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’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.

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Mandel Vilar Press DOCUMENTS the needs of our community by advancing diversity and conservation in the book economy, publishing its 55th title in 2023.

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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 plus trees in 500 homes in 2023 between Denver and Aurora with thousands more to come through 2029.

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Your Colorado Gives Day Support Will Help Us Grow These Initiatives

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• Tree Keepers 2022-2029 with the City of Denver and City of Aurora Planting thousands of trees in heat island neighborhoods and increasing the access to trees' health, climate, and economic benefits. Launching a citizen arborist certification for the community at large.

• Promotores Verdes Youth Corps  Powering environmental stewardship and well-being through nature adventures and wilderness immersion camps.

• Latino Ultra Nature Adventure (LUNA)  Advancing human-nature connections through running and hiking for communities historically excluded from exclusive outdoor sports.

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AFC+A’s programs offer bold solutions for racial and economic disparities in conservation and the arts, including:

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• BIPOC citizens make up close to 40% of the US population but only 8% of environmental organizations (Green 2.0 Report)

• Only 4% of what is being published in the United States is from a minority voice/writer. Further, less than 1% of what the average US citizen reads is from a book in translation, compared to most social democracies of Europe which are reading above 33% in translation. (UNESCO Translation Index)