National Council of La Raza1999 Annual Conference

Launching A New millennium

July 24-28, 1999

Houston, TX

A Synopsis

By

Tomás Alberto Avila

Table of Content

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Monday July 26, 1999______________________________________________________5

Self Sustaining Economic Development___________________________________________5

Leveraging Resources and Maximizing Results in Community Service: Tools for Leadership Development_______________________________________________________6

Luncheon Featured Speaker____________________________________________________7Senator John McCain, (R-AZ)_________________________________________________________7

Announcement_______________________________________________________________7Hate Crimes Report__________________________________________________________________7

Tuesday July 27, 1999_____________________________________________________8

East Coast Affiliates Caucus____________________________________________________8Affiliate Council____________________________________________________________________8Evaluation_________________________________________________________________________8Representative______________________________________________________________________8Wrap Up and Summarize_____________________________________________________________9Discussion_________________________________________________________________________9

Learn how to leverage your nonprofit dollars for growth Choose the appropriate staff benefits Learn how to develop a profitable financial plan___________________________10

Luncheon Featured Speakers__________________________________________________10Maria Echavestes, Deputy Chief of Staff, The White House_________________________________10Raul Yzaguirre, President and CEO National Council of La Raza_____________________________11

Announcements_____________________________________________________________11

Network TV Brownout_______________________________________________________11

Wednesday, July 28, 1999_________________________________________________12

The Subsector Approach to Economic Development_______________________________12

Luncheon Keynote Speaker___________________________________________________13Vice President Al Gore______________________________________________________________13

Nonprofit Finance & Administration Issues______________________________________14New Era Signpost__________________________________________________________________14

Employee Benefit Plan Health Insurance Coverage________________________________15Health Insurance Industry Trend_______________________________________________________15How to choose the right plan?_________________________________________________________15New Federal Law__________________________________________________________________15Rising Cost of Health Insurance!______________________________________________________15How to reduce the rate increase?_______________________________________________________16Future Federal Law!________________________________________________________________16

Announcement______________________________________________________________16Loan Fund for Latinos Announcement__________________________________________________16

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I was very proud to celebrate the Latino accomplishments as a community and as organizations as we prepare to launch a new millennium at the National Council of La Raza Annual Conference in Houston, TX from Saturday July 24 to Wednesday July 28, 1999. Houston was an appropriate site for this celebration as it boasts a strong and active Hispanic community and is located in the state that was the cradle for much of the early Latino movement.

After attending this conference, I look toward the new millennium with a sense of optimism and pride as we witness the Latino community begins to take its rightful place in U.S. politics and society. Latinos are now recognized as an important voting block, and the nation's public is beginning to realize that members of our community have distinguished themselves in every area and at every level of U.S. society. From the arts, to business, to science, to politics, to social and military service, Hispanics have been at the forefront.

The battle for the Latino vote is crucial to both parties because Latinos have been showing signs of coalescing into a political force. Jolted by a wave of GOP-led proposals across the country to limit immigration, impose English-only provisions and deny social service benefits to illegal residents, the Latino electorate grew by 29 percent between 1992 and 1996.

Now, Latinos account for 11 percent of the nation's population and about 5 percent of the overall electorate. But the importance of their vote is magnified because it is concentrated in five electorally rich states where their strong support could prove decisive. Together, California, Texas, Florida, New York and Illinois are home to 76 percent of the nation's Hispanic population.

In the next 20 years, Hispanics will become the nation's largest minority and will grow to make up over 20% of the workforce. It will no longer be possible for our community to be overlooked or disregarded. What follows is a brief synopsis of the workshops I attended and what I learned from each one of them.

A multitude of Latinos of all ages, from all parts of the country and all walks of life, gather in Houston this July 24 through July 28 to participate in the National Council of La Raza's Annual Conference. Community leaders, entertainers, academicians, politicians, students, activists, artists, writers, businesspeople - all will come together for five days in Houston to learn, to make contacts, and to have an unforgettably great time, Latinostyle.

The conference offered four days of work- shops, each an intensive learning experience, and many interactive training and lively discussed them presided, over by experts in their fields. Conference participants interested in Community Development, for instance, can attend workshops on the nuts-and-bolts of making a nonprofit organization thrive financially, and on how to intervene in one's regional economy to create new and solid job opportunities.

