American Nicaraguan Foundation
United In Action
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Great part of Nicaragua's population rely on unimproved sources of water and sanitation facilities. They have limited access to healthcare and nutritious food, resulting in more than 16% of the population being undernourished. The leading causes of death are heart disease, stroke, kidney diseases, diabetes and lower respiratory infections. It is considered than more than 78% of families are homeless or living in poor quality houses. Some have inadequate flooring, roof and walls, and are usually overcrowded. More than 43% of children are not enrolled in school for reasons related to economic problems, or the need to work outside/inside the household. People living in rural areas represent more than 40% of the population. Their average income is almost half the average income per person/year in urban areas. A vast majority of households have at least one unsatisfied basic need.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Education
Education is the most promising way out of poverty and should be readily available to every child. ANF’s education programs aim to improve school retention rates, increase school attendance, enhance educational quality, and reduce hunger by implementing school meal programs, training teachers, building
schools, and improving school-level infrastructure.
Health & Nutrition
Access to quality healthcare and nutrition is extremely limited in Nicaragua and the absence of these basic necessities are detrimental. Our health and nutrition programs strive to improve lives with an integrated approach on healthcare. Through an increased focus on prevention, ANF promotes healthy lifestyles,
builds awareness through school-level health education campaigns, delivers mobility assistance devices, and ensures quality nutrition for malnourished children.
Housing
Nearly one million people in Nicaragua lack adequate shelter. ANF believes that it is essential to provide the conditions where life and human dignity are enhanced, therefore housing is the focal point from which we help impoverished communities build new lives. Our housing program aims to reduce the housing deficit in the country by building dignified houses and in addition, building community-level infrastructure including clinics, schools, and community centers to provide families what they need to improve their livelihoods.
Agriculture
Agricultural progress is a potent force in reducing poverty in developing countries. ANF supports smallholder farmers by providing them with access to credit, quality inputs, and technical assistance, while promoting sustainable agroecological practices aimed at achieving food security, reducing vulnerability, improving incomes and livelihoods of rural families.
Water and Sanitation
ANF seeks to improve the living conditions of impoverished rural communities by giving them
access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities. Most water and sanitation
interventions complement ANF’s housing initiatives; together they change families’ hygiene behaviors
and strengthen the communities’ capacity to manage their new facilities once projects conclude.
Where we work
Accreditations
Great Place To Work 2019
External reviews

Photos
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of houses built
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Housing
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Since 1992, 23,564 new houses constructed with ANF’s support, benefiting more than 120,620 people
Number of solar panels installed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Installed solar panels in rural households.
Number of waterwells built
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Water and Sanitation
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Since 1992, 105,000 people benefited through ANF's water & sanitation initiatives
Number of sanitary solutions built
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Since 1992, ANF has supported the construction of 12, 425 sanitation facilities.
Number of patient consultations
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
In 2017, ANF distributed 73 medical containers through 120 health facilities, providing more than 225,407 patient consultations
Number of children reached with a meal each school day
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Education
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Implementing school meal programs for students to receive a daily nutritious meal
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn 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?
To improve the living conditions of impoverished rural communities by giving them access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities.
To improve the access to and quality of medical attention provided to people living in poverty across Nicaragua, and build dignified houses, build medical centers, community centers, and schools.
To create incentives for parents to send their children to school, and to obtain a higher percentage of children in primary and secondary school, as well as building new learning facilities, provide school supplies, and nutritious meals for school children.
To promote sustainable agricultural practices in an effort to help rural families in Nicaragua achieve food security and sustained economic growth, while contributing to the maintenance of ecosystems and strengthening capacities to adapt to local climate change.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Most water and sanitation interventions complement ANF's housing initiatives; together they change families' hygiene behaviors and strengthen the communities' capacity to manage their new facilities once projects conclude.
ANF distributes food, medicine, medical supplies, and equipment to a network of more than 130 health centers throughout the country. Additionally, ANF supports feeding and nutritional recovery programs and carries out health education campaigns for low income students and their families.
ANF has been working with international entities and the Government of Nicaragua to improve the living conditions of impoverished families through the construction of dignified, two-bedroom houses. In many rural communities where ANF builds homes, we often build medical centers, community centers, and schools. Moreover, ANF provides families with tools and training to improve their livelihoods.
ANF focuses its educational programs on reducing the indirect costs of education, thereby creating incentives for parents to send their children to school. This is accomplished through the distribution of in-kind donations (school supplies, books, classroom furniture) and the implementation of school feeding programs. Additionally, ANF supports the construction of classrooms, computer labs, and water and sanitation stations.
Through its Center for Agricultural Training, ANF also promotes agricultural research and new, low-cost technologies to improve small-scale farmer's agricultural knowledge and practices.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
ANF relies on a holistic community development model that integrates solutions in the areas of health & nutrition, housing, water & sanitation, agriculture and humanitarian aid.
ANF has a network of more than 1,000 local partners organizations throughout Nicaragua, including local governments, schools, clinics, religious institutions, NGOs, and civil society organizations.
With the support of this network, ANF reaches the poorest communities, having a significant impact on thousand of families.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Thanks to ANF's Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) program, to date we have built 117 water wells, connected 4,897 household water systems by installing tap stands in their yards/plots, built 9,525 sanitation facilities, benefiting 92,491 people.
We have helped improve the health of 2,530 malnourished children, and helped build 11 children feeding centers, as well as building/rehabilitating 13 medical clinics and also supported the construction of 19,936 houses, benefiting 99,680 people.
ANF has distributed 1,037 containers of school supplies, supported the construction and rehabilitation of 140 classrooms and schools, established 8 computer labs, and helped train over 1,500 teachers in new teaching methodologies.
We have established 28 greenhouses, benefiting 217 small-holder farmers, provided technical assistance in training bean and papaya farmers, and beekeepers. 1,925 families benefited with fruit and vegetable garden initiatives, and we have built 58 community centers.
However, there is still a lot to be done. Our mission is to reduce the impact of poverty in the lives of the most vulnerable population throughout the whole country.
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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How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
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With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
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
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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.
American Nicaraguan Foundation
Board of directorsas of 05/17/2022
Mr. Alfredo Pellas
Mr. Rafael Sánchez
F. Pellas
Rafael Sánchez
Nicolás Arguello
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
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Gender identity
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Sexual orientation
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Disability
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