LEO Fund

Background

The LEO Fund (Leadership. Engagement. Opportunity.) is a grantmaking organization that supports community development programs and projects in Cali, Colombia. ^{1  2} Its operating document describes its areas of focus as “education, human rights, culture, gender equity, social inclusion, LGBTQI, citizen participation, coexistence, community communication and peace building.” ³

While completing his master’s degree in organizational leadership, Ryan McLean traveled to Cali as part of his servant leadership and intercultural communications courses. His experiences in Colombia encouraged him to establish the LEO Fund in 2019 to fund programs to support those “most vulnerable and disadvantaged.” ^{4  5}

Projects

The LEO Fund’s first project launched in September 2019 to support an after-school program organized by the Fundacion Talentos Altos de Menga (Talent Foundation) in an area that suffers from crime, violence, and poverty. This initial grant allowed the Talent Foundation to buy computers and remodel the school to increase its capacity. ⁶

The LEO Fund has made several grants to the Talent Foundation in Colombia each year which has allowed them to continue to support the after-school programs and add capacity. ⁵ The LEO Fund began donating to the organization in 2019 with $3,675. Grant amounts increased each year with a 2024 grant amount of $30,115. ^{7  8} Other joint projects with the Talent Foundation include workshops for women to help identify family and gender violence and create a support group within the community ⁹ and include a safe space for youth and adolescents to participate in art and music activities and receive homework assistance. ¹⁰

In 2020, the LEO Fund’s humanitarian projects provided food to 300 families in need during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cali, Colombia. Families in Cali were unable to support themselves during the quarantine that was mandated by the Colombian government. ^{5  11}

In 2021, the LEO Fund began partnering with the Fundacion Hip Hop Peña (Hip Hop Peña Foundation) on a project entitled Narrating and Rapping Life to spark greater interest in reading and learning. Through the program music, writing, and radio workshops, two rap songs and four radio programs were produced. ^{12  13}

The LEO Fund supports the United for Youth project run by the Fundacion Juventud del Valle (Valley Youth Foundation), which provides soccer training and mentorship to the youth of a low-income neighborhood in Colombia to help prevent drug use and gang involvement. ¹⁴

Other organizations funded by the LEO Fund include the Roberto Payan Communication Network Collective, which was also funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), ^{15  16} the Cultural Network, ¹⁷ Punto de Enfoque (Point of Focus), ¹⁸ the University Javeriana Cali, ¹⁹ and the United Way. ²⁰

Funding

The Harry F. Barnes and Carol H. Barnes Family Foundation gave the LEO Fund $8,000 each year in 2021 and 2022. ²¹ Other funding comes from individual donations, primarily from its annual fundraiser. ²²

Leadership

Ryan McLean is the founder and president of the LEO Fund. He earned a bachelor’s degree in fire services administration from Colorado State University and a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington in 2019. McLean was previously a firefighter, then moved to a senior director position at UCHealth in Colorado. He has been the president of the LEO Fund since its creation in 2019. ²³

Yeiffer Molina Angulo is the board vice president. She lives in Colombia and has worked with community-level nonprofit groups in Colombia for over 18 years. In 2020, she co-authored a book entitled Mapping Community Communication: Cartographies of Information, Communication Experiences, and Community Leadership in Cali, Colombia, which was a collaborative research book on communications practices in Cali, Colombia. ²⁴