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The conference also addresses the study and shaping of public policy which has always been at the heart of NCLR's work, and Conference participants had an opportunity to learn from the best in their fields. Anyone seriously interested in civil rights; employment, trade issues, and education policy found the Public Policy workshops invaluable. Immigration issues and immigrants' rights were a major focus, as well as controversial sessions on the NADBank and on the rising tide of hate violence against Latinos. Sessions on the findings of NCLR's blue-ribbon Education Task Force and on the latest recommendations of national economic policy experts regarding Latino employment opportunities will also be featured.

Every day of the Conference brought with it gala banquets with memorable speakers, prominent figures for whom it's important to address this most significant Latino audience. Vice Presidents, Cabinet member, members of the House and Senate, Governors, the heads of foreign governments, and internationally famous authors, thinkers, artists, and statesmen, were all speakers at NCLR's Annual Conference.

Among the speakers invited, who addressed the Conference this year were Vice President Al Gore; Energy Secretary Bill Richardson; Deputy Chief Of Staff Maria Echavestes, U.S. Senator John McCain, R-AZ, Houston Mayor Lee P. Brown, Author Julia Alvarez, NASA Astronaut Ellen Ochoa, and Miss America Nicole Johnson.

On the final night of the Conference is NCLR's traditional Awards Gala, a formal banquet during which they honor some of the Latino community's most inspiring heroes. Among this year's recipients of major annual awards are Judge Albert Peña for a lifetime of achievement in the areas of Latino civil rights, community development, and academic freedom; and Maria Hinojosa for her courageous and inspiring work as a journalist, speaker, and writer.

Also honor the work and dedication of one of NCLR's outstanding affiliate organizations. The Affiliate of the Year Award for 1999 was bestowed to Amigos Del Valle, Inc., a model community-based organization that's been serving the people of the Lower Rio Grande Valley - particularly the low- income elderly community - for almost a quarter of a century with diverse and comprehensive services of the highest quality.

Anyone attended the Annual Conference will agree that the Latino Expo - the single largest showcasing of national and regional goods, services, and opportunities of interest to the Hispanic community - is as fun as it is fascinating. Hundreds of businesses are on display in this giant consumer fair, with raffles, give-aways, and a world of information.

Favorite additional features of Latino Expo include the Job Fair, where national and local job recruiters will be on hand to meet, talk with, and hire qualified Latino candidates; Advocacy Central, where Conference-goers can make sure their voices are heard at the state and national levels on issues important to them; and Affiliate Central, where the work of NCLR's network of affiliated organizations, the heart and engine of what the organization is all about, will be on display.

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Monday July 26, 1999

Self Sustaining Economic DevelopmentThis summary presentation targeted board members, and executive, senior, and middle managers. This presentation focused on the new Multi-Service Center concept, which is more than just a One-Stop Career Center, but a Business and Financial Center as well.

The session discussed how to transform your organization from a social service agency to a private sector business operating entity without losing sight of your mission; how to attract financial and in-kind Support from corporations and financial institutions; and what community-based organizations need to change in their corporate culture to succeed in the new millennium.

The Multi-Service Center concept offers fully integrated multi-faceted solutions to women, minority small business entrepreneurs, corporations, and the community creating new financial relationships in an environment that is bilingual/bicultural, a necessary component in accessing the Latino business community. Bridging Hispanic entrepreneurs, small businesses and consumers with financial or commercial, equity, mortgage, capital, financial products and services.

According to the panelists the nonprofit competitor is everyone else doing everything the nonprofit can do.

Nonprofit need to change their governance structure to resemble corporate governance, and change their social service structure to economic development structure which has measurable goals and objectives.

The personnel is different from the usual service oriented mentality.

Change social welfare psychology backgrounds to a business oriented psychology and change the personnel thinking from social services to economic development.

Management training and development to transition from service management to to performance base management.

The nonprofit world won't be the same in 4 years, and directors need to prepare for the coming changes.

Legislature will soon change from process base allocation to performance base Return On Investment and Return On Equity.

The new mentality of funders, is becoming What Is In It For Me (WIIFM)

The reason we need to change, is because if we don't help ourselves no one else will help us.

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In order to survive, nonprofit personnel must be good writers and process reading comprehension .

Every team member is a leader and every member must have good people skills and reading enthusiasm.

Nonprofit governance need to transition to a corporate structure instead of service structure and board members shouldn't be telling the staff what to do.

