March 19, 2024 – Today, MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving announced Vecinos as one of the Yield Giving Open Call’s awardees working with people and in places experiencing the greatest need in the United States. Vecinos received $2 million.
Established in 2004, Vecinos is dedicated to equitable, culturally centered healthcare and wellness services with a focus on Latinx and farmworker communities and with a vision of a healthier and more equitable Western North Carolina. Through integrated, bilingual primary and behavioral healthcare along with wrap-around supportive services, Vecinos increases access to healthcare for people who otherwise would go without. In 2024, Vecinos will launch the WNC Community Health Hub in Franklin, NC, co-locating nonprofits with a focus on highly sought after health and social services for low-income people in the region.
In March 2023, Yield Giving launched an Open Call for community-led, community-focused organizations whose explicit purpose is to enable individuals and families to achieve substantive improvement in their well-being through foundational resources.
“The Yield Giving gift is transformational for Vecinos’ work and the movement of health equity efforts in Western North Carolina,” said Marianne Martinez, CEO of Vecinos. “Funds will help increase access to services for those who otherwise would have no access to healthcare while also deepening the impact of collaborative relationships throughout the region.”
The Open Call received 6,353 applications and initially planned for 250 awards of $1 million each. In the Fall of 2023, organizations top-rated by their peers advanced to a second round of review by an external Evaluation Panel recruited for experience relevant to this cause and underwent a final round of due diligence. In light of the incredible work of these organizations, as judged by their peers and external panelists, the donor team decided to expand the awardee pool and the award amount.
“We are excited that our partnership with Yield Giving has resonated with so many organizations,” said Cecilia Conrad, CEO of Lever for Change. “In a world teeming with potential and talent, the Open Call has given us an opportunity to identify, uplift, and empower transformative organizations that often remain unseen.”
More information on the Yield Giving Open Call and other initiatives can be found at www.leverforchange.org.
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Vecinos
Beginning as a program of the Jackson County Health Department in 2001, Vecinos incorporated as an independent nonprofit organization in 2004 to provide mobile primary care services to migrant farmworkers. During its 20th anniversary year in 2024, Vecinos celebrates having grown to provide bilingual outpatient and mobile primary and behavioral health care to any low-income, uninsured adult in need. Vecinos will soon launch the WNC Community Health Hub, bringing partner nonprofits together to increase access to culturally centered health and social services.
Yield Giving
Established by MacKenzie Scott to share a financial fortune created through the effort of countless people, Yield Giving is named after a belief in adding value by giving up control. To date, Yield’s network of staff and advisors has yielded over $16,500,000,000 to 1,900+ non-profit teams to use as they see fit for the benefit of others. To learn more, visit www.yieldgiving.com.
Lever for Change
Lever for Change connects donors with bold solutions to the world’s biggest problems—including issues like racial inequity, gender inequality, lack of access to economic opportunity, and climate change. Using an inclusive, equitable model and due diligence process, Lever for Change creates customized challenges and other tailored funding opportunities. Top-ranked teams and challenge finalists become members of the Bold Solutions Network—a growing global network that helps secure additional funding, amplify members’ impact, and accelerate social change. Founded in 2019 as a nonprofit affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Lever for Change has influenced over $1.7 billion in grants to date and provided support to more than 145 organizations. To learn more, visit www.leverforchange.org.
