Vista Hermosa Foundation

Nurturing the roots of holistic wellbeing

 

Rather than focus on project-based outputs or services, we seek to invest in the holistic wellbeing of people living in vulnerable communities around the world.

Through our grantmaking, we prioritize community-led initiatives that seek to heal people’s connections to God, self, others, and creation. As communities embrace new mindsets about their own identity and purpose, and learn to steward resources in more innovative ways, new paths unfold.

 

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We believe if you heal the spirit of a people, they will lead themselves

We believe that it is not simply lack of access to such things as education, healthcare and job creation that keeps communities from flourishing, but a much deeper brokenness of spirit evidenced by lack of voice, purpose, meaningful relationships, agency and connection. (See Theory of Change)

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Choosing our Grant Partners

 

When exploring new partnerships, we use the following criteria in our evaluation process.

We focus on 4 geographic areas – Mexico, Haiti, Northern India, and East Africa – prioritizing community-based organizations in specific regions of each country that can be connected and learn from each other.

Our support goes beyond funding. We seek to be mutual partners, creating opportunities for networking and collaboration across regions.

We seek partners who share our values and approach to living and working in community.

We are place-based, prioritizing rural communities; we are faith-inspired, responding to God's call to service and justice; and we are healing-centered, prioritizing grassroots initiatives that promote healing and reconcilation.

If your organization meets all of our partner requirements and would be interested in future funding, please fill out our inquiry form.

Ramu and Gauda (pictured) are beneficiaries of the Bettiah Diocese Social Service Society, a CRS partner. While their children have migrated for work, they are active in the society's events and determined that their grandchildren complete their education. The project has also helped them with immunizations to keep their goats healthy and able to supplement their income. The projects aims to prevent labor trafficking in villages throughout Bihar state in India. Due to limited income options and poor quality of education, migration is a common practice, particularly for boys ages 8-14. These boys often travel to locations hundreds of kilometers away to work in brick kilns, construction, textile factories and other industries.

Our Global Partners

Our current grantees work in one or more of the following areas of community development.

Safe, Healthy Families:

Nurturing child protection, women’s and girl’s wellbeing, and violence prevention.

Mindful Leadership:

Building inclusivity, communities of healing and reconciliation, and care for the common good.

Sustainable Livelihoods:

Promoting indigenous knowledge, social entrepreneurship, and regenerative agriculture.

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Stories

Changing Mindsets and Livelihoods in India

Inderpaul is a cotton farmer in the Vidarbha region of India. Due to poor weather conditions, he fell into heavy debt with local creditors and could only afford enough to pay on the interest. In 2018, he attended a Men Care meeting with World Vision.  ...

Combatting Gender-Based Violence in Latin America

In 2018, VHF hosted our first international grant partner retreat in Mexico City. Forty people from 15 organizations attended. Following up on the interest of several of them to combat violence against women and girls, we hosted a second gathering in 2019. One of the ...

We For Others: Mindset Change in India

Welcoming ceremony in Bettiah When I (Joseph) joined Vista Hermosa Foundation as a Program Officer to steward relationships with partners in East Africa and India, I was excited about the possibility of visiting India. Recently I took my first flight to India with mixed expectations. ...

Children and Youth Leading the Way

By JMiracle | December 12, 2019

December 10 was celebrated as the UN’s Human Rights Day, commemorating the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.  The theme for 2019 is ‘Youth Standing Up for Human Rights’, celebrating the 30th anniversary

Ending Violence Against Women & Girls.

By JMiracle | November 25, 2019

November 25 is recognized as the UN’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Vista Hermosa Foundation has long supported our partners in several countries who are promoting this important work. According to the UN:

Hope is a Decision

By JMiracle | November 1, 2019

Jim Wallis of Sojourners community and magazine visited the Collegium last week and reflected with a group of about 30 community members. He took time out of a busy book tour to visit Vista Hermosa Foundation, the Center for Sharing, and Jubilee Foundation,

International Day of the Girl Child

By JMiracle | October 11, 2019

October 11 marks the International Day of the Girl Child, one of the days nearest and dearest to our hearts here at Vista Hermosa. Since the UN designated this day in 2012, it has aimed to highlight and address the unique needs and challenges that girls face

Scholars Impacting their Communities

By JMiracle | September 20, 2019

Soroptimist is an organization that focuses on giving women and girls the tools they need to achieve economic empowerment. Elizabeth Perez, pictured on the far left standing in the front row with black rimmed glasses, volunteered for Soroptimist at their Dream it, Be It Career

NELA Students: Voice & Choice

By JMiracle | August 30, 2019

It’s back to school week here!  Darilyn Hackett, principal of Nueva Esperanza Learning Academy (NELA), asked her teachers some important questions just before the first day of school: “What will you be doing this year to spark your students’ interest in learning?

Te Veo, Te Escucho, Te Honro

By JMiracle | August 23, 2019

At a recent gathering of six Vista Hermosa Foundation grantee partners near Mexico City, one of the participants from Amextra, a Baptist pastor, opened our time together with this simple exercise: ‘Te veo, Te escucho, Te honro.’ We all stood in a circle, and each person said

Celebrating World Holidays

By JMiracle | August 9, 2019

In honor of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (August 9) and International Youth Day (August 12), we are spotlighting two of our partners working on these important issues. Tierra Nativa provides accompaniment, legal and technical advice to indigenous pueblos 

Congratulations to FirstFruits Scholars!

By JMiracle | July 26, 2019

On July 18th the FirstFruits Scholars Program in partnership with FirstFruits Farms Community hosted new, renewing, and graduated scholars and their families for the annual Scholars Banquet. The community youth rallied together to help set up for the event and serve the guests

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING

By JMiracle | July 24, 2019

In American culture, how things appear is often taken as the truth. But reality goes deeper than appearance. Ralph and I went out on our deck that looks out over the orchard one night. When we looked down from our second story porch, we saw at the edge of our lawn a beautiful, fully loaded…