Free money is over and dying quickly.

ModeratorMagdalena Duran, Senior Community OrganizationalSpecialist, NCLR, Los Angeles, CA

PanelistsRichard S. Amador, President, CHARO CommunityDevelopment Corporation, Los Angeles, CA

Michael Provencio, CHARO Community DevelopmentCorporation, Los Angeles, CA

Leveraging Resources and Maximizing Results in Community Service: Tools for Leadership DevelopmentThis workshop highlighted NCLR'S AmeriCorps Program accomplishments in meeting community needs through structured, proven, results-oriented volunteer programs. It addressed site selection eligibility criteria for new NCLR affiliate sites for program year 2000. The workshop also gave an insight on funding opportunities and matching requirements, the application process and deadlines, and project models from representatives from the Corporation for National Service, State Commissions, NCLR Texas and Chicago Affiliates, and NCLR staff.

ModeratorAmancio Chapa, Executive Director, Amigos Del Valle and NCLR Board Member, Mission, TXPanelistsRobert Hickerson, Executive Director, Texas StateCommission on Volunteerism

Jorge Hinojosa, Director, NCLR Midwest Office,Chicago, IL

Deborah R. Jospin, Director, Corporation for NationalService (CNS), Washington, DC

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Miguel Palacios, Associate Director, Association House,Chicago, IL

Bernardo Ramirez, Deputy Vice President of TechnicalAssistance and Constituency Support, NCLR,Washington, DC

Luncheon Featured Speaker

Senator John McCain, (R-AZ)

Senator McCain was greeted with a standing ovation after delivering a speech that touched on his support for school vouchers and the need for campaign finance reform.

He also noted that he has opposed English-only initiatives and what he called "divisive" efforts to outlaw bilingual education.

"I believe in the politics of addition," McCain said. "I am proud that I may be the only Republican who has run a statewide campaign and won a majority of the Hispanic vote twice." Senator McCain spoke at length about his central campaign issue--the need for campaign finance reform.

The influence of money is corrupting our ability to address the problems that directly affect the lives of every American.

Announcement

Hate Crimes Report

Hate crimes against Latinos, fueled in part by political rhetoric and largely unnoticed in the national media, have increased in the 1990s, according to a study released Monday by the National Council of La Raza during the conference. The report, a compilation of data from federal and local hate crime surveys, details a litany of assaults and acts of harassment in every region of the United States, from such urban centers as Los Angeles and Seattle, to such communities as Lakeview, Ore., and Fond du Lac, Wis. "This study may only be the tip of the iceberg," said Raul Yzaguirre, president NCLR.

"The perception that Latinos are 'foreign,' 'un-American' or illegal immigrants has translated into numerous incidents of discrimination, threats and actual violence," wrote the authors of the report, released at the NCLR's annual conference in Houston. Although FBI statistics show that Latinos tend to be victimized by hate crimes less than other ethnic groups, the study by NCLR found some disturbing patterns, especially in acts against Latino immigrants.

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The report detailed numerous hate crimes against immigrants, ranging from the 1995 shooting of four migrant laborers near an egg farm in Livermore, Ore., to the racist flyers distributed at a school in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, in 1997. "It was clear that most of the incidents that came across our desks involving Latinos were simply being ignored by the media and policymakers," said Raul Yzaguirre, the NCLR president. Beyond civilian vigilantism, police harassment and official abuse have become common in heartland and suburban communities that have seen a large influx in the number of Spanish-speaking immigrants, the report added.

According to the study, 472 anti-Hispanic incidents were reported in 1993, the first year during which federal hate crime statistics were reported. The number jumped to 516 in 1994, then to 564 in 1996.

Tuesday July 27, 1999

East Coast Affiliates Caucus

INTRODUCTIONS Mario Acosta, NCLR East Coast Affiliate Council Representative

ROLE OF THE AFFILIATE COUNCIL AND REPRESENTATIVES Mario Acosta

Affiliate Council

- Advisor- Affiliation/Disaffiliation- Dues structures- Standard of performance- Accountability

Liaison with NCLR leadership and leadership constituency

Maintain and promote effective network at the national, regional level, as well NCLR affiliate relationship.

