My Nonprofit Reviews

I have been a supporter of Avivara for 9 years, and have been in many of the schools in Guatemala that Avivara supports. This is truly an effective organization that is having a positive impact on the students and schools it supports, most of which are in remote rural areas of the country. Funds are well managed and administrative costs are very low.

Avivara is a very hands on, high impact organization doing some incredible work in rural areas of Guatemala. For over 7 years Avivara has provided funding and educational opportunities for promising students who otherwise would likely not have been able to continue their education. Today almost 90 students are able to continue their studies because of Avivara support, ranging from grade school to university levels. In addition, Avivara funding supports rural schools directly with teachng materials and training by the mostly volunteer Avivara staff, who are all trained educators. Avivara is exremely efficient, with about 94% of funds going directly to programs in 2014. If you believe that education is a key element to improving lives, I urge you to support Avivara.

Avivara is an organization dedicated to improving the educational opportunities for poor Guatemalan children who likely would otherwise not be able to attend school. I have known the founders, Gary Teale and Ann Austin, for over 25 years, and can say from firsthand knowledge they are very qualified educators and dedicated to improving the lives of less fortunate individuals. In Guatemala, they have teamed up with a local Guatemalan educator, Gustavo Valle, who works with Avivara to identify schools that have critical needs and students who have shown interest and potential, but who's families cannot afford to have them attend school. For almost 3 years now Avivara has been providing financial asistance to those schools and children in rural villages of Guatemala. As a board member, I know that Avivara adheres to the Better Business Bureau's Standards for Charitable Accountability, has very low administration and fund-raising expenses compared to the program expenditures (89% to programs, 11% to admin and fund-raising), and has a strong commitment to keeping donors informed through the newsletter.

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