2014 Annual Report

We connect our Peace Corps community to promote appreciation of and service to the people of the Dominican Republic 2014 Annual Report

Overview Friends of the Dominican Republic (FDR) is a non-profit corporation created to continue supporting Peace Corps’ work in the Dominican Republic. We summarize our work quite simply:

We are a “cyber-based” membership organization of former and current Dominican Republic Peace Corps volunteers, staff, and supporters. Our members:  Raise funds to support the work of current volunteers in the Dominican Republic,  Advance the Third Goal of Peace Corps by sharing our knowledge of the Dominican Republic with other Americans, and  Foster “connectedness” by growing our membership network to provide news and information about Peace Corps DR and encourage participation in and support for our work.

For 2014 we continued working on our 2012-14 strategic goals: Goal 1: Focus on Organizational Sustainability Goal 2: Strengthen Core Programs Goal 3: Increase Membership/Supporter Involvement

FDR’s Significant Accomplishments

 A total of 6 Community Challenge Fund projects were approved in 2014, benefitting 1,290 Dominicans in 245 households. Four of the projects improved community potable water systems - a major need in the DR. Robert Kulstad Memorial Funds matched CCF funds in each of these projects.

 The Dominican Committee voted to fund four Program Support Fund volunteer-led projects in 2014 for a total of $2,952. These projects included:

1. An eight-week Declaro Mis Derechos course held in Elías Piña on the Haitian- Dominican border;

2. A two-day national conference for more than 40 selected graduates of past Declaro Mis Derechos courses; and,

3. Two community library projects, one in Gurabito de Yaroa and one in Hato Viejo.

1  In March, FDR rebranded its electronic newsletter, Cyber News, with a new name - LA VOZ: The Newsletter of Friends of the Dominican Republic.

 In May of 2014 FDR members Kim Herman, Guy Baehr and John and Jean Epler met with new PC/DR Country Director Mary Latka in Santo Domingo. They discussed the Program Support Fund, the Community Challenge Fund, the La Voz newsletter, economic and community development, COSing volunteers and FDRs Mentoring program. Mary explained the “Focus In, Train Up” effort by PC-DR to re orient their volunteer programs to include Education, Community and Economic Development, Youth Development and Public Health. Some cross-sector programs may be continued by individual volunteers including HIV prevention, Brigada Verde, Declaro Mis Derechos and Youth initiatives (Chicas Brillantes/Chicos Supermen).

 In July, the Communications Committee revised an FDR document to be handed out to new PCVs in the DR and to Volunteers at their Close of Service forum that explains the programs and services of Friends of the Dominican Republic. The document, titled PCV! Friends of the Dominican Republic offers you help! was sent to Country Director, Mary Latka for distribution and use by PC staff.

 In October FDR President, Kim Herman, and Secretary, John Evans, attended the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Peace Corps Partnership Program (PCPP) in Washington, DC. FDR was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation in recognition of our outstanding contributions to the PCPP and FDRs donations to sustainable, grassroots projects that have benefitted hundreds of households in the DR.

2014 Committee Reports The FDR Community Challenge Fund In order to increase the impact of grants and keep up with inflation, the FDR Board approved an increase in the maximum grant from $3,000 to $4,000 in 2014.

2014 Projects Approved - A total of 6 Community Challenge Fund projects were approved in 2014, benefitting 1,290 Dominicans in 245 households. Four of the projects improved community potable water systems - a major need in the DR. Robert Kulstad Memorial Funds matched CCF funds in each of these projects. The following projects were approved meeting a mix of community needs:

 4 aqueduct/water supply/water purification projects serving 182 households  1 energy efficient/healthy cooking stove project for 48 households  1 community latrine project constructing a total of 15 latrines

2014 project approvals and funds awarded were below projections made in consultation with the new DR Peace Corps Director, who arrived in-country mid-way through the year. The receipt of fewer than the normal number of applications can, in large part, be attributed to changes in the

2 sector goals of the international Peace Corps Office and because most of the new Volunteers in 2014 did not begin to serve until the second half of the year. It generally takes new PCVs six months before they bring projects to the proposal stage for FDR. However, a major improvement during the year was the quality and organization of the new PC/DR grants management staff.

2014 Fundraising – A total of $$26,623 was raised in 2014 through individual donations, just below our projected goal of $28,000. However, 2014 donations essentially kept pace with donations over the past five years; this in spite of the fact that no 2014 donation was larger than $1,000. However, one $1,000 donation was matched by a $3,000 donation from the donor’s employee. A total of 136 donors contributed in 2014, down slightly from recent years. We continued to attract 24 new donors in 2014 that had not previously contributed.