Evaluation

- NCLR performance- Service to our community

Collective advocacy

Representative

- Represent East Coast constituency- Advocate- Document concerns, needs and interests- Liaison with NCLR staff and leadership

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- Promote active participation by region- Coordination and communication- Increase communication/relationship with NCLR

Wrap Up and Summarize

NCLR Affiliate Council• National Criteria

- Two representatives from each region- One representative must be male and one female- Every affiliate will have the opportunity to cast a ballot

• Regional Criteria- A regional criterion is also allowed but may not supersede the national

criteria- Regional criteria developed by other regions include:

I) Both representatives may not be from the same city2) Representatives must be knowledgeable of Affiliates, the field, and

NCLR and how it operates3) Representatives must participate in at least two meetings4) Representatives must be in a decision making position within their

organization5) Representative Affiliate Council organizations must be current with

NCLR dues6) Representatives may not be on the NCLR Board

Increasing Affiliate participation in Regional Caucuses- Future regional and sub-regional Caucuses should have one hour set aside

for- Affiliates to network- Build from Conference Caucuses- Combine with training or technical assistance- Couple sub-regional Caucuses to very specific important hot issues- Relate the Caucuses to money- Utilize Conference calls- Utilize teleconferencing, if it's cost efficient

Discussion

• Southeast Affiliates felt they did not have a voice in NCLR affairs in relation to the rest of the region

• Northeast Affiliates felt that to automatically designate one Representative spot for the Southeast was unfair because there were approximately forty Northeast Affiliates and eleven Southeast Affiliates

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• Look into developing a sustainable community development model that will include small business, education and health.

• Affiliates participation in development of conference workshops.

• Affiliates participation in NCLR strategic vision development.

Learn how to leverage your nonprofit dollars for growth Choose the appropriate staff benefits Learn how to develop a profitable financial plan

This workshop turned out to be a complete deceit, as it was not what the title claimed it to be, but instead turned out to be selling pitch for American Express Financial services. One quarter into the workshop, as people became aware of the deceit 2/3 started leaving the room including myself.

ModeratorWilson, Certified Financial Advisor, American Financial Advisors, Inc.

Luncheon Featured Speakers

Maria Echavestes, Deputy Chief of Staff, The White House

Current BudgetDecisions will have negative consequences in the Latino community.

The country is currently enjoying a 2 trillion dollars budgetary surplus, which can be evaporated by the present Republican legislature.

We need to make budgetary decisions based in reality and not on false projections.

If we are not careful with the surplus, we'll either run into a deficit again or we'll have deficit spending, which will destroy the present healthy economy.

The Republicans budget is based in projections rather than real expenses.

The New Markets InitiativeThe budget provides tax credit and loan guarantee incentives to stimulate $15 billion of new private capital investments in targeted areas; build a network of private investment institutions to funnel credit, equity and technical assistance into businesses in America's new markets; and provide the expertise to targeted small businesses that will allow them to use investment to grow. AETNA and BankAmerica have made an initial equity investment.

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The New Markets Tax Credit: To help spur $6 billion in new equity capital, this tax credit is worth up to 25 percent for investments in a wide range of vehicles serving these communities, including community development banks, venture funds and corporations, and the new investment company programs created by this initiative (see below). A wide-range of businesses could be financed by these investment funds, including small technology firms, inner-city shopping centers, manufacturers with hundreds of employees, and retail stores.

Raul Yzaguirre, President and CEO National Council of La Raza

We need to present the facts and the issues regarding our success, because if we only speak of the negative experiences then we'll create a victim's mentality.

We need to have cultural duality by maintaining our cultural values that make us strong, while learning the necessary skills to get the same attention as everyone else.

The nation's economic future is in our hands as 40% of the country's labor hands are Hispanic.

We are the world's greatest multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural people.

As we enter the Latino Century, we'll gain economic opportunity, access to health and the acceptance of Latinos

Announcements

Network TV Brownout

Media Coalition decries the lack of industry jobs for minorities and the negative portrayals on screen. Lambasting the dearth of Latino faces--and the even greater lack of positive images among those faces--in film and network TV, a coalition of Latino media groups called today for a one-week boycott of network television starting Sept. 12.

The "brownout," is scheduled for the week before the new season, puts media producers on notice." Latinos are mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore," said Felix Sanchez of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. Latinos, who represent about 11% of the population, make up fewer than 2% of characters on TV, according to the coalition.

