2013 Year in Review

Highlights​

• One scholar graduated from high school—our first high school graduate
• Three scholars graduated from primary school (6th grade)
• 100% of our scholars reenrolled for the 2014 school year
• Two scholars sought out and started taking supplemental English classes
• One scholar took a typing class
• Four scholars interned at a sewing center
• Provided more mentoring to our scholars by hiring Vice President Brad Johnson full time in Managua
• Earned Gold status from Guidestar for our financial accountability and transparency
• Increased opportunities for sponsors to communicate with their scholars
• Introduced more internal metrics and tracking procedures (e.g., Activity Log, End-of-Year Evaluations) to better gauge our impact and identify opportunities for improvement
• Expanded our Facebook outreach and engagement

Challenges

• Low passage rate
• Lack of home base in Nicaragua

Our 2013 Annual Report provides a detailed account of our accomplishments, challenges, and goals for the year. 

Financial Summary

• Received $26,231 in donations
• Raised $19,794 through fundraising activities
• Spent 91% of our expenditures on direct program expenses in Nicaragua
• Saved $22,292 for future initiatives and expenses

   For details, visit Our 2013 Financial Information. 

Volunteer Efforts

• Twenty-seven volunteers attended our two volunteer trips to Nicaragua
• U.S. volunteers contributed 3,225 volunteer hours
• ​U.S. volunteers organized fundraisers, designed our annual report, and sold items to benefit VISEDAL​
• Four Nicaraguan volunteers helped with both mentoring our scholars and administrative tasks
• One summer intern led technology and English activities for our scholars