Destino Business Council

“Destino is a role-model organization at the national level. I have visited thousands of places in this country, and I have not seen any other organization like Destino. I hear that Latinos do not give money to community organizations – that Latinos only take. That is not true here in Ventura County. Here, you have people that donate thousands of dollars to community organizations. This is something to be very proud of.”
— Henry Cisneros Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Strengthening the Latino Community The Destino Business Council, launched in 2004, consists of Ventura County business leaders and owners who want to give back to the Latino community and strengthen programs that help local Latinos. Through their passionate commitment and generosity, council members help Destino respond to the most pressing issues facing Latinos today – from healthcare, housing and financial literacy to workforce education and youth employment. By investing in Destino, the Destino Business Council helps ensure that its voice is heard as it strengthens families, neighborhoods and businesses for years to come.

Deep in Destino’s philosophy is the belief that an investment in the future of this growing community is a crucial building block to a stronger Ventura County. Latinos are increasingly visible as donors– giving back to the communities. The Destino Business Council is proving that belief to be true every day through its generosity and support of scholarships, grants and other important Destino initiatives.

Destino is an endowment fund at the Ventura County Community Foundation, engaging donors from across the county to strengthen the Latino community through effective grantmaking in the areas of health, financial and reading literacy. It is the only permanent endowment fund in Ventura County focused on meeting the needs of Latinos. Its pioneering work is not only gaining national prominence but is forging new paths for philanthropic giving, recruiting new donors, and building a new platform for the future.

The Destino Business Council actively supports these efforts through ongoing endowment contributions from leaders throughout the Ventura County business community. These funds provide, in perpetuity, monies that sustain and expand the annual Destino grants budget – a budget which has increased each year over the past decade and which granted a record $100,000 in 2005 to ten nonprofit organizations serving local Latinos.

We invite you to contact the Ventura County Community Foundation at (805) 988-0196 to find out more about the Destino Business Council and become involved in its empowering work.

Together we can help tear down the barriers many Latinos face and in its place build a strong, much-needed bridge to a stronger, well-informed and involved Latino community.