The leaders speaking at the annual conference. The media coalition includes the League of United Latin American Citizens, the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, Nosotros, a Latino media-tracking foundation and the National Hispanic Media Coalition. Latinos, the leaders said, should flex their estimated $380 billion in annual consumer might, to change their images on film and video might, to change their images on film and video. La Raza President Raul Yzaguirre said the media activists were galvanized by this fall's prime-time network lineup, which feature no minority leads in 26 new comedies and

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dramas. The leaders also demanded a federal study of media imagery's impact on Latinos' self-esteem. The study, proponents argued, should augment a current federal study on the impact of media violence.

Wednesday, July 28, 1999

The Subsector Approach to Economic DevelopmentThe Subsector Approach to community economic development and poverty alleviation strategy is being promoted on a national level by NCLR. It is designed to help community-based organizations and community development corporations understand and intervene in their regional economies.

The Subsector Approach is a holistic system strategy for empowering low-income communities. Its goal is to build community incomes by improving access to well-paying jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities. Concrete projects developed around the Subsector Approach join traditionally isolated institutions into "strategic partnerships," thereby leveraging scarce community resources to produce stronger community benefits. This panel session, targeted to intermediate- to advanced-level practitioners, highlighted three projects that NCLR is currently promoting.

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) hopes to accomplish several goals with this new initiative, namely:

• Define and provide the conceptual framework for the subsector Approach and the analytical practice that underlies it, known as Subsector Analysis.

• Provide grassroots Hispanic institutions with a firmer understanding of the global economic context, and a rationale for why they might wish to engage in the Subsector Approach to community economic development.

• Present information on the subsequent phases and intervention strategies that community-based organizations might pursue following completion of a Subsector Analysis.

• Encourage Hispanic agencies to obtain subsequent NCLR documents, which will present a complete step-by-step process that these local community-based initiatives with proper support can follow to design and implement a Subsector Approach project in their regions.

This initiative is aimed at grassroots Hispanic institutions who have watched as economic opportunities have continued to bypass their communities and who want to develop the tools they would need to become more effective economic development players and, by so doing, provide stronger benefits to their communities. These grassroots groups include both community-based organizations (CBOs) with essentially social missions, and community development agencies (CDCs) that have been involved in a range of

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economic initiatives, including housing and other real estate projects, workforce development like JTPA job training, and small business development, often working exclusively at the neighborhood level.

The purpose of this initiative is to empower these local Hispanic agencies to confront the economic obstacles facing their communities by taking a pro-active role in developing new opportunities.

ModeratorJorge Hinojosa, Director, Midwest Field Office, NCLR, Chicago, IL

PanelistsJoseph R Galvan, AICP, Subsector IndustrialFacilitator, Eighteenth Street DevelopmentCorporation, Chicago, IL

John Glaser, Director, Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Greater Kansas City, Kansas City, MO

Miguel Palacios, Associate Director, Association House of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Luncheon Keynote Speaker

Vice President Al Gore

Vice President Al Gore, speaking in Spanish, told the 2,300 Latino activists gathered for his speech: "I want to explain why I am here today. Yo amo y respeto la comunida Latina I love and respect the Latino community."

Wooing a constituency and mocking a slogan of Governor George W. Bush of Texas, told Hispanics ''I want to do things the right way, 'not letting people fend for themselves or hope for crumbs of compassion.

The Vice President made a statement transcending Spanish language and Latin culture by coming to the annual meeting of the National Council of La Raza, the nation's largest Hispanic advocacy group.

Although the VP did not mentioned Governor Bush by name, he underscored some of the social problems in Texas, and he took a glancing swipe at the Republican presidential candidate's description of his beliefs as ''compassionate conservatism.''

''I'm certainly not satisfied when over 10 percent of all uninsured children in America live in the state of Texas,'' he said, then used a phrase that became a refrain: ''Nuestras familias merecen lo mejor,'' or our families deserve the best.

The VP also said the GOP tax-cut plan would endanger Medicare, upon which elderly and disabled Hispanics are disproportionately reliant.

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Gore criticized the Texas governor for presiding over a state where a quarter of the children have no health insurance and more than half of the uninsured are Latino.

He also criticized Republicans for proposing a huge tax cut without dedicating "one dime" to strengthen Medicare, which provides health insurance to 2 million elderly and disabled Latinos.

Nonprofit Finance & Administration Issues

New Era Signpost

Competition, constriction, conflict, computerization and confusion are affecting Nonprofit organizations.

