Education
Education for empowerment
Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty. Our partners' programs support quality learning and inspire a lifelong love of it.
Guatemala & Mexico · since 2004
Strengthening communities from within.
We partner with Maya-led grassroots organizations across Guatemala and Mexico — investing flexible funding and long-term support in education, health, and sustainable livelihoods.
A home & a garden where hope can flourish
Our name is a promise in three languages.
All of us — donors, partners, board, advisors, and volunteers — are an eclectic clan of idealists and visionary leaders who have banded together with our charm of hummingbirds. We believe everyone has the right to live an informed, healthy, and dignified life.
We don't parachute in with answers. We back the people already doing the work, with funding that flexes to their vision and a partnership that lasts for years.
Natik
Tz'utujil Maya · GuatemalaNatik
Tsotsil · Tseltal · Chol · ChiapasEsperanza
Spanish$0
Invested in grassroots organizations
0
Community-led partner initiatives
0
Countries · Guatemala & Mexico
0
Of long-term relationships since 2004
Mission-based strategies
How we help eliminate extreme poverty.
Every relationship is different because every organization is different. We meet partners where they are.
Livelihoods
Community sustainability
We empower visionary leaders to address the root causes of poverty — sustainability that goes far beyond relief.
Health
Health & family well-being
Partners share knowledge on nutrition, sanitation, and fundamental health needs — building healthier, happier communities.
Accompaniment
Grants for long-term impact
We imagine a world where even the most marginalized people have the tools to transform their communities from within.
How partnership grows
Support that evolves as our partners do.
Entry level
We offer fiscal sponsorship and seed grants to community-based initiatives as they become formal organizations — and we learn whether we're ready for the long haul together.
Full partnership
We provide general operating support, share communication and fundraising strategy, write grants on their behalf, facilitate staff training, and mentor their entrepreneurship.
Mature partners
We co-write grants, accompany strategic planning, and help them step into mentorship roles for the next generation of start-ups in the region.
Where we work
Lake Atitlán · Sololá
San Cristóbal region · Zinacantán
Rooted in two highland regions.
Lake Atitlán · SololáTz'utujil Maya territory
Santiago Atitlán
A Tz'utujil Maya community nestled in the folds of an ancient volcano on the shores of Lake Atitlán. The Maya inhabited this region for millennia before Spanish colonization.
The civil war between 1960 and 1996, and the landslides of Hurricane Stan in 2005, left deep psychological and economic scars. Today, families earn their living through artisan crafts, canoe construction, and coffee. Our partners here include Ruk'ux, Pueblo a Pueblo, ANADESA, and the Puerta Abierta Traveling Library.
San Cristóbal region · ZinacantánTsotsil Maya territory
Highlands of Chiapas
A land of natural beauty and diverse heritage, home to a large indigenous Maya population. Yet rural villages often lack basic infrastructure — schools, health care, potable water, and sanitation.
Facing limited economic opportunity, many indigenous people remain marginalized for lack of formal education and Spanish literacy, and many migrate. Our partners here include Mujeres Sembrando la Vida and the Yo'onik Community Learning Center.
A charm of changemakers
Six community-led partners.
When hummingbirds fly together it's called a charm. Flying together lets our partners pool resources, share templates, and amplify each other's impact.
🇬🇹 GuatemalaRuk'ux Scholarship
A long-term investment in academic and leadership training. Each year, ten exceptional students sharpen their skills and give back through tutoring and community service.
Explore partner →
🇬🇹 GuatemalaPueblo a Pueblo
Since 2001, improving education, health, and food security across twelve rural Tz'utujil and Kaqchikel Maya communities near Santiago Atitlán.
Explore partner →
🇬🇹 GuatemalaANADESA
Born the morning after Hurricane Stan, ANADESA offers academic mentoring and computer access to ~100 students, plus micro-enterprise and life-skills programs for women.
Explore partner →
🇬🇹 GuatemalaPuerta Abierta Library
A traveling library that shares books and models creative learning in rural schools — free sessions in functional math and reading comprehension, plus children's programming.
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🇲🇽 MexicoMujeres Sembrando la Vida
A Fairtrade-certified artisan cooperative of 70+ women across seven Tsotsil Maya villages near Zinacantán, with a workshop, finishing machines, and a growing client network.
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🇲🇽 MexicoYo'onik Learning Center
Started in 2011 when parents asked sisters Xunka and Yoli to help children with schoolwork in Tsotsil Maya. Today, scholarship students mentor younger learners in Zinacantán.
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Theory of change
Communities thrive when local leaders have what they need to act.
Grassroots organizations already hold the vision and the ideas that work locally. What they often lack is operating funding and support. We close that gap — then get out of the way.
Inputs · Natik
Resources & trust
Flexible funding, non-financial support systems, and a network of relationships and alliances.
Outputs
Local solutions
Funding plus support for community-defined solutions, and sharper internal operations.
Outcomes
Stronger agents of change
More services in education, health, and livelihoods; knowledge shared; organizations that endure.
Long-term impact
Culturally rooted change
Lasting community access to quality, lifelong education, health, and sustainable livelihoods.
From our 2024 annual report
Impact is in the eye of the beholder — but we have the numbers, too.
Education
- 110children in afterschool programs with family workshops
- 75scholarship students supported
- 40youth in leadership programs
- 10teachers in educational workshops
Sustainable Livelihoods
- 80artisans supported in weaving & textile-design workshops
- 53women trained to launch small-business projects
- 10youth entrepreneurial projects launched
- 6beekeeping hives in production
Health & Well-Being
- 60ecological cookstoves installed or maintained
- 25children received ongoing medical services
- 16families in monthly pre- & postnatal wellness check-ins
The support we offered partners in 2024 — measured in hours of accompaniment.
1,560hours of economic development & donor-management support
1,380hours of communication support
650hours coaching strategy & program development
340hours of grant-writing support
Join the charm
Three ways to fly with us.
Donate
Flexible giving goes straight to the local leaders who know their communities best. 100% mission-driven.
Give today →
Volunteer
Lend your skills — communications, fundraising, design, translation — to a charm of organizations that punch far above their weight.
See opportunities →
Immerse
Travel with intention. Our cultural immersions connect you directly with partner communities in Guatemala and Mexico.
Explore immersions →Small but mighty. Stronger together.
Since 2004, we've channeled more than a million dollars to the people transforming their own communities from within. Your gift keeps the charm flying.
We'd love to hear from you
Start a conversation.
Send us a message
Questions about donations, immersions, volunteering, or partnership? Write to us.
The hummingbird dispatch
Stories from the field, partner news, and ways to help — a few times a year, never spam.
Transparency you can verify — see our full profile & financials on Candid / GuideStar. EIN 16-1650968.