‘We raised $1m in less than five days’

How did the idea come about in response to Puerto Rico?
Joe Acevedo: In the wake of the hurricane, Rafael Ortiz joined the work of Foundation for Puerto Rico. In interim crisis mode, he is helping to manage operations on the ground, and he quickly realized capital was needed to support this effort. We reached out to our networks with a call to action, and thought it’d be best if we found people who share our passion for the cause. It took less than five days to raise $1 million. We currently have 20 firms on board, and there are plans to add to that list, but we’re just starting to scratch the surface.

How was the first $1 millon raised?
José Feliciano: Clearlake and the Kwanza Jones and José E Feliciano Supercharged Initiative seeded the fund with $500,000, to match the first $500,000 donated. It was a combination of individuals donating, firms and personal foundations. When you think about what private equity firms are good at, we’re great at fundraising and connecting people, so what better cause to use our core competencies [for]. There are companies we do business with, and even our portfolio companies who could participate.
From my perspective, this is something that struck very close to home. I have many family and friends on the island, and I’ve known Joe and Rafael a long time. This cause is an opportunity to partner with FfPR, investing in a group of people we trust, who can make an immediate impact, and longer term, to thoughtfully build a stronger Puerto Rico.

What impact have you been supporting on the ground?
Rafael Ortiz: A few days after the hurricane, the FfPR’s workspace was opened up to local businesses and organizations to start relief work. We organized into brigades, to go to the mountainous regions as well as the urban areas to deliver relief, where Federal Emergency Management Agency and the local government were not reaching. During my time here, that operation has scaled and we’re making daily intelligence visits to places in need and delivering aid.

We’re transitioning into sustainable models, delivering water filters as well as water. Telecoms solutions are being deployed including open Wi-Fi, satellite and cash grants for local businesses so they can process transactions and start up the economy.

Our program is deployed in stages, and is designed to be scaled up, based on what is working best and depending on how much capital we can raise.
We’re lucky enough to work with FfPR, who have hired the pre-eminent local expert in NGO accountability. He’s overseeing supervision of our capital deployment, measuring impact and transparency in how we’re using our resources.

Are there any ideas in the works to meet the $10 million target?
RO: PE4PR is actively targeting more firms; we’re looking for meaningful dollars to add. We hope this network will engage in post-charitable efforts, as Puerto Rico will need investment to support its recovering economy, and this network could be very influential in that regard. 

The PE4PR founders are MoonSail Capital managing directors Joe Acevedo and Rafael Ortiz, and José Feliciano, co-founder and managing partner at Clearlake Capital