Esperanza is a Christian-based not-for-profit organization that is devoted to helping poverty-stricken people of the Dominican Republic through finance, education, health, and spiritual programs.
[2] Its primary services are centered around its microfinance program, which provides small loans to impoverished families and business owners, to progress economic development and pull communities out of poverty.
[2] The organization exclusively focuses on those in need in the Dominican Republic, more specifically, mothers, the materially poor, and socially marginalized citizens.
The community bank holds its members accountable through saving funds, financial training, and repaying their loans on a regular basis.
The churches sell the filtered water at low prices to their local communities, pay off the loans with the funds, and use the remaining profit for investments for their own ministries.
Teachers spend four to ten months instructing on good hygiene and healthy diets as well as math, reading, and writing skills.
[4] The organization partners with Dominican Republican pastors to provide spiritual guidance and emotional support to the local communities.
[5] Another charity evaluator, Philanthropedia, commended Esperanza for their strengths in leadership, technology, and partnerships among Dominican Republican, Haitian, and U.S. organizations.
The evaluator recommended that the organization focus on long-term profitability and fewer, more concentrated goals in order to maximize effectiveness for a longer period.