Highlights from Latin America & Caribbean - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sierra Madre Occidental; Chihuahua, Mexico Ecosystem Protection in Southern Mexico Pronatura, A.C.; Mexico El Carricito del Huichol; Jalisco, Mexico Fundación Vida, Honduras The Pantanal, Bolivia Nicaraguan Protected Areas Pic Macaya National Park, Haiti

BSP's Latin America & Caribbean Program

Fundacion Vida, Honduras

Strengthening institutional capacity through technical assistance and training.

The Honduran Foundation for Environment and Development, Fundación Vida, (Fundación VIDA) was created in 1992 as a private nonprofit organization as a result of the debt reduction agreement between the U.S. and Honduras and the establishment of a $5.125 million environmental fund. Fundación Vida's mandate was to administer a grants program, evaluate and approve environmental project proposals submitted by local NGOs, as well as monitor and supervise the implementation of these projects. BSP provided technical assistance to Fundación Vida to accomplish the objectives and execute the activities identified in a work plan developed jointly by USAID, BSP, and Fundación Vida. These included funding exchange visits to the Mexican Nature Conservation Fund (FMCN), programmatic and financial strategic planning and assessment, board training, and development of a fund-raising strategy. BSP worked with TNC and Fundación Acceso (Fundación Acceso), a private, nonprofit organization based in Costa Rica that provides training, technical assistance in institutional and program planning, and board development. A series of participatory workshops were conducted to develop programmatic, financial, and fundraising strategic plans.

The vision that the investment in capacity-building activities would lead to a strengthened environmental fund was realized in June 2001 when the Honduran government recognized Fundación Vida as an organization that made significant contributions toward conservation and the protection of the environment and awarded it the "Premio Hondureño a la Conservación y Protección del Ambiente" (Honduran Conservation Award).  

 

Additional Information

Hitz-Sanchez, et al. 1997. Rumbo al Exito: Una guia a para juntas directivas de organizaciones sin fines de lucro. Arlington: The Nature Conservancy.