Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción, Inc.
Haz de tu proyecto de vida, un proyecto de país.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Puerto Rico lacks a culture of strong civic engagement and has a gap of leadership opportunities. This translates into: 24.34% youth between 16 and 25 are unemployed, 28.6% of young adults 25 to 34 years never completed a college degree, 52.4% of young adults between 18 and 24 years of age live below the poverty rate.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
PARACa
A summer program for university students and alumni recognized for their academic performance, leadership and sense of responsibility with Puerto Rico. The experience consists on an internship with different organizations lasting 8 weeks.
Events
Our main brands for our events are:
Café Conciencia- a series of round table conversations about important topics for our generation. We aim to lead the public discourse on these issues.
Creando Enlaces- A series of networking events where youth can meet professionals in their field of interest.
#EnAccion
A Civic Action Laboratory for our members and collaborators to design and implement solutions to social problems. Each group consists of a group of people interested in working in a specific subject in which they propose and implement their work plans to achieve the set goals. MPA provides mentorship and facilitates the creation of these working groups. Some current projects are #ElectionsLab2020, #EnvironmentalLab, #GbVLab and #LaborSceneLab.
Where we work
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of hours of training
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students
Related Program
PARACa
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Total accumulated contact hours for all participants. The program consists of nine 8-hour sessions and two or three field visits. The program did not take place in 2015.
Number of training workshops
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students
Related Program
PARACa
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
PARACa modules may have anywhere between 2-6 workshops, divided up in 9 days on a weekly basis. The topics cover professional development, socio-economic issues and environmental awareness.
Number of participants engaged in programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Students
Related Program
PARACa
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Participants on a yearly basis for our summer civic engagement and leadership development program.
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Events
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We hold events to further the public discourse on topics that are important for young citizens. Our main brands are "Caf Conciencia" and "Creando Enlaces", though we hold other forums during the year
Number of organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
At MPA, we are constantly growing alliances, be it internship centers or collaboration strategies for the operational growth of both organizations.
Number of volunteers
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 2022 after hurricane Fiona we mobilized 362 volunteers through 28 brigades in 8 municipalities, contributing 2,109 hours of work.
Total number of volunteer hours contributed to the organization
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
PARACa
Type of Metric
Input - describing resources we use
Direction of Success
Increasing
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?
Our goals are to increase the base of social agents through volunteering for social causes, as well as young college graduates who seek employment on social, environmental or economic jobs. We're also looking to build a network of social agents who help each other in their projects, and increase each other's value in the sector.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our programs create spaces for youth to develop as leaders and engage in social causes while they develop professionally. We do this through: College transition mentorship interactions, networking events, volunteer events at local communities, internship pairing, raising awareness curriculum and professional development workshops.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We count with office space, an average annual base of 20 volunteers, staff trained on Social Entrepreneurship, members with expertise in legal, accounting, administrative, communications and social issues, a network of over 40 allies.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
We have accomplished a 71% retention rate at summer internships, 100% college attendance for our high school students, over 2,000 volunteer hours in phase 1 of our hurricane relief efforts. For the next phase, we're looking to increase the opportunities to do volunteer work, and work with communities such that high school and college students can engage long term in community reconstruction after Hurricane María.
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 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
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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 take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
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.
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.
Mentes Puertorriqueñas en Acción, Inc.
Board of directorsas of 08/26/2024
Daniel Matos
Glenisse Pagan
Julio Prieto
René Vargas
Zaira Vallenilla
Daniel Matos
Brayan Rosa
Adriana Rivera
Ismael Vélez
Laura Alejandra Laura Alejandra Mattei
Natacha Solá
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? Yes
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
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 02/17/2023GuideStar 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 ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- 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.