Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT
Equal participation and leadership by women are essential for healthy communities and the achievement of sustainable development.
Home Gardening: Sustainable agriculture; entrepreneurial education; regular income; financial independence.
Investment Group: Small business practice; problem-solving skill development; hands-on management administration; improved self-confidence.
Health: Village Nurse Midwife; maternal health; infant and child wellness; health education.
Supporting Education
We partner with villages to improve learning environments, enhance the quality of education, and increase access to schools.
Preschools: dynamic early learning environments for 3-5-year-olds.
New Primary & Middle Schools: instead of dark and cold bamboo schools, the villagers build ones from concrete block that offer plenty of light and space.
English Summer School: middle school students improve their English-language skills by attending village-based classes.
Libraries: encouraging a love of reading by providing Burmese, English, and Tribal books and introducing reading time at primary school.
IMPROVING HEALTH CARE
Shanta offers a range of training to local health care providers, enhancing local capacity to provide quality care.
Auxiliary Village Nurse-Midwife Program (VNM): Chosen by her village and trained by Shanta affiliates, the VNM provides prenatal and childbirth services, infant care, contraception, hospital referrals, and general medicine.
Village Health Educators (VHE): A group of five women in each village is trained to provide educational workshops for young mothers that cover family planning, nutrition, safe delivery options, infant care and more.
Dental Care: Shanta arranges for local dentists to offer free dental care and oral hygiene to all villagers, often the first and only dental care that village children receive.
EXPANDING LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES
We create income-generating opportunities that improve quality of life and generate funds for ongoing village development activities.
Community Loan Fund (CLF): Shanta provides a matching grant of up to $1,500 to establish the CLF. Managed by a trained village committee, the CLF lends money to villagers at an affordable interest rate. Interest stays in the village, growing the fund for future development projects.
Pig Farms: Each year, ten families are given an adult sow to breed or fatten, and are trained to operate it as a business. The poorest families are given additional support and can easily triple their annual family income.
Coffee Farms: Shanta provides training and supplies for all interested families. Participants use cooperative marketing to access Myanmar-based wholesalers.
TRAINING LOCAL, PARTICIPATORY LEADERSHIP
Shanta trains local village leadership to inspire confidence, encourage trust-building, and ensure program sustainability.
Shanta trains an elected and representative group of women and men to work closely with Shanta staff and manage village development.
Shanta staff conduct monthly development meetings to: provide mentoring and training in participatory leadership, determine ongoing needs and priorities, plan, implement and evaluate programs, create solutions for problems and challenges.
Shanta conducts multi-day trainings in participatory leadership, development concepts and principles, project management, conflict resolution & management skills.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of New Village Partnerships
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Other - describing something else
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
We did not add new villages in 2021 due to the military coup and safety issues. We have added 4 more villages in 2022.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Secure financial health to meet planned activities, ensure quality programs with sustainable outcomes, maintain and cultivate strong leadership and establish Shanta's brand as a model for international development.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our holistic, six-year partnerships build thriving communities through sustainable programs in health, education, leadership, women’s empowerment, livelihood, and infrastructure. In Shanta’s approach to building local capacity, learning happens by doing; villagers become leaders by participating on teams and committees where they plan and implement projects, leverage available resources, conduct village meetings, and involve others fairly and inclusively.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our staff in Myanmar continues to implement programming in villages. 4 villages graduated this year, completing the 6-year partnership. We adopted 4 more villages in Southern Shan State. Each Village Development Team leads their village in their chosen programs to lift themselves out of extreme poverty.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have successfully partnered with 22 villages in the past 15 years. Our staff in Myanmar has grown from 2 to 16 full-time employees. Our partner villages are very dedicated to our 6-year agreement and work very hard to learn new skills to better the lives of all villagers.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We partner with underserved rural villages in Myanmar to develop healthy communities. Through a collaborative process we empower local leadership to make effective, sustainable change focusing on education, quality health care and economic opportunities.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Shanta Foundation
Board of directorsas of 05/22/2023
Arlen Weiner
Dave C. Peters
Kathy Sinton
Arlen Weiner
Zachary Ray
Desert Sun Coffee Roaster
Mark Mastalski
Fort Lewis College
Anna Pool
Executive Savvy
Jim Hoffmann
Tapati Dutta
Mark Harmon
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Not applicable
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/03/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.