A total of $671 was contributed through the Kulstad Matching Fund for water projects, with $2,414 remaining in the Fund at the end of the year.

The Joe Epler $10,000 Match Challenge was launched in December of 2014. It had an early positive effect on fund-raising. Intended to encourage new donors to contribute and on-going donors to increase their contributions, a total of 58 donors in 2014 met the criteria for the match, with many more expected in early 2015. A total of $6,580 qualified for the match.

One change in fund-raising strategies begun in 2014 was to use more social media outlets as a means of spreading the word and more technology to make donations. One measure of its success was seen by the 22 donors (16% of total donors) who used PayPal as a method of donating. The number of donations in previous years through PayPal has been in the single digits. Many of the 2014 PayPal donors were new donors and may have responded to the social media information, including the $10,000 Match Challenge. The amount of individual donations made through PayPal tended to be considerably below the average donation. We will assess the impacts of this approach in 2015.

Projections & Activities for 2015 – Our goal is to significantly increase project approvals in 2015 to a total of 13 project awards. The number of projects submitted and approved in early 2015 would seem to support that level. The achievement of this goal will be largely dependent on the number of proposals we receive from PCVs. We will be meeting with PC-DR staff and the DR Peace Corps Director in June, at which time we will make a final projection of our goals for awarding funds in 2015.

Given the level of donations received in December 2014 and the beginning of 2015, we have set a fund-raising goal of at least $30,000 in 2015. In part to prevent interfering with the expected fund-raising effort for the Program Support Fund, we do not plan any major new fund- raising efforts or activities. We will however, be updating the website and continuing social media communications. We anticipate that the Joe Epler Match Challenge 2015 will generate some additional donations. Our capitalized sustaining fund will be used to fill the gap between funds raised in 2015 and the funding needs of new projects we will approve.

Historical Perspective – Since the first project was approved in 2004, 77 projects have been awarded a total of $156,680. The following projects were approved through the end of 2014:  28 Community Drinking Water/Aqueduct/Purification projects, including 4 schools  27 Latrine projects, including latrines for 396 households and 3 schools  8 Sanitary Cement Floor projects for 154 families

3  4 energy efficient/healthy cooking stove projects for 190 households  4 School Expansions  3 Library/Youth Education Facilities  1 Community Health Clinic  1 Community Electrification project  1 Community Water Catchment System

A total of 20,200 persons in 4,692 households have benefitted from assistance to date. The Challenge Fund has leveraged more than $650,000 in other funds.

FDR Program Support Fund and Dominican Committee The Dominican Committee voted to fund five Volunteer-led projects in 2014 for a total of $3,452, although the actual amount provided was lowered to $2,952 because one of the projects, an eight-week Declaro Mis Derechos documentation course in Consuelo, found non-FDR donations to replace the $500 originally pledged from the PSF. The four projects actually funded were:

 An eight-week Declaro Mis Derechos course held in Elías Piña on the Haitian- Dominican border. The course ended on October 7 with the graduation of six community promoters and four other participants. The course was designed to train local community leaders to help other members of their communities to meet the requirements of the Dominican government’s new stricter immigration laws, especially concerning Haitian and Haitian-descended people living in the DR. The course was one of more than a dozen such courses organized by PCVs in Haitian communities around the country over the last three years under a Volunteer-initiated program called Declaro Mis Derechos. PC/DR staff, from Country Director Mary Latka down, were very cooperative in pushing the project application through the funding requirements in less than six weeks and setting a valuable precedent for future projects. The PSF contribution totaled $447.

 A two-day national conference for more than 40 selected graduates of past Declaro Mis Derechos courses. The conference, held in Santo Domingo in February 2015, was designed to update participants on recent changes in the government’s programs for “regularizing” the immigration or citizenship status of foreigners or Dominican-born descendants of foreigners, the vast majority of whom are of Haitian descent. It provided an opportunity for local community leaders to network with one another and national figures in the Haitian documentation and human rights effort. This will encourage effective grassroots support to the ongoing human rights struggle in the country. The main organizers for the conference were PCVs in the Declaro Mis Derechos initiative. FDR was the main funder for the conference, with a contribution of $1,500. This consisted of $450 from the PSF and $1,050 from the ad hoc Documentation Fund created at the 50th anniversary event held in 2012.

4  Two community library projects, one in Gurabito de Yaroa and one in Hato Viejo. In both cases, the Dominican Committee and PSF are cooperating with FDR’s other main project funder, the Community Challenge Fund (CCF). In this case, CCF has contributed funds to build needed shelves and other improvements and the PSF is contributing funds for the books and other materials that will go on the shelves. For the Hato Viejo library, PSF is donating $355 and the CCF is donating $238. For the Gurabito de Yaroa library, PSF is donating $650 and CCF is donating $268.

