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Latino families and Americans born abroad Despite having less wealth than white 10 2
are known for their generosity when it comes to Americans, Latinos still give a larger share of
the hard-earned money they send to family as their family wealth to charity. Research also
remittances. Globally, the U.S. is the top source of shows that many organizations are not well
remittances, at a total of $68 billion just in 2020, equipped to reach Hispanic families, who are
with these payments forming a pillar of several too often not asked to donate to mainstream,
Central and Latin American countries’ econo- traditional philanthropy. But when asked we Section 1 / Understanding Claims
mies. In fact, these remittances grew following give generously, as shown in our response to
COVID-19. An August report from the Lilly Family outreach for aid following natural disasters such
School of Philanthropy found that Hispanic as hurricanes. This behavior has not changed in
Americans prioritize economic recovery for their a long time, reflecting what my fellow commu-
communities, participate in community donation nity leaders and I found when we started the
events and give a significant portion of their Hispanic Federation 31 years ago.
“donations” directly to family members. These It’s time to update the traditional definition
habits show many forms of giving that look dis- of philanthropy in the U.S. to include a wider
tinct from what we consider charity — and reso- breadth of what generosity means, especially as
nate with my own family’s experience. this country diversifies and welcomes people of
And what about informal volunteering that is all backgrounds who practice generosity in mul-
not reflected in philanthropy surveys — neighbors tiple ways. That’s part of what being American is.
helping neighbors repair a roof after a hurricane, Right now, our Hispanic population includes
or assisting a recent immigrant family in getting 62 million neighbors. By 2050, we will make up
food? Mutual aid networks are popping up across nearly 25% of the total U.S. population.
the country in response to the economic pain Together, we can reimagine and reignite our
and job loss of the pandemic. Similar networks culture of generosity and push back on the idea
emerged to protect our Asian American neigh- that Americans today are less generous than we
bors from hate crimes and to help Central once were.
American asylum seekers as they waited just 2021
over the border for their hearings.

Miranda begins with a claim of value: generosity is good; it’s a “core value” that
transcends identity and ideology. He evokes his family’s practice of generosity, a value
“central to all Latinos” (par. 2). Though he talks about his Latino identity his focus on
family makes the claim accessible to everyone. Miranda makes some claims of fact as
well, beginning with how his family practiced generosity by offering their home to those
in need even as they couldn’t afford to donate to charitable organizations. He states that
traditional donation-based philanthropy in the United States has declined in the last
twenty years and backs that claim up with statistics. Then he counters with another
claim: those statistics don’t tell the whole story. Miranda uses the work of the Generosity
Commission to present alternative examples of philanthropy, including remittances
given directly to family members and communities outside the United States, informal
volunteering such as repairs after natural disasters, or mutual aid networks that respond
to economic and social difficulties. He makes a claim of value that Latino families are
65

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