Social Investment and Impact: Case Studies and Trends in Latin America
Fundación Quiera
supports organizations that protect the rights
of vulnerable children and youth
Fundación Quiera
supports organizations that protect the rights of vulnerable children and youth
Mexico / Foundations
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Quiera, a foundation managed by the Association of Banks (Asociación de Bancos de México), supports organizations that support the development of children and youth at risk of or living in the streets. Fundación Pro Niños de la Calle, one of the supported organizations, operates an educational model focused on reintegrating minors into society and changing the family organization to prevent homelessness.
Background and Context
One third of Mexico’s population is made up of children and youth - of which 51.1% live in poverty conditions¹ - a widespread structural issue across most of the Mexican territory.
The latter group faces the risk of ending up living in the streets, or it already does. This problem is rooted in social, economic, gender, and legal inequalities. Unaccompanied minors in migration flows, family abandonment, and family violence exacerbate this problem. Also, children and youth living in the streets are exposed to social discrimination, drug abuse, labor exploitation, prostitution, police harassment, and crime, among other threats².
Mexico ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and the Law on the Rights of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents was passed in 2014³. Nevertheless, recent data from non - governmental agencies show that, at least in Mexico City, there are over 20,000 abandoned or homeless children⁴, and the evolution of habits and customs has made them lose social visibility.
One third of Mexico’s population is made up of children and youth - of which 51.1% live in poverty conditions - a widespread structural issue across most of the Mexican territory.
In this context, Fundación Quiera - the social arm of Asociación de Bancos de Mexico (ABM) – decided to support and strengthen Fundación Pro Niños to tackle the issue of children and youth already living or at risk of living in the streets in Mexico City and in the State of Mexico - by means of its education model, which comprises three programs: De la calle a la esperanza (from the streets to hope), Casas de transición a la vida independiente (transition homes towards independent life) y Atención a familias (assistance for families).
¹Unicef, (2019), Informe anual 2019: Unicef México. Accessed at
²Becerra, A., (2015). Reporte Temático Número 4, Trabajo Infantil en México. Cámara de Diputados LIX Legislatura. Accessed at
³Comisión Nacional de los Derechos Humanos, CNDH, México, (2020). Los derechos de las niñas y los niños. Accessed at
⁴Fundación Pro Niños, (2020). Niños, niñas, adolescentes y jóvenes en situaciones de calle: Elementos para repensar las formas de intervención.
Fundación Pro Niños. Accessed at
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Description
Fundación Quiera was created in 1993 so that banks, as a guild, had a social arm in order to contributeto the institutional sustainability of social purpose organizations (SPOs) working for children and youthliving or at risk of living in the streets.
From the start, Fundación Quiera established that the main challenges to tackle and make the issue of children and youth living in the streets visible did not lie in the lack of initiatives, but rather in the need to install capacity within the institutions that address this problem. For this reason, it developed a work scheme focused on long- term (16 years on average) institutional and tailored support for organizations working with this target group. It grouped them together in a network of institutions strengthened by Quiera (Red de Instituciones Fortalecidas por Quiera - IFQ).
Fundación Quiera developed a work scheme focused on institutional, personalized and long-term accompaniment of organizations that work with children and youth at risk or in street situations.
A landmark case of this intervention is Fundación Pro Niños, an organization born in 1993 with the purpose of assisting children and youth (ages 8-21) at risk of or living in the streets. Fundación Pro Niños joined Fundación Quiera’s strengthening program in 1996 and has received continuous support for more than two decades. In 2020, it is at the “graduation” stage. This means that it is preparing for an exit strategy, which takes place based on the design of a tailored plan adjusted to its needs.
Fundación Pro Niños bases its intervention on an education model focused on restoring human rights, developing life skills, and executing participation processes with which children, youth, and their families can transform their living conditions. The intervention provides comprehensive assistance for children and youth, including personalized support, health, education, recreation, artistic training, occupational training, and socio-emotional skill development, among other services.
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Implementation
The organizations supported by the foundation – specifically those that provide housing for children and youth at risk of homelessness – receive funds and support to install capacity that will allow them to improve their social impact.
Tailored Finance
Finance provided to Fundación Pro Niños has increased in every support stage. The first stage lasted three years and focused on organizational needs, with a donation worth USD 52,916. During the second stage (ten years), specific projects were supported with USD 182,331. The third stage (also ten years) focused on the organization’s articulation efforts, a more specific capacity-building process, and received a donation worth USD 248,340.
