HOSPITAL INFANTIL DE LAS CALIFORNIAS
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO PROMOTING MAQUILADORA SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (MSR)[1]

Organization’s Profile

The Hospital Infantil de Las Californias, I.B.P. (HIC) was established in 1994 in the City of Tijuana, BC, Mexico, to improve the health and nutrition of the children of the U.S.-Mexico border region, Southern California and Mexico. HIC was started by a group of professionals who recognized the critical need for a pediatric hospital in northwestern Mexico. Being that Baja California is the only state in Mexico bordering on the U.S. without a full service pediatric hospital, despite the fact that 43% of its population is under 19 years of age, HIC supporters decided that this would be the best location for the hospital. The majority of the patients are from Mexico, but the hospital also serves children living in California who otherwise do not have access to adequate medial care.

The Hospital Infantil is supported by a tri-national backbone, made up of three foundations that focus on the fundraising efforts of the hospital.  The Foundation for the Children of the Californias was the first to be established in 1990 in San Diego, California, followed by the Fundacion Para L@s Niñ@s de Las Californias in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and their Canadian counterpart. 

In the context of this study, what has made Fundacion Para L@s Niñ@s de Las Californias unique among border nonprofits is its success in engaging U.S. and Mexican corporate funders to give through its “Marca con Causa” (Brand with a Cause) program.   HIC has also instituted a program called “Membresía Medico Infantil” which promotes “Maquiladora Social Responsibility” (MSR) in Tijuana. 

The Success of “Marca Con Causa”

The Hospital Infantil is an excellent example of a Mexican border nonprofit that has been able to successfully leverage funding from both Mexican and U.S. corporations through their “Marca con Causa” (Branding for a Cause) program by developing a marketing strategy that aligns the needs of the nonprofit organization with corporate goals and objectives. Through this program, HIC appeals to corporations promoting “cause-related marketing” and, as a result, provides a charitable vehicle through which the corporation may benefit from brand recognition and enhance its bottom line.

How the program works

According to Mr. Mario Medina, Executive Director of the Fundacion Para L@s Niñ@s de Las Californias in Tijuana, BC, Mexico, the “Marca con Causa” program allows a corporation to brand name a hospital facility or a program when they provide the significant amount of financial assistance needed to  complete the facility or jump-start the program. Based on this market strategy, the HIC has received support from internationally recognized U.S. and Mexican corporations such as the San Diego Padres, Mc Donald’s, Inc., Coca-Cola, Mattel, Televisa, and El Sol, to name a few.  In stark contrast to other border area nonprofits which receive little or no corporate support, during 2004 18% of Hospital Infantil’s funding came from corporate sources including the maquiladora sector .   

Promoting MSR through “Membresía Médico Infantil”

Obstacles in Promoting MSR along the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

Nonprofit organizations along the U.S.-Mexico border region confront an additional problem aside from finding solutions to further increase corporate social responsibility: how does an NGO tailor its fundraising programs to appeal to maquiladora social responsibility (MSR)? 

NGOs tackle many limitations when requesting funding from maquiladoras: 1) First of all, maquiladora giving programs are very limited in scope. Most of them have a set budget of about $2 to $3 thousand a year per NGO/foundation that they are allowed to give. In addition, the requirements for the application process for maquiladora contributions are very specific and may be overwhelming for most NGOs - e.g. NGOs are required to have at least a minimum of five years experience working in the community where they operate, they are required to submit the minutes of their last five board of governors meetings, etc. Lastly, most maquiladoras will contribute the minimum amount to a nonprofit for approximately three to four years, before deciding if they will establish a more extensive commitment with the NGO.

The HIC has not been immune from these obstacles. In fact, Mario Medina, Executive Director for the Fundacion Para L@s Niñ@s de Las Californias, stated that a mere ten maquiladoras contributed to the Hospital Infantil; among them are Mavamex (Matel), Sony, Panasonic, and Sanyo. What the HIC has recognized, stated Mr. Medina, is that maquiladoras are interested in increasing the productivity of their employees and decreasing their turnover rate, and not in positioning the brand name of their product. Hence, what NGOs and foundations have to do is form a partnership with the maquiladoras through the provisions of goods and/or services that will benefit their employees, and as a result, guarantee lower turnover rate and greater productivity.  Through the “Membresía Médico Infantil” program, the HIC is attempting to provide a service model that can appeal to maquilas seeking to be socially responsible and, as such, the Hospital Infantil is an excellent model of a border area nonprofit that has demonstrated how to effectively develop a win-win relationship with corporate donors.   Other border area nonprofits can learn much from Hospital Infantil and its innovative approach to corporate fundraising.

What is the “Membresía Médico Infantil” program?

Recognizing that more than 80% of Tijuana’s women are employed by the maquiladora sector[3], the Hospital Infantil is carrying out a pilot program known as “Membresía Médico Infantil”. This program offers annual medical healthcare benefits to children under the age of 16 with mothers employed by the maquiladora sector in an attempt to appeal to and increase MSR in Tijuana. 

The benefits that the program offers to its affiliates are:

• Coverage for basic pediatric needs;
• A savings of more than 50% from the normal price for special visits and short stay surgeries.

By contributing to the program, the maquiladora will receive the following benefits:

• Tax-deductibility for the total amount of the membership size.
• Personalized service with the maquiladora’s doctor.
• Fast and efficient service to the patients so that they don’t have to wait more than 60 minutes. Consequently the mothers don’t miss more than a day from work.
• Decreased absences and employee turnover due to child illness. 
• Opportunity to position itself as a leader in social responsibility in the region.

The encompassing goal of the program is to increase MSR, while at the same time providing affordable and consistent healthcare benefits to more than 80% of Tijuana’s children.