Grantees In Action

Grantees Increase Resiliency and Sustainability through Fiscal and Financial Strategies

  • January 01, 2020
A Montessori assisttant hands off educational materials to students.

FORWARD Puerto Rico Fund’s grantees have strengthened their resilience and sustainability through the implementation of fiscal and financial strategies such as:

  • At the beginning of the pandemic, Instituto Nueva Escuela used its emergency reserve (seeded by the Forward Fund) to pay for the salaries of its teacher assistants during the government -imposed lockdown. The salaries were supposed to be paid by the Puerto Rico Department of Education but due to the haste with which the lockdown was implemented, payment policies for contracted services such as these were not in place yet.
“Thanks to the emergency reserve we protected the right to an education that contributes to academic and social development, even during the pandemic. The emergency reserve allowed our Montessori assistants, most of whom belong to the communities that surround the schools, to prepare and hand off to students educational materials for our project Montessori at Home. In addition to ensuring that every student continued their education, the assistants collaborated in the distribution of food and the identification of needs for psychological services.” Ana María García Blanco, Founder & Executive Director, Instituto Nueva Escuela
 
  • Nuestra Escuela strengthened its organizational capacity by establishing contingency plans based on reliable budget projections, and best financial practices that safeguard and grow its emergency reserve, also seeded by the Forward Fund.

“Initiatives like the emergency reserve give us peace of mind and endow us with flexibility to respond in real time to emergencies, attuned to the needs of our beloved communities.” Ana Yris Guzmán, Executive President, Nuestra Escuela

  • Taller Salud increased its fiscal and operational capacity to advance its service agenda by diversifying its source of grants, attracting new investors, establishing new alliances, and creating an online giving platform.
Nuestra Escuela staff prepare food baskets for communities in need during the pandemic.
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