Episode Details
Back to Episodes“Introducing 8 New Evidence-Based Nonprofits from Latin America” by Verónica Suárez M.
Description
TL;DR
- We incubated 8 new nonprofits in Latin America using an evidence-based, cost-effectiveness–driven approach.
- Each organization is tackling a high-priority, neglected problem with proven interventions adapted to their context, all designed to scale.
- These orgs would not exist without this process, supporting them creates real counterfactual impact.
- 📅 We are hosting a “Meet the Founder” session on April 9th — connectors, funders, and mentors are invited to join and meet the teams.
- Donations are now open to support these new orgs pilots.
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🚀 We are also opening applications for our 2026 cohort.
Why this work exists
In Latin America, many social organizations are driven by strong intentions — but far fewer are built around:
- rigorous prioritization
- strong causal evidence
- cost-effectiveness thinking
We started Theory of Change Makers (ToCM) to help close that gap.
Instead of launching a single organization, we asked:
What if we could help create many high-impact organizations, designed from day one around evidence, scale, and cost-effectiveness?
This post shares the result of this endeavor.
The process (briefly)
Over 8 months, founders:
- Identified and prioritized problems using ITN (Importance, Tractability, Neglectedness)
- Reviewed global evidence (RCTs, meta-analyses, systematic reviews)
- Selected and adapted proven interventions
- Built a Theory of Change
- Developed a cost-effectiveness model
- Tested [...]
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Outline:
(00:12) TL;DR
(00:58) Why this work exists
(01:37) The process (briefly)
(02:22) The organizations
(02:38) 💧 YAKU (Bolivia / Mexico) -- Water & Health
(03:12) 🧠 LUNAVA (Mexico) -- Mental Health
(03:50) 🧠 GRANA (Colombia) -- Mental Health
(04:32) 🍎 VIVIR BIEN (Guatemala) -- Child Health
(05:04) 📚 CAYAMBE (Ecuador) -- Education
(05:40) 💼 PROPIA (Spain / LATAM migrants) -- Livelihoods
(06:13) 🐔 CENTINELA (Chile / Mexico) -- Animal Welfare
(06:49) 🐣 DeNovo (Chile) -- Animal Welfare
(07:24) Why supporting these orgs matters
(07:47) 📅 Meet the Founders -- April 9th
(08:19) Event timing (2 hour meeting)
(09:10) 💛 Support the work
(09:35) Applications open -- ToCM 2026
(10:18) Acknowledgements
(10:45) Final reflection
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First published:
March 27th, 2026
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.