Project Corazón, Incorporated

We are committed to getting partnership right. We gather often with our partner teams to talk about what partnership means to them, how we can best work together, and what we ask of each other along the way.

Impoverished communities face many intersecting challenges related to wellbeing, including those related to basic needs, education, economic situation, health, and opportunities for youth and community development. Amidst these challenges, there is profound strength as community leaders of all ages work to take care of each other. However, these community leaders often are challenged by limited resources that inhibit their capacity to affect change.

Project Corazón’s mission is to partner with local leaders in impoverished areas around the world to strengthen their capacity to effect the changes that are most important to their communities. Our partner teams are groups of community-based leaders that have an in-depth knowledge of the needs and priorities of their community, and a vision and plan for community solutions. We work closely with these partner teams to:

1. Support their community-driven projects in areas of basic needs, education, economic empowerment, health, and community and youth development
2. Build capacity and skills related to program and project development
3. Foster connections between leaders, communities, and people, which together can strengthen collective initiatives for change

This partner team model holds all of us accountable to centering community priorities and wisdom, highlighting the empowerment of community leaders, committing to anti-oppressive approaches to partnership, and fostering togetherness with our partner teams.

In what ways do we nurture meaningful partnership? Every year, we sit down with our partner teams to talk about how we partner together and what we ask of each other. We put these reflections, expectations, and goals in writing in our annual partnership agreement.

It is important to us that we co-create expectations for our partnership together. We review our values at Project Corazón and what we ask of our partners, and invite our partner teams to share the same.

In our partnership agreement meetings, we ask questions such as:

• Thinking about our partnership together, what is most important to you and your team about the ways we work together?
• Reflecting on collaboration together, are there any areas/values/principles that you would like to add, change, or take away?
• How would you like to hold us to hold each other accountable to these values? For example, if we are acting in a way that you feel is outside of these values, how would you feel most comfortable communicating that to us?
• What accountability practices do you ask of the Project Corazón Team?

Through this process and more, we stay true to our commitment to a partnership grounded in mutual trust, shared power, respect for wisdom of community leaders, and unity.

Our partner team is Misión Esperanza, a community-driven organization that develops youth leadership skills through projects in basic needs, health, education, home repair, senior well-being, and more. With a donation to Project Corazón, you support the work of this wonderful team. Through our partnership, we support local leaders, nurture youth as leaders of change, and support community well-being in the Dominican Republic.