Maria De La Cruz is the Senior Director for the Resourcing Equity & Democracy portfolio at the Raikes Foundation. She joins Raikes from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), where she served as Vice-President and Chief External Affairs Officer overseeing strategic development as well as communications and marketing efforts. A seasoned executive leader, resource mobilizer, and philanthropic organizer, Maria is passionate about moving money to those with the least wealth, opportunity, and power.

Previously, Maria worked at Headwaters Foundation for Justice (HFJ). While at HFJ, Maria served in several leadership roles including as a board member of the Minnesota Council on Foundations, the co-chair of the Impact Driven Philanthropy Collaborative, and a co-chair of the Giving Project Network. Committed to the values of racial justice and collective liberation, she led HFJ's Fund of the Sacred Circle, a community-led grant program committed to Native communities in Minnesota, and she launched the Emergency Fund for Black Lives to support Black-led community organizing in the wake of the murders of Jamar Clark and Philando Castile.

After the murder of George Floyd, Maria sprung to action organizing individual donors and institutional funders to move millions of dollars to frontline groups organizing for racial justice. She also served on the design and core teams of Freedom Funders, a national network working to build philanthropy dedicated to Black Freedom. Maria holds a bachelor's degree in women's studies from Metropolitan State University, a master's degree in nonprofit management from Hamline University School of Business, and a juris doctorate from Hamline University School of Law.