Fund Raising: The total amount of funds available in the Program Support Fund (PSF) as of February 2015 is $5,885. This amount represents a significant increase over the $2,845 available at the start of the year. The higher balance is due to two factors: First, a decision was made to liquidate the remaining funds in the separate fund for Haitian documentation to help fund the national Declaro Mis Derechos conference. Second, during 2014, the Program Support Fund attracted donations of $4,912, a significant increase over contributions in previous years. One 2014 goal of the PSF will be to support projects originated by PCVs in such areas as youth development, environment, health and community development that do not fit the guidelines of the Community Challenge Fund. The CCF guidelines limit most funding to “hard” costs, such as cement, sand, blocks, tin roofing, pipes and other building materials, with community members providing the labor. Typically, it does not pay for “soft” costs such as training, conferences, education, marketing and the like, for which the committee sees a growing demand. The Dominican Committee will work closely with Peace Corps staff and volunteers to identify worthwhile initiatives in these areas. Outreach to Volunteers and Staff: Members of the Dominican Committee represented FDR at two of the three “Corps Forum” meetings of PCV Sector Leaders held each year at the Peace Corps office in Santo Domingo. The purpose was to get the word out to PCVs concerning the recent expansion of the Program Support Fund’s guidelines and FDR in general, including the CCF, as well as FDR membership and our Mentoring programs. Our attendance did stimulate more interest in the PSF and also provided an opportunity to develop closer relationships with Peace Corps staff, including the new country director. University Scholarships: The Dominican Committee hosted FDR President Kim Herman and CCF organizers John and Jean Epler at the committee’s May 27 meeting in Santo Domingo. During the meeting we heard a presentation by a PCV who was overseeing a Volunteer-initiated proposal to create an ongoing Peace Corps program to provide full university scholarships for Dominican youth who have participated as volunteer leaders in one or more of the youth development programs organized by PCVs. These programs include Chicas Brillante, Chicos Superman, Deportes Para La Vida and Brigada Verde.

5 Work on the initiative was put on the back burner due to other Peace Corps staff priorities, but Country Director Mary Latka said in December that she wants to put it back on the front burner in 2015. The Dominican Committee has been considering how FDR might contribute towards developing this scholarship program since late 2013 when PCVs who had joined the committee, including Victoria Harbison, suggested that we do so. Any effort by FDR to support such a program would almost certainly be done in cooperation with Fondo Q, which has a long history of funding and administering work and skills training scholarships for Dominicans recommended by PCVs. A university scholarship program would represent a new and significant financial commitment for either organization. In June, the board of directors created an ad hoc subcommittee to consider the university scholarship proposal. Guy Baehr, chair of the Dominican Committee, was chosen to chair the subcommittee and members include Mark Feedman, Laura Sunquist, and John Evans. John and Laura are also on the Fondo Q board. Brigada Verde: Also at the June board meeting, an ad hoc subcommittee was created to consider how FDR could help put the Brigada Verde program on a sustainable track following the PC/DR’s phase- out of its environmental sector and the loss of HIV/AIDS education funding that had previously been used to fund Brigada Verde conferences. Committee members include board members Jim Shrefler and Mark Feedman. The Dominican Committee identified more than a dozen current Volunteers in other sectors, such as health, youth and economic development, who are interested in forming or working with existing Brigada Verde groups. Country Director Mary Latka, who originally identified Brigada Verde as being in peril, said she would welcome FDR financial support to help fund conferences and other activities to keep Brigada Verde active. PC/DR is doing a survey to determine how many Brigada Verde groups are still active (one estimate is at least 30) and how to help sustain them with current Volunteers. Organic Farming School in Rio Limpio: After being alerted in November, the Dominican Committee investigated the Dominican Ministry of Education’s withdrawal of financial support for the organic farming high school in Rio Limpio, a rural community near the Haitian-Dominican border. The school has a 30-year history of Peace Corps involvement, with PCVs, including Board Member Mark Feedman, playing key roles in the development of its curriculum, as well as serving as teachers there. The committee sought to involve Peace Corps officials in the effort to restore funding for the school. However, Country Director Mary Latka was told by Peace Corps officials in Washington that Peace Corps is not currently involved with the school and should remain neutral. The Dominican Committee did learn that influential local and provincial officials from the area have been working on the issue, which is described as complicated by politics and personalities. It has been the subject of news reports, including in Listín Diario. The Committee continues to follow the situation and has offered its potential support to those involved in the effort to save the school. Treasurer’s Report

