$3,903 raised by 16 donors
8% complete
$50,000 Goal
AFC+A is a Latina-founded and -led organization fighting systemic racism in the conservation and creative workspaces, leveraging arts and culture for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) gains.
Each year, we serve thousands of BIPOC community members, using culture and the arts as a bridge to connect to conservation and the natural world. We partner with individuals and families across the Denver Metro area in tree planting and restoration, forest fire prevention and mitigation, and other climate issues that disproportionately impact our BIPOC neighbors.
Our $50,000 fundraising goal will allow us to scale existing grant-funded projects and serve more community members directly. Help us fight systemic racism in the outdoor and creative workspaces and fill the vital needs of brown-led DEI advocacy!
We’ve been pioneering this work for 15 years through our three award-winning, flagship programs:
Americas Latino Eco-Festival (ALEF), featuring LUNA, CONGREGATES BIPOC conservation and creative leadership, hosting its 13th edition right now.
Mandel Vilar Press DOCUMENTS the needs of our community by advancing diversity and conservation in the book economy, publishing its 55th title in 2023.
Promotores Verdes Conservation Corps ACTS with and on behalf of BIPOC communities to promote conservation through outdoor recreation, climate literacy, and human-nature health connections, planting 700 trees in 500 homes in 2023 between Denver and Aurora with thousands more to come through 2029.
Colorado Gives Campaign funding will allow AFC+A to serve additional community members directly through these established programs:
AFC+A’s programs offer bold solutions for racial and economic disparities in conservation and the arts, including:
Thank you for your generous support.
Onward & with gratitude,
Irene Vilar
AFC+A Founder & ED
AFC+A is a Latina-founded and -led organization fighting systemic racism in the conservation and creative workspaces, leveraging arts and culture for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) gains.
In 2008, Latina founder and executive director, Irene Vilar, recognized a need to create space for Latino American leaders and fellow BIPOC colleagues to come together and incubate collaborative projects capable of helping bridge equity gaps in both the creative and conservation workspaces. In 2011, she created the inaugural Americas Latino Eco Festival (ALEF), paving the way for thoughtful, community-based environmental action that is rooted in arts and culture.
Since then, through ALEF and Promotores Verdes Community Corps, AFC+A has connected an average of 8,000 people each year to the outdoors, created leadership opportunities, and established a workforce pipeline to improve BIPOC representation in the field of conservation.
In 2014 AFC+A launched Mandel Vilar Press, the organization's publishing arm, dedicated to advancing diversity and conservation in publishing. In 2024, the press will publish its 50th title. Having acquired two prestigious presses as imprints (Moment Books and Fig Tree Books), received eight book awards, and dozens of national book reviews, MVP is positioned to claim a top place in DEI-led independent, nonprofit publishing.
Organization name
Americas for Conservation + the Arts (AFC+A)
other names
AFC+A Americas for Conservation + the Arts
2008
Tax id (EIN)
32-0261204
Category
Environment
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
3555 Pecos DrDenver County, CO, US
PR
MX
Boulder, CO, US