Making A Real Impact: Why You Should Support Community Organizations

[dropcap]Life [/dropcap]as a nonprofit in Ecuador is a lonely one. Leaders fight day in and day out to gather resources, serve their communities, and stay afloat. They serve rural populations, urban neighbourhoods, street children, hungry families, children with special needs and families battling cancer. They put in all they have, personally and professionally, to address local needs and improve the quality of life for others. Community leaders in Ecuador are some of the strongest, most passionate that exist in the world. Yet, they are isolated and alone in the fight to build their communities and improve the lives of others.

Where do they turn to when they need a helping hand? Advice? Guidance? Great question. They don’t. What can you do about it? Read ahead.

A Bleak Future

75% of Ecuadorian nonprofits close within a three year window. They lack the nonprofit management that makes an organization sustainable. They lack resources, training opportunities and connections that push a nonprofit forward. These nonprofits are too often forced to close their doors  early. We are ready to transform that statistic and to build a thriving community of nonprofit organizations and community leaders that make a resilient Ecuador – are you willing to join the cause?

Visit our campaign to Make Nonprofit History in Ecuador and make a contribution today.

As backbones of society, these nonprofits and their leaders live a lonely life. You might be thinking, “What about the nonprofit associations, community foundations, and government agencies that provide nonprofit training and administrative assistance?” Well, we wish that were the case. We wish that there were more organizations designed solely to help nonprofits thrive in Ecuador, but there are not. That’s where Hearts of Gold comes in.

The “Real Deal”

Hearts of Gold wants to see grassroots organizations survive, and even more so thrive, despite poor social conditions that make their work all the more challenging. The good news is, there is something you can do about it. This is your chance to fund the real deal. We are proud to say that we are not your average nonprofit in Latin America. We believe in nonprofit education, mentor-ship, capacity building, networking and solidarity. We believe in giving nonprofits a  fighting chance. We want to provide nonprofit leaders somewhere to turn to for help. We want to give them the tools necessary to be more effective, impactful and sustainable in the work they do in their communities. This is our ultimate goal – are you with us?

Facing the Reality

You may ask, “Well, why don’t these nonprofits turn to their own communities for assistance?” Let’s paint that picture. Our partners are working in Ecuadorian communities where 30% of students drop out between primary school and high school; where 26% of children under the age of 5 are malnourished; where severe child abuse was reported in 44% of homes; and where over 60% of women report to be victims of gender-based violence. Local grassroots organizations are working from the ground up to transform at-risk communities to overcome barriers of social inequalities. Without ongoing support, and the necessary tools for success, these organizations are not likely to make it past three years of operation. This means they will be unable to continue to provide sustainable solutions and critical services to communities in great need.

Nonprofits are the backbone of strong society.

They feed us, they educate us, they open their doors for shelter, they console us with therapy, they bring families back together, they rebuild communities after natural disasters and they provide inclusionary education to children with special needs. They are you and me, fighting and struggling to better the quality of lives of others without sufficient resources and training.

Looking At The Problem From Another Angle

Coming from a North American perspective, this may all be daunting and confusing. For those of us from the US, Canada or Europe, we are so accustomed to having abundant nonprofits and services available and we hardly notice that we are surrounded by them.  All we know is that we have all been touched and impacted by a nonprofit service. What we don’t know, is that these nonprofits in the global north, have numerous places to turn for support, resources, training and encouragement. Between community foundations (750+ in the US alone) who distribute funds and grants, local, state and federal agencies that act as nonprofit liaisons and nonprofit associations that give networking and training opportunities, nonprofits in other parts of the world always have somewhere to turn to for help.

From our research and experience, Hearts of Gold is the only nonprofit in Cuenca doing the work we do.

We believe that to best serve children, women and families in need, we must help the nonprofits that already operating. These organizations are the backbones of strong communities. We are talking about big impact and long-term solutions. This is the real deal. Are you with us?

Help us transform this statistic through mentoring, training, capacity building, and by creating networking opportunities for local nonprofits in Ecuador.

Let us remind our community leaders and organizations that they are not alone.

[color-box color=”gray”]Help us support two organizations, CETAP- Lucy & El Arenal,  in getting the training they need.

By investing in just two organizations we can help  more than 250 children and families in the communities they serve.

Please help us reach our goal of $5,600 on the Global giving platform today.  If we reach this goal, we will be permanent partners on Global Giving and will  have access to a host of other benefits for our organization and the partners we support.  Its a win- win! With full tax deductible status for any amount, multiple payment options- including monthly options and the security of the Global Giving promise you can be rest assured that your donation is making a real impact.

Just $25 will help a community organization access 8 hours of core skills training workshops

Will you help us?

Visit our campaign to Make Nonprofit History in Ecuador and make a contribution today. #itstartswithyou[/color-box]