Create a Legacy

Destino Grantmaking provides funding opportunities for the economic, educational, physical, emotional, social, artistic and personal growth of Latinos in Ventura County. Each year, donors to Destino select issues of community importance on which to make their annual grant awards. Grants to date have focused in the areas of financial literacy (2004), family health and youth services (2005), and family-oriented programs addressing the growing epidemic of obesity (2006). Grantmaking continues to encompass family strengthening, including counseling and support services for both single-parent and two-parent families, parenting skills, mental health services, anger management, special needs family members and caregivers issues, and other related areas.

The Destino Latino Literacy Initiative casts literacy in its widest sense to encompass four key areas of life: reading, health, finance, arts/music. This vital program is producing outstanding proven results in the personal and professional lives of local Latinos of all ages, helping ensure further skills, empowerment, confidence and knowledge. Grant awards are made possible through donor contributions to Destino’s annual grants program. The Initiative’s newest project is Raising a Reader, a reading literacy program being launched in Oxnard and Port Hueneme. Parent participation with their children from birth to age five through a daily program of “book cuddling” fosters the early reading skills, brain development and parent-child interaction so critical to success in school.

The Destino Business Council is comprised of Ventura County business leaders who want to give back to the Latino community by raising funds in support of programs and services that improve their lives. Through their passionate commitment and generosity, members help Destino respond to the most pressing issues facing Latinos today – from healthcare, housing and financial literacy to workforce education and youth employment. The Destino Business Council’s investment in this vital fund helps ensure a strong public voice for our local Latino community as it works to strengthen its families, its neighborhoods, and its businesses for years to come.