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Maria Jose Orellana

A Snapshot of What We Do: Helping Struggling Communities by Building Stronger Nonprofits

Why We Do What We Do: A Look into Hearts of Gold

Hearts of Gold has been working hard to best serve the Cuencano community since 2013. We have always been committed to collaborate with local nonprofits, seeking collaborative strategies to ensure that our partners are economically independent. In September 2016, Hearts of Gold underwent strategic planning to analyze how we can best contribute to the goal that local nonprofits not only survive, but thrive in serving their communities in need. After looking deeply into how we can best achieve this goal, we concluded that the optimum way to support the future of local nonprofits and their communities in Cuenca is to educate the leaders and staff so that they may gain the knowledge and skills to achieve long-term economic independence.

Our objective is to create a network of nonprofits and grassroots organizations that will get to know one another, support each other, and share their experiences and lessons learned.

To reach these goals, we have developed a series of workshops and dialogues designed around the basic needs that is essential  to survive and become self-sustaining. These workshops and dialogues provide educational sessions on topics such as Strategic Planning, Marketing, Communication and Leadership, and Fundraising, among others. Will You Join Us In Helping To Provide The Real Deal To These Community Organizations?

Our first workshop of the year focused on Strategic Planning, where leaders of nonprofits had the chance to meet one another and learn about their respective missions and goals. The leaders commented that this workshop was a great opportunity to learn and analyze their organizations’ long-term operation and update or develop their goals and objectives.

Testimonials from Program Participants

Following the workshop, Directors of the nonprofits shared their words with us:

“We never had anyone before who would open their doors to us and risk supporting us and our mission of inclusion of special needs students in their education. This is a great opportunity for us and we are so happy to be a part of these workshops. We now have the opportunity to expand our knowledge, learn about the work of other nonprofits, and share our experiences. Being able to share our knowledge with other nonprofits is very important and learning from others has already positively impacted our institution.”

Priscila Morales, Director of NOVA Education Center

“ADACAPIA is a new organization, and we have turned to Hearts of Gold as an opportunity to address issues that our organization needs. We are acquiring skills and knowledge to advance our organization especially in regards to the Strategic Planning workshop. Here we have been able to work on our goals and objectives of our institution, and bring back this information to our whole team.”

Verónica Peralta. Director of  ADACAPIA

Hearts of Gold hopes that all nonprofits greatly benefit from the workshops, trainings, as well as the network of organizations that is already growing. We hope that this will make a big difference in the development of their nonprofits.

For me, it is a great honor to be part of this team. Hearts of Gold is the first organization that is dedicated to training other nonprofits and strengthening their skills. As a native of Cuenca, I am very proud of this work and grateful to be able to witness the changes occurring within local nonprofits. I would like to send my gratitude to the individuals and businesses, both Cuencanos and foreigners, who are sharing their hearts with us to ensure that local nonprofits keep their doors open and achieve their missions.

Lcda. María José Orellana Jaramillo, Director of Community Relations, Fundación Hearts of Gold

Help us continue to support local nonprofits through mentoring, capacity building, training, and networking opportunities in Ecuador. Let us remind our community leaders and comrades in nonprofit services that they are not alone.


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