Today circumstances forcing nonprofit organizations to change are: global markets, instant communication, knowledge work, more educated work force and rapid competitive scenarios.

Must nonprofit organizations are cynical, insecure, fearful, compartmentalized, alienated and bottom line focus.

They are facing a new competition that is relentless, intense, complex, dynamic, ambiguous, knowledgeable and powerful.

Nonprofit organizations have to accept the new reality that reform is inevitable and the only choice they have is whether the reform is going to be externally controlled or internally managed.

No organization has the intrinsic right to exist. It earns the right only by creating value that customers will buy.

The organizations have to adjust to a new intellectual capitalism that requires skills; knowledge and talents of the frontliners, support staff; specialized experts, leaders, and the customer will decide what they want.Outsource services you don't have internal mastery of.

Prevention is not easily accomplished in system and strategy development.

Don't forget that your Must Valuable Assets (MVA) walk in and out of the door every day.

Regarding Governance, must Nonprofit Boards suffer the following weaknesses:

They are living in the past, fearing and denying change. Placing personal or short term stakeholders interest before the organization. Micromanaging instead of leading and denying it.

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Fearing diversity Overly cozy social relationships. Wasting time. Tolerating board disfunctionality.

Employee Benefit Plan Health Insurance CoverageGroup Health Insurance is a dominant part of any benefit package that is offered by the employer to its employees. Group Health Insurance coverage may also include dental insurance, long and short term disability insurance, group life insurance and prescription drug insurance.

Health Insurance Industry Trend

The trend is toward consolidation and merges. The term "Managed Care" used by politicians, heard on the news is what most insurance companies offer. Managed Care is virtually replacing the full indemnity and fee for service coverage where the insured could go to his or her doctor of choice.Major managed care plans are:

• Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)• Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs)• Point-of Service (POS) plans.

How to choose the right plan?

Cost is usually the major governing factor when an employer adopts for one plan versus another. Insurance companies calculate the premium they charge on the chemistry make up of the group (i.e. age & sex of employees), location of the group and the business nature of the group. The more restrictive the plan (i.e. the less choice the insured has to choose his or her doctor or healthcare provider) the less expensive the plan. However, it is possible to have a coverage that might offer a combination of various plans. Consultation with an independent professional is always recommended.

New Federal Law

HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 1996 (HIPM)President Clinton signed HIPM on August 21, 1996. The Act is designed to protect health insurance coverage for workers and their families when they change jobs or lose their jobs. The departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury issued interim final rules for these provisions on April 1,1997.

Rising Cost of Health Insurance!

The average increase in health cost is usually higher that the inflation rate. The renewal rate increase can also be much higher than inflation rate. The Increase depends on many factors, such as claim experience, the size of the group and legislative initiatives such as HIPM and other State Mandated benefits. Another factor is that prescription drug costs and their utilization are soaring.

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How to reduce the rate increase?

It is always possible by fine tuning the plan to reduce the rate increase on the premium. Keep the employees updated on how the plan works best for them. This can be achieved by regular direct meeting between the employees and the insurance company representatives.

Future Federal Law!

US Congress is debating the Patient's Bill of Right. The passage and enactment of the law could have wide ranging effect on the health insurance industry. How? It depends on your political perspective.

Announcement

Loan Fund for Latinos Announcement

The National Council of La Raza and Bank of America announced a $20-million revolving loan fund to finance Latino community development groups across the country. The fund, which has Treasury Department Community Development Financial Institution certification, is the first of such funds with a national scope that targets Latinos.

Among early recipients of the so-called Hope Fund is Ventura-based Cabrillo Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit developer of affordable housing. The partnership was announced at the annual conference in Houston this week.

The money will be available to NCLR's 240 affiliated Latino community organizations around the country for projects such as affordable housing and for community facilities such as day-care centers or charter schools. Local organizations can also apply for lines of credit to help them purchase property or cover operating expenses, NCLR spokeswoman Lisa Navarette said. "The community organizations are the backbone of our organization," she said. "A lot are already involved in community development efforts or want to be. What they lack is initial capitalization." "Investing in low- and moderate-income communities truly is good business," added Walter Davis, strategic alliances executive for Bank of America. The assistance that flows to projects through the loan fund is likely to bring other business to the bank, such as home mortgages, gap financing and equity investment.

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