ABOUT US
Natik is a home and a garden where hope can flourish.
Natik means ‘we plant’ in Tz’utujil Maya in Guatemala, and it means ‘our home’ in Tsotsil, Tseltal, and Chol, three of the many Mayan languages spoken in Chiapas, Mexico. Esperanza means ‘hope’ in Spanish.
All of us, including our donors, partners, board, advisors, and volunteers are part of an eclectic clan of idealists, visionaries, and leaders who have banded together with our charm of hummingbirds.
Natik’s mission focuses on Education, Health, and Sustainable Livelihoods because we believe everyone has a right to live informed, healthy, dignified lives. Our partners are eager to expand on their basic organizational skills so they can continue developing their own culturally sustainable strategies and structures.
Natik supports community-led efforts in different ways:
Entry level: We offer fiscal sponsorship and Seed grants to community-based initiatives as they transition into formal organizations. This process allows us to determine if we are ready to commit to a long-term relationship.
Full Partnership: We provide partners at an intermediate phase of organizational development general operating support, share communication, and fundraising strategies, write grants and fundraise on their behalf, facilitate staff training, and engage in entrepreneurial mentoring.
Mature Partners: We collaborate on grant applications and transition them into mentorship roles for start-ups.
Natik’s legal structure is a granting organization:
We identify partners and provide grants for mutually agreed-upon activities and programs, and engage with them based on their goals and needs.
Keeping children in school and establishing local sustainable livelihoods are the most effective strategies for communities to confront poverty and exclusion, especially for women and youth.
We include health in our mission because good health maximizes the potential for educational opportunities, diminishes the cost of remedial healthcare, and contributes to being able to earn a dignified living.
The macro-level causes of educational and economic disparity are systemic.
Strategic support and intervention are needed to break the generational cycles that contribute to poverty and illiteracy. Natik partners with organizations that are conceived and operated by members of the local community.
Often, the visionary leaders of these organizations are the first in their families and communities to complete an education beyond primary school. Natik accompanies these community leaders as they establish infrastructures that both challenge and honor the local culture in ways that make sense to them.