GOLD2024

Nuestra Casa De East Palo Alto

Nuestra Casa builds leaders who transform our community into one where every resident thrives.

aka Nuestra Casa   |   East Palo Alto, CA   |  http://www.nuestracasa.org

Mission

We exist to uplift Latino families in East Palo Alto and the mid-peninsula though community education, leadership development, and advocacy.

Ruling year info

2014

Executive Director

Miriam Yupanqui

Main address

P.O. Box 52004

East Palo Alto, CA 94303 USA

Show more contact info

EIN

46-4040538

NTEE code info

Human Service Organizations (P20)

IRS filing requirement

This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.

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Communication

Blog

Programs and results

What we aim to solve

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Nuestra Casa envisions a vibrant mid-peninsula community united around shared values, where every resident thrives—no matter where he or she lives. Through civic engagement activities and collaborative community action, our families in East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, and North Fair Oaks are paving the road for other generations to follow.

Our programs

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?

Community Outreach Workshops

We pride ourselves in being responsive to our communities' needs. Throughout the year, we offer workshops that are relevant to the most pressing needs and we leverage our partnerships with other community organizations to provide the best resources available. We also connect community members to information and assistance applying for benefits and resources that can help stabilize their families.

Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants
People of Latin American descent

At Nuestra Casa, our unique model trains, supports, and coaches promotoras to take ownership of their neighborhood. These passionate leaders are parents and trusted messengers in our community who care deeply about justice and equity. They organize neighbors, facilitate workshops, and guide our programmatic priorities. We host regular trainings to build upon their leadership, advocacy, and outreach skills as well as their knowledge of community resources and initiatives.

Population(s) Served

We're proud to be leading an effort towards environmental justice and equity that expands beyond our local neighborhoods to broader San Mateo County. Nuestra Casa informs and trains our traditionally underrepresented community to become environmental justice and equity leaders of their own merit. By teaching and unlocking the leadership potential of our local communities of color, they can understand, develop, and prioritize local solutions to more fully address environmental equity and justice issues. We believe our community can do more than just survive, but thrive in this climate reality.

Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants
People of Latin American descent

Our housing advocacy goal is to protect and preserve the existing housing supply in our neighborhoods. To do so, Nuestra Casa is uplifting and amplifying the voices of our Spanish-speaking and immigrant community.
With the support of our Promotoras, our Housing Program Coordinator organizes and empowers community residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven (eastern Menlo Park), North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City. They help residents take ownership of their advocacy abilities and ensure the inclusion of low income and immigrant communities in critical discussions and policies.

Population(s) Served
Immigrants and migrants
People of Latin American descent
Immigrants and migrants
People of Latin American descent

Where we work

External assessments

Evaluated via the Impact Genome Project (2017)

Our Sustainable Development Goals

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.

Goals & Strategy

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.

Charting impact

Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.

We have multiple short- and intermediate-term goals related to community outreach and education, safety net program enrollment, civic engagement, and food distribution. Some examples are:
Distribute 15,000 fliers with information about important community issues and resources by close of FY 23.
Increase # of community members enrolled in safety net programs.
Encourage 300 community members to participate in civic engagement activities.

Our long-term goals are related to environmental and housing justice and overall family wellness.



We believe that when our community members have the support and tools to access critical services and flex their inherent leadership, they will transform our schools, public institutions, and community to be more responsive to the needs of our families. Three core strategies inform every program, event, workshop, and advocacy effort we undertake: community education, community-driven advocacy, and leadership development.

We base our strategy and programs on community input, with our Promotoras playing a vital role. As trusted community members, they provide us with ongoing feedback gathered during their outreach. This input helps us tailor our programming to meet specific community needs.

For example, Promotoras played a crucial role during the COVID crisis, sharing prevention and vaccination information directly with the community. Their valuable insights informed the County’s targeted messaging and vaccination clinics, effectively addressing misinformation and other challenges.

We firmly believe our community members have the solutions to their challenges. Our job is to create safe spaces for community members to hone their solutions and connect them to decision-makers. When we gather community members to talk about the issues they face, the feedback we get is impressive, and their ideas are excellent. We often use workshops, focus groups, and surveys to gather direct input.

Please see our annual impact reports for reviews of our progress: https://nuestracasa.org/our-story/impact/

How we listen

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.

done We shared information about our current feedback practices.

  • How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

    To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals

  • Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

    We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We act on the feedback we receive

  • What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

    We don’t have the right technology to collect and aggregate feedback efficiently, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time

Financials

Nuestra Casa De East Palo Alto
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Operations

The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.

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Connect with nonprofit leaders

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lock

Connect with nonprofit leaders

Subscribe

Build 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.

Nuestra Casa De East Palo Alto

Board of directors
as of 09/26/2024
SOURCE: Self-reported by organization
Board chair

Juan Mendez

City of East Palo Alto

Term: 2020 - 2024

Matt Sonnenblick

Altamont Capital

Uriel Hernandez

City of Palo Alto

Diana Luis

State Farm

Rigo Rosas

Kaiser Permanente

Juan Mendez

City of EPA Planning Commissioner

Courtney Ferl

Autodesk

Gonzalo Torres

Equinix

Karina Macias Sandoval

Stanford University

Board leadership practices

SOURCE: Self-reported by organization

GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.

  • 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? No

Organizational demographics

SOURCE: Self-reported; last updated 9/26/2024
info Candid has made improvements to the race and ethnicity options.

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
Hispanic/Latino/Latina/Latinx
Gender identity
Female, Not transgender
Sexual orientation
Heterosexual or Straight
Disability status
Person without a disability

Race & ethnicity

Gender identity

Transgender Identity

Sexual orientation

Disability

Equity strategies

Last updated: 06/07/2023

GuideStar 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

Data
  • We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
  • We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
Policies and processes
  • 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.
  • We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.