Investing in hope: It’s giving season 2025

By Garry Vatcher

Some call it giving — I prefer to call it investing. “Giving” often suggests something you’ll never see again. But when you invest in reputable non-profit programs, you help create a future filled with hope and opportunity.

Your investment transforms lives. It lifts people out of vulnerable situations, opens doors to health and education, restores dignity, and strengthens entire communities. The return on that investment is powerful—changed lives, renewed hope, and a better future for all of us.

Making the Most of Your Year-End Giving
As we enter the giving season—with Giving Tuesday and Christmas approaching—many people are thinking about how best to direct their charitable support. With so many worthy causes, deciding where and how to invest can be challenging.

American donors are considering how to use Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) to maximize both donation impact and tax benefit.

Where to Give?
Ecuador has many charities doing important work—addressing poverty, education, environmental protection, animal welfare, and the protection of women. Many hold 501(c)(3) status, allowing U.S. donors to contribute with confidence and receive tax benefits.

The first step is choosing the cause that resonates with you.

Why Choose Hogar de Esperanza?
Fundación Hogar de Esperanza is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit with an office in Oregon, enabling us to accept:
✔️ DAF grants
✔️ QCD donations
✔️ Checks and other traditional forms of giving

Beyond supporting our own programs, we can also direct funds to other charities—even those not registered as 501(c)(3)—once due diligence is complete.

Hogar de Esperanza supports vulnerable families throughout the Cuenca and Azuay region, providing essential assistance such as medication, food, accommodation, clothing, and more. Each month, nearly 1,000 individuals receive critical support through our programs.

As we continue to grow, we are launching several transformative initiatives designed to create lasting change. One of the most exciting and far-reaching of these efforts is our Amazon Project — an initiative focused on prevention, education, and building sustainable opportunities in remote indigenous communities.

Why the Amazon?
Many ask why we work in such remote areas when there are needs in Cuenca and Azuay. The answer is simple: To address problems, you must go to the root. Prevention is key.

We have met with representatives from government, other NGO’s and indigenous groups to discuss:

• Skyrocketing HIV rates in Amazonian and Esmeraldian communities
• Rising levels of poverty
• Escalating drug abuse
• Crime and social breakdown
• Migration of families to the cities

These issues do not remain isolated. They become Cuenca’s issues when families flee poverty, violence, and instability—arriving with no opportunities, often ending up homeless, exploited, or trapped in cycles of crime.

Our requirement for entering any remote community is clear and non-negotiable. We must be allowed to educate young people about HIV and drug abuse. If we want healthy, safe communities, prevention is essential.

That is why we go to the Amazon.

Building a Center for Hope
Hogar de Esperanza is securing 40 hectares of land in the Amazon to establish:

• An education center
• A health center
• A distribution and processing center
• An experimental garden and research center
• An Ancestral Forest

This property will serve as a permanent home base for our Amazonian work.

Additionally, 20 communities will each dedicate 2 hectares within their own community for production—providing an additional 40 hectares. Their products will be processed and sold through a new cooperative, with profits reinvested into healthcare and education for those same communities.

We have already secured an agreement with a U.S. based foundation to provide a school of 380 children with 20 computers for an online learning center. More agreements will be announced soon.

A Unique Way to Invest: Buy a Tree
Two hectares of our land will be dedicated to an Ancestral Forest filled with native trees, plants, and a bird sanctuary.

This holiday season, for just $100, you can buy a tree to help establish the forest.
This tree will be yours—

• You’ll receive updates on its growth.
• Once the forest is organized, you’ll get a certificate showing the species and its ecological value.

Our goal is 2,000 trees.
Buy one for a friend, a loved one, or in memory of someone special—perfect for Christmas, birthdays, or any meaningful occasion.

Your Investment Matters
By supporting Hogar de Esperanza, you’re providing real help for real people with real needs.

You’re not just giving—you’re investing in hope, dignity, and opportunity for some of the most vulnerable communities in Ecuador.

To find out more about Hogar de Esperanza, you can visit our donation page at: https://hogaresperanza.org/en/donations/

To find out more about our Amazon Project, you can visit: https://hogaresperanza.org/en/amazon-project/

If you would like more information on DAFs and QCDs, you can reach out to us at info@hogaresperanza.org

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Garry Vatcher is president and founder of Foundation Hogar de Esperanza. He has been coming to Ecuador since 1987 and permanently moved to Cuenca 12 years ago. The foundation provides emergency assistance to thousands of people each year. With his guidance, the foundation has forged alliances with some of Ecuador’s major institutions including hospitals, the National Police, Amazon communities, universities, and governments. The foundation has received numerous awards and recognition for its work from local and international bodies. For information about all Foundation Hogar de Esperanza projects, go to https://hogaresperanza.org