Give
We're not asking for money yet.
Love La Vida Foundation is being established. Until the entity exists and we can account for every dollar properly, we would rather tell you that plainly than take your gift and work out the details afterward.
Why not
A foundation that asks for your trust should start by earning it
We are in the process of forming a non-profit corporation and applying for tax-exempt status. Until that is done, we have no organizational bank account, no determination letter, and no way to give you a receipt that means anything.
Plenty of new organizations take money during this period anyway. We would rather not. The first thing we will ever ask you to believe is that we handle money carefully — and this is the cheapest possible opportunity to demonstrate it, because we have nothing yet to lose.
What happens next
Weeks, not months. Once the corporation is formed and the bank account is open, we will be able to accept gifts. We will say so here, and we will tell everyone on the list below first.
On deductibility. If our exemption application is approved, contributions are generally deductible back to the date the organization was formed. While the application is pending there is no advance assurance of that, and if exemption were denied, gifts would not be deductible. We will state that plainly at the moment we begin accepting donations, and we will never imply otherwise.
Founding Circle
Tell us you're in, and we'll come back to you
The Founding Circle is the group who decided to back this before there was anything to look at. No money changes hands today. We will write to you when we can receive it, and you can decide then.
Thank you — we'll be in touch before we ask anyone for anything.
We write rarely, and only about the work. Your address is never shared or sold.
Where it goes
The first year, in full
This is the entire year-one budget at our target scale. We are publishing it before we have raised anything, because a donor should be able to see the plan rather than a pie chart of categories.
| What | Share | Year one |
|---|---|---|
| English program — teacher, materials, devices, exam fees | 20% | $50,000 |
| Two mentors — stipends, training, clinical supervision | 16% | $40,000 |
| Local coordinator — half-time, runs delivery on the ground | 18% | $45,000 |
| Something each young person chooses — coaching, equipment, fees | 9% | $22,500 |
| Measurement — instrument, clinician review, administration | 10% | $25,000 |
| Governance — legal, insurance, compliance, audit | 12% | $30,000 |
| Site visits and travel | 7% | $17,500 |
| Operating reserve | 8% | $20,000 |
| Total | 100% | $250,000 |
Indicative. Local costs are being verified against actual quotes and these figures will change. We will publish the real ones.
A word about that governance line. There is enormous pressure on small foundations to drive administrative cost toward zero, and it is how they fail. Twelve percent is what keeps the tax exemption intact, the insurance current, the safeguarding policy enforced and the books audited. We are not going to apologize for it, and we would be wary of anyone who did.
What a gift buys
In the plainest terms we can manage
A year of English for one young person.
Group classes, materials and the exam fee for an internationally recognized certificate.
A year of one thing they chose.
Coaching, equipment and fees in a pursuit the young person picked themselves — not one we picked for them.
A mentor, for a year.
Trained, paid, supervised, and committed for three years to the same six to eight young people.
These are honest averages, not sponsorships. Gifts go to the program, not to a named child — because publishing a child's name beside a price is the opposite of how we intend to treat them.
What we will tell you
Including the parts that don't work
Once a year we will publish what we measured: how many scheduled mentor visits actually happened, how far each young person moved in English, where the young people who left care are living and whether they are working or studying.
We will report the numbers that went the wrong way with the same prominence as the ones that went the right way. If that is not the kind of organization you want to fund, we would genuinely rather you knew now.