be an “intermediary”. We simply answered the call of over 100 Latino community and faith-based organizations asking for help to access public funding and be recognized as legitimate service providers. Early on, we focused on filling the gaps our Community Partners faced. First, by securing funding (the easy part) and then by helping them build the organizational strength to be taken seriously by funders. From the start, we embraced a culture of continuous learning, adaptability, and servant leadership, recognizing that even with limited infrastructure, our Community Partners have much to teach us.

The term “intermediary” wasn’t one we knew at the beginning. We saw it in grant applications, realized it described what we did (and more), and eventually accepted it, along with other labels like “Third Party Administrator” and “Backbone Organization.” For years, most intermediaries we met only funded their own affiliates, while LCCL stood out for channeling resources to small, independent, community and faith-based organizations that otherwise couldn’t compete for or equipped to successfully manage public and private resources.

In recent years, we’ve created a more accurate term for our work: Community-Facing Intermediary. It sets us apart from others and keeps our focus squarely on the communities we serve. As we’ve grown, defining our own work, rather than letting others define it for us, has become essential to staying true to our mission- To Find, Fund, Form and Feature nonprofits in marginalized communities meeting the needs of individuals and families. While the LCCL is Latino focused, it was never Latino exclusive. Our mission is expansive, seeking to address complex social issues beyond Latino communities, lifting up communities as a whole.