FONDO UNIDO, A VEHICLE FOR MAQUILA CHARITABLE GIVING ALONG THE BORDER

Organization’s Profile

Fondo Unido I.A.P. (Fondo Unido) was founded in 1955 under the auspice of American Society of Mexico, A.C. as part of a community effort brought forth by several Americans that wanted to help people in need. Over time, Fondo Unido’s objectives changed, having decided to focus more on assisting the Mexican community. In 1979, it was registered as an institution for private charity, working jointly with the United Way in the United States. A few years later, the institution decided to approach Mexican corporations and the general public, without drifting away from foreign corporations. In August of 1989, the organization moved to its own offices and began to operate as an independent institution. That same year, Fondo Unido affiliated itself to the United Way International Network.

In 1992, Fondo Unido began its expansion to other parts of Mexico; currently it has a presence in 22 out of the 32 Mexican states. Along the US-Mexican border, the organization has a presence in the states of Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila, and is also active in the Tijuana region. In these states, it has two main offices that overlook charitable giving activities: Fondo Unido Nuevo Leon, A.C. (Fondo Unido NL) that oversees charitable giving in its own state, Coahuila, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas; and Fondo Unido Chihuahua, A.C. (Fondo Unido Ch) that oversees charitable giving in its state. Charitable giving in Tijuana is monitored by Fondo Unido Mexico City. 

Fondo Unido’s Partnership with Maquiladoras: Fondo Unido Nuevo Leon, A.C.

This section will focus primarily on the activities of Fondo Unido Nuevo Leon, in order to understand the dynamics of their charitable contributions along the border. 

Fondo Unido Nuevo Leon, A.C. covers the northeast zone of Mexico. It was created in 1993 under the auspice of Delphi Automotive Systems. For this accomplishment, the multinational corporation was recognized as “the first company in Mexico to begin a Fond Unido program outside Mexico City.” For nearly 10 years, Delphi supported 100% of the operating expenses of Fondo Unido NL. In 2002, the organization became an independent entity and began to enlist other corporations in its charitable activities. Yet, its strategic partnership with Delphi still remains, as it continues to be one of their top contributors, making up between 75 to 100% of Fondo Unido NL’s contributions.

Along the Mexican northern border region, Fondo Unido NL has charitable activities in the cities of Matamoros, Nuevo Laredo, and Reynosa in Tamaulipas; Piedras Negras in Coahuila; and Tijuana in Baja California. A total of eight maquiladoras contribute through Fondo Unido NL for charitable projects in these communities, including Delphi in both Tamaulipas (80%) and Coahuila (100%), and Schneider Electric in Tijuana (100%). It is worth mentioning that 100% of the corporate maquiladoras that collaborate with Fondo Unido NL are based in the U.S., and that the employees’ voluntary contributions constitute 85% of its annual income.

Fondo Unido’s Contribution to Border Communities

Fondo Unido’s branches operating along the border, such as Fondo Unido Nuevo Leon and Fondo Unido Chihuahua, seek to a great extent to get involved with institutions and foundations to determine their internal weaknesses, either administrative and/or operative. Fondo Unido strives to support and provide guidance as to the best way the institutions and foundations may render service to their communities without having to go through the institutional bureaucracy.

In addition to this, the organization is always looking for ways to distribute their donations through local organizations so that their contributions can impact specific local community projects. Last year, for example, Fondo Unido Nuevo Leon, together with Fondo Unido Chihuahua, supported approximately 15 organizations along the border, both foundations and civil society. Among these were four local organizations from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Fundación Douglas, and nine organizations in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua (For a list of the organizations, see appendix 4).

By and large, Fondo Unido has an extensive network of opportunities that young community foundations emerging along the Mexican northern border can tap into to form collaborative partnerships that assist in channeling available resources (financial, in-kind and voluntary) to local community development initiatives. Time and again, the experience of Fondo Unido in the border region demonstrates that strategic alliances between community foundations and other major stakeholders from the private and public sectors stand out as one of the most feasible and sustainable approaches to help community foundations in their search for legitimacy, credibility, and support from U.S. and Mexican maquiladoras.