United Way Approves Funding for New Hispanic Organization

United Way directors on Thursday approved funding of a new Hispanic organization to replace Concilio of Orange County, the beleaguered Latino anti-poverty agency.

The new group, the Hispanic Development Council, will operate as a committee of United Way and report to the agency’s executive committee and board.

The council’s mission will be “to promote leadership, volunteerism and philanthropy, and to support the human care delivery systems within the Hispanic community,” United Way officials said.

Gonzalo Fernandez, a Crocker National Bank vice president who was acting chairman of the committee that reorganized Concilio, said that the council “replaces the role that Concilio was playing with the United Way.”

Amin David, a Latino activist and founding member of Concilio who later bitterly opposed the activities of a director of the group, said that he was happy with the solution that will allow United Way to continue to provide money to the Hispanic community. But David said that he wanted the Hispanic Development Council to become independent of United Way eventually.

David acknowledged that there might be criticism in the Hispanic community that the director of the Hispanic council will be a United Way staffer who works primarily for that group “and perhaps only secondly belongs to the (Hispanic) community.”

United Way provided Concilio of Orange County with $285,000 between 1980 and 1985. The Hispanic Development Council will receive between $60,500 and $81,680 from United Way in its first year.

David said that “faced with the possibility that one of the options was no funding, I’m very pleased that they took this palatable course.”

Fernandez said that the board of the reorganized Concilio voted to withdraw its request for United Way aid and endorsed the formation of the Hispanic council. He said that Concilio was “dormant,” and added he did not know what the group’s future might be.

Plagued by Quarrels

Latino community leaders founded Concilio in 1976 as a private, nonprofit center to share techniques in raising funds and managing agencies serving the county’s growing Latino communities. Concilio, an umbrella group for 18 agencies, was plagued by quarrels among its members, some of whom eventually left.

In June, United Way cut off funds to Concilio after finding that it had continued to help businesses operating for a profit in violation of its charter agreement, which specified that it assist nonprofit groups, United Way officials said.

Fernandez said that the replacement of Concilio by the Hispanic Development Council “was not something that was forced on us” by United Way. He added that United Way wanted Hispanic agencies “to be able to effectively manage their destiny” because they know best what is needed in their communities.

15-Member Board

The council will have a 15-member, policy-making board. But Robert Miranda, a member of the United Way executive board, said that it had not been determined how many agencies are likely to receive funds from the council.

In other action, the United Way board of directors accepted as members the Orange County branches of the Arthritis Foundation, the American Diabetes Assn. and the Multiple Sclerosis Society, putting the number of agencies with United Way membership at 123.

The directors also approved one-time-only grants ranging from $1,288 to $15,000 to 11 agencies for special programs, including a study of school dropouts and an expansion of child care.

United Way of Orange County, which serves as an umbrella agency to receive donations and disburse them to its members, opened an $18.4-million fund-raising drive last Saturday.