Help Peru Inc.

Help Peru, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charity based in New York that supports charity organizations that help to build a better future for Peru's most vulnerable populations. We do this by working in partnership with local leaders and community organizations to develop, grow, and support sustainable programs that advance our mission.

Our vision is to provide "Access to opportunities for all Peruvians, so they can realize their full

Goal One: Increase the impact of our existing programs to cover a larger portion of population

Goal Two: Increase emphasis on health programs to close the health disparity gap further highlighted by the pandemic

Goal Three: Expand our micro entrepreneurship efforts to help families diversify their sources of income in response to the changes in the economy caused by the pandemic

The first major investment in leadership by Help Peru was to hire its first employee, the Executive Director, after running the organization exclusively through volunteers during 6 years. The ED was hired 4 months before the beginning on the pandemic. The financial instability, the fundraising difficulties, and the focus on funding Covid-relief initiatives in Peru have prevented Help Peru from further investing in leadership development. It is something we hope to resume once there is some financial stability.

Since Help Peru was funded, in 2013, we raised funds mainly through events. Due to the pandemic we haven't been able to hold events at all in 2020 or 2021. During 2020 we were able to maintain the funding to our annual programs, since we usually provide the funds for all our projects in the 1st quarter of the year. When we realized we wouldn't be able to hold our 2020 annual gala, we turned to online fundraising through 2 campaigns, in March and then in June-July 2020. While we had never had online campaigns before, we were able to mobilize loyal and new donors and had the best fundraising results to date. Nonetheless, given the tremendous impact of Covid-19 and the 3.5 months lockdown in Peru, we doubled our donations in 2020 to alleviate the crisis. In terms of programming, our environmental projects were on pause during most of 2020 due to the lockdown in Peru and other movement restrictions. The education projects went entirely remote (and continue to be remote 1.5 years later, since schools have not reopened in Peru). This has tremendous value for our beneficiaries (low-income) who are attending high-quality schools and preschools that were able to implement remote learning, while public schools do not have that capacity and the other kids have been following classes on TV or the radio. Our women empowerment and entrepreneurship programs have continued with a modified scope, adapting to the pandemic needs and learning challenges. In 2020 and 2021 we continued to provide ALL of our services to Peruvians (albeit modified, as explained above). This is the moment in the history of our organization when our work is most needed. Additionally, we provided other Covid-relief services by lending oxygen concentrators to Covid patients, supplying Personal Protective Equipment to healthcare personnel and communities, medical supplies, Covid-prevention education in native indigenous languages, food baskets, etc.