When was this organization started? When did it receive 501c3 status?
As you have surmised, this is a very new organization which was really started by myself and my wife. We live in Cabrera (have off and on for 8 years) and want to be able to provide more assistance to the municipality and, though that, to the citizens of Cabrera. With the 501(c)3 designation we are able to do that more effectively than ever.
The website is very new and is a basic Wordpress. We are going to develop it further based on the reality of the charity. I don't like "stock photos" showing people doing good things; I've seen those all too much. So when we are able to do something significant we will get the information up there.
We are currently recruiting for the board of directors to help direct any grants or donations to the best possible place. The Sindico was on the original BoD but we asked him to step aside, which he did readily, so there would be no apparent conflict of interest. We have replaced him with someone from Cabrera and have a couple of ex-pats who seem very interested in assisting as well. So hopefully the BoD of 5 will be finalized soon.
Just so you know, the BoD has control over the allocations of funds. No funds are ever handed over. They are used as needed by the project. Every project must have a project manager reporting to the BoD. So, for example, if 500 meters of water pipe are needed we would purchase the pipe directly and watch it be installed while paying the funds. The resulting installation is then the property of the Cabrerenos who needed it.
We are legit, honestly, but we are young and only getting started. We started out by helping the International School be created here, and we still help it, but then this evolved into the larger needs we discovered.
I hope this helps put our efforts in a more favorable light. I am happy to answer any questions about the organization. We also happily listen to constructive input on how we can be better at reflecting the transparency of the charity. We certainly never want anyone to think there is anything here other than honest people who honestly want to help.
Jason Matthews
Founder, Friends of Cabrera
Owner, Villa Castellamonte
Owner, Playa Grande Investments
Owner, North Coast Management