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More than two dozen nonprofits across Delaware are receiving new support this year to expand their impact on Latino communities. 2025 marks the 20th year of investing in the Latino community for the Delaware Community Foundation. The group has awarded $570,000 in grants to 25 organizations through its Arsht-Cannon Fund, a donor-advised fund created to address educational, health and economic gaps for Hispanic Delawareans.
“About 25 years ago, Samuel and Roxana Arsht created a donor-advised fund at DCF, which was supposed to benefit the people of Delaware and their needs,” said Jennifer Fuqua, director of community partnerships and Hispanic initiatives at DCF. “Their daughter Adrienne Arsht decided to … make the fund specifically focused on the needs of Hispanic communities in Delaware because, as you know, sons and daughters of immigrants … They wanted to benefit this newcomer community in the state and provide specifically opportunities that led to education, wealth creation, workforce development.”
This year, demand for funding was the highest it’s ever been.
“We saw twice as many applications this year as per usual,” Fuqua said, citing recent budget cuts and increased need among nonprofit organizations. “This is a really different year, just because of the different kinds of cuts that different organizations have seen.”
“I hope that part of what we see is that the organizations, but more importantly, the communities that they serve, are able to be resilient through the programming that is offered, able to withstand whatever other changes there might be that have been sort of coming through federal and state funding and where there have been cuts made,” she added.
The grants span all three counties and touch every stage of life — from infancy to adulthood. The funds will support organizations working on language learning, family literacy, academic and arts programming, youth development, small business growth, advocacy and leadership training and health-related education and coaching.