6 In the simplest terms, the Treasurer’s primary job is to handle corporate finances, to process and account for all monies received and to account for all monies disbursed. Three quarterly Operating Statements plus a year-end Operating Statement were prepared and submitted to the Board in 2014. Similarly, Balance Statements for the same periods were prepared to better reflect the organization’s overall financial condition. All reports are posted on FDR’s internal Yahoo Group Website. Form 990, the annual reports to the IRS for non-profits, are posted on our public website. In 2014, for the first time, FDR obtained accounting software specifically designed for small, non-profit organizations. The Treasurer learned the new accounting system and ran it in parallel with traditional, manual bookkeeping to judge its effectiveness and ease of use. The automated system will be used exclusively starting in 2015. In summary, on a cash accounting basis, the organization started the year with $39,595.60 Cash on Hand. We received $40,018.25 in new revenue. In turn, the organization disbursed $46,798.05 which included $20,000 invested for future programmatic use. Excluding the investment, $19,467.09 (77.6%) was spent on programmatic activities; $2,940.19 (11.7%) on administrative expenses; and $2,665.77 (10.6%) on fund-raising. In addition, $1,725 was received for, and transferred to, sister organizations. In addition, the Treasurer maintained a separate spreadsheet for donations to, and disbursements made on behalf of our major program, the Community Challenge Fund (CCF), and liaised frequently with the CCF Program Manager and the Peace Corps Partnership specialist at Peace Corps headquarters. In addition to the principal financial responsibilities, the Treasurer completed the following actions in 2014.

 Annual re-affiliation package for NPCA  Annual filing of Form 990 and supporting schedules to the IRS  Annual report to the Virginia Corporation Commission on status of the organization  Confirmed 41donations to our smaller program funds for tax deduction purposes  Updated expiration dates of individual memberships in corporate web database  Updated address changes received from USPS in corporate web database  Liaised with Fondo Quisqueya, attending their quarterly Board meetings in DC area  Participation in monthly FDR Board conference calls as well as frequent calls and emails to/from Executive Committee  Joined the President in representing FDR at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Peace Corps Partnership Program in DC where FDR was honored as one of the most active supporters of the program.

Membership Committee Report: Membership Director Annual Report 2014-Janice F. Jorgensen April 8, 2015

Years 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Grand total 2472 2618 3639 3935 4271 PCVs and RPCVs 2374 3513 3810 4006 Not A DR PCV 98 105 126 125 125

7 Deceased 80 86 119 128 148 PCVs or RPCVs 3743 Unsubscribed (all PCVS) (Probably 77 77 89 83 more as people can unsubscribe from Constant Contact directly.) Bad Email (all PCVS) 194 161 126 156 No snail mail (all PCVS) 982 800 No email (all PCVS) 362 330 982 835 765 Bad Address (all PCVS) 326 119 No years of service (all PCVS) 80 83 66 FDR Facebook members 292 585 656 FDR LinkedIn members 70 279 314 Number of Names of 68 Trainees/Current PCVs with names only-no email. Unable to obtain info about them.

 All registrants are approved and verified that they are a PCV or friend of a specific PCV before they are authorized.  “Bounces” from our Constant Contact Cyber News website are reviewed and the database updated.  Timely reviews of the “event viewer” on the website database are made to determine who tried to log in but for some reason could not. They are sent a password reminder if they are legitimate.  Since updated DNN 3 to 5 registrants a day from around the world.

Things to do/consider:  Getting board members to follow-through with all DR PCVs they communicate with to ensure they are in the database with correct info. If not vigilant potential donors will be reduced.  Need a message to the new and current PCVs that is different than older PCVs. We need to develop a communication plan for “decades” of PCVs; Separate emails with individual messages.  Need to market to new PCVs in the DR handbook the value of FDR.

Communications Committee/La Voz Report

The January issue of Cyber News had stories about the election of FDR Board members, the water project for La Hondonada and La Javilla (Sanchez Ramirez), the PSF support for the Brigada Verde conference in Jarabacoa, Haitian Documentation and senior volunteers, the Cowgills, on the Haitian border. In April we produced the first issue of La Voz, the Newsletter of Friends of the Dominican Republic. The issue included the President’s corner, an article about the CCF water project in Las Dos Palmas and Las Tres Bocas, the National Peace Corps Association’s Next Step Travel program trip to the DR, a story about a six-part Legal Promotor Training program in Elías Piña to train 26 Dominicans to deal with documentation and human rights issues written by PCV Sarah Chaplin and a story about NPