Non Profits in the DR worthy of donations?

[mountainannie]

After I had been in Sto.Dom a couple of years, folks back home used to ask which organizations might be worthy of some $$? So I asked about? I will post on this thread some reviews of the large, international NGO (non-governmental organizations) whose work I have seen on the ground - both on the DR side and will open a similar thread over in the Haiti forum.

I know at least one DR1. member who has her own local NGO and there certainly may be others now.

No one knows the work of a local "charity" better than someone who has seen their work on the ground which few foreigners get to do. So I invite everyone to post their own pet project in this thread.
In order for this to be a useful on-going thread=

Please include the following information: If you do not know the answers to any of these questions, please make contact with the group and then supply them. It is not useful to anyone to have posts that read like :"There is a vet on the North Coast that does really good work with the street dogs."

1. The EXACT name of organization
2. How you know of their work
3. What in particular stood out for you about them
4. Whether or not they have a religious affiliation, and, if so, what is it?
5, How the money can be sent (some smaller Dominican organizations can accept only by direct deposits to their bank accounts
6. Whether or not they have official non-profit status from the Dominican government
7. Whether or not they have official non-profit status from any other government

This is the season for giving. I am certain the all of reading this board have at least $25 to gift to some organization. And I personally know you to be a very kind and generous community.

Blessed Be...!!!

MA

 

[bob saunders]

After I had been in Sto.Dom a couple of years, folks back home used to ask which organizations might be worthy of some $$? So I asked about? I will post on this thread some reviews of the large, international NGO (non-governmental organizations) whose work I have seen on the ground - both on the DR side and will open a similar thread over in the Haiti forum.

I know at least one DR1. member who has her own local NGO and there certainly may be others now.

No one knows the work of a local "charity" better than someone who has seen their work on the ground which few foreigners get to do. So I invite everyone to post their own pet project in this thread.
In order for this to be a useful on-going thread=

Please include the following information: If you do not know the answers to any of these questions, please make contact with the group and then supply them. It is not useful to anyone to have posts that read like :"There is a vet on the North Coast that does really good work with the street dogs."

1. The EXACT name of organization
2. How you know of their work
3. What in particular stood out for you about them
4. Whether or not they have a religious affiliation, and, if so, what is it?
5, How the money can be sent (some smaller Dominican organizations can accept only by direct deposits to their bank accounts
6. Whether or not they have official non-profit status from the Dominican government
7. Whether or not they have official non-profit status from any other government

This is the season for giving. I am certain the all of reading this board have at least $25 to gift to some organization. And I personally know you to be a very kind and generous community.

Blessed Be...!!!

MA

You might look at this https://bateyrelief.org/ and decide for yourself

 

[AlterEgo]

While there may be other choices, for me it’s Strength For The Journey, run by our own Lindsey Kaufman. She currently has an appeal to help poor children in her area of DR celebrate Christmas, but she does so much (with so little) all year long.

SFTJ is s 501C3 non profit. Here’s the link, give a little, give a lot.

Strength for the Journey DR

 

[LindseyKaufman]

While there may be other choices, for me it’s Strength For The Journey, run by our own Lindsey Kaufman. She currently has an appeal to help poor children in her area of DR celebrate Christmas, but she does so much (with so little) all year long.

SFTJ is s 501C3 non profit. Here’s the link, give a little, give a lot.

Strength for the Journey DR

Thank you, AlterEgo. We are a legal non-profit both in the DR and in the US, not affiliated with any one faith. Our mission is to help poor children and families emerge from poverty through education. We work in the mountain area of Jamao where there are several communities without running water, some with no cell or internet service, all with intermittent electricity. The average education level of the parents of our students is 3rd grade or less. We employ 5 Dominican teachers and I work full time, taking no pay. Donations can be received by our US non-profit via our website

www.sftjourney.org

For those interested in only legal non-profits in the DR, our RNC is 430-19297-1. Donations can be received here by contacting me. We accept both financial and material donations. Some folks from dr1 have been quite generous with us over the years.

If you would like to visit us and observe our work, just contact me. Or if you speak Spanish and would like to volunteer, let us know.

A warning for those who do not know. Many, MANY Dominican Republic non-profits are run by politicians or business owners as a means of laundering funds and avoiding taxes. Many Dominicans do not trust non-profits.

 

[NanSanPedro]

Just as a third voice to what AE and Lindsey have written about, I visited there about 6 months ago. I saw the work first hand and was really impressed. This really is a charity worth supporting. And yes, I have put my $ where my mouth is.

 

[LindseyKaufman]

I woke to a message from our treasurer that two people from dr1 have made donations. This is wonderful. Thank you. With your permission, I will post your name. Otherwise, I will keep the donors anonymous. You will also receive a thank you from one of our directors.

I also want to thank AlterEgo for giving us such a great thumbs up! This was an unexpected plug during the time when we most need funds.

Together, we are Strength for the Journey!

 

[mountainannie]

You might look at this https://bateyrelief.org/ and decide for yourself

I know the work of Batey Relief very well - and also know the director. The one thing that impressed me about how he worked and set up his organization is that he FIRST went to the DR government and asked them WHERE he should set his operations to best help both the designated group and the Dominican government as well. As the name suggests, this organization works in the poorest of the poor communities. I went to the opening of their medical clinic in Monte Plata. They are small, honest, and well run - https://bateyrelief.org

 

[mountainannie]

I know the work of Batey Relief very well - and also know the director. The one thing that impressed me about how he worked and set up his organization is that he FIRST went to the DR government and asked them WHERE he should set his operations to best help both the designated group and the Dominican government as well. As the name suggests, this organization works in the poorest of the poor communities. I went to the opening of their medical clinic in Monte Plata. They are small, honest, and well run - https://bateyrelief.org

I would note, however, that the work of BRA is no longer confined to the DR as it was in the beginning but has now grown to work in other countries in the hemisphere, So I would think that DR1ers would prefer organizations that only work locally.

There used to be group up in Puerto Plata that worked with a school? And does anyone know of anyone working in Santiago or Sto.Dom? Not to take anything away from Lindsey - just to publicize any groups that are known by members to be honest. As Lindsey said, there are lots of "non-profits" in the DR that are simply used as private purses.

 

[Aguaita29]

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