The IFQ contributes a minimum co-investment of 30%, directly or through other donors. 5% can be allocated to administrative expenses, and up to 15% to salaries. The added value of working like this consists in implementing a strategic social investment model that ensures feasible, relevant, and evolving capacity-building⁵.
One of the main ways in which Fundación Quiera helps is by providing intellectual resources by means of partnerships.
Since 1996, Fundación Pro Niños has used Quiera’s financial support to finance its operations and document its intervention model for the De la Calle a la Esperanza and Casa de Transición a la Vida Independiente programs. It has also allocated part of these resources to grant scholarships and promote other projects, such as summer workshops and a mental health care initiative.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, funds have been allocated to a unit working on education innovation which tries to reduce school desertion. The resources for this type of interventions are earmarked by objectives, which makes it easier to monitor donations and detect new needs promptly.
Non-financial Support
The collaboration process between Quiera and Fundación Pro Niños starts with a multi-annual plan based on an institutional diagnosis carried out by Quiera. This diagnosis allows to categorize the SPO according to its institutional maturity level. Moreover, it takes into account the particular characteristics and needs required by the intervention.
One of the main ways in which Fundación Quiera helps is by providing intellectual resources by means of partnerships. Exchanges with other organizations have been particularly crucial for the SPO’s capacity building and strategic consolidation. According to Carmela Pírez, Director General of Fundación Quiera, creating “human links that become institutional (…) makes a difference in social investment.”
Quiera articulates efforts thanks to the facilitation of communication processes and meetings with partners. For example, Fundación Juconi México, A.C. has provided training services to Fundación Pro Niños around education for families, so that they can offer secure attachment to children and youth.
The collaboration process between Quiera and Fundación Pro Niños starts with a multi-annual plan based on an institutional diagnosis carried out by Quiera.
Fundación Pro Niños has also received leadership training for middle- and high-level management positions. Additionally, mental health being one of the most relevant issues for Quiera, and under the “taking care of those who take care of us” motto, a network of psychologists and professional service providers was made available to the IFQ. These professionals support in professionalization needs and improving the work environment. For example, a manual to cope with post-traumatic stress has been disseminated.
⁵Fundación Quiera, (2019). Fortalecer para reinsertar: Informe Anual de Sostenibilidad 2019. Fundación Quiera. Accessed at
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"It is like an elevator. You get in, and it takes you very quickly further than you thought. The journey could have been harder without Quiera".
Laura Alvarado
Director General of Fundación Pro Niños de la Calle.
Results
Some important changes observed by Fundación Pro Niños based on Fundación Quiera’s intervention are:
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It went from having no systematized intervention methodology to now having tools that respond to the configuration of a strategic, comprehensive, long-term vision.
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Incorporation of a result evaluation practice.
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Income greater that its annual expenditure, which is why its equity fund is growing year after year (it is currently equivalent to one year’s operation).
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The organization currently works with agencies like UNESCO.
Between 2000 and 2018, Fundación Pro Niños has served 3551 children and youth by means of its programs. In 2019, it served 307 children and youth.
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Learnings and Perspectives
Fundación Quiera has learned that the support model needs to be adapted to the particularities of each IFQ supported. Consequently, interventions have not been without challenges. One of them is the current social context in Mexico, where strong structural problems such as human trafficking and organized crime increase the possibilities of children and youth falling into high - vulnerability situations.
Fundación Quiera considers that strengthening institutions is sometimes undervalued compared to welfare - oriented responses, which leads to resistance in the sector.
One of the great challenges faced by Fundación Quiera is that the Presidency of the Board changes every two years. This may lead to uncertainty about the continuity of the projects.
For Fundación Quiera, learning is a continuous process. Valuable lessons – which are applied in future interventions – can be learned from each experience. Good practices are adapted; opportunity areas are studied and improved.
In light of these challenges, Fundación Quiera has set the goal of calibrating its support based on the context; positioning the importance of capacity building by showing the results that it has achieved; and closely supporting IFQs to plan for the long term. Additionally, it has managed to overcome internal governance problems, using its core objective as a guiding principle and continuously strengthening its strategic vision.
Fundación Pro Niños considers that the main advantage of a long-term strengthening structure is being able to develop a solid strategic vision inside the organization. This, in turn, allows to implement a better internal structure that can adjust to different scenarios, which ensures the continuity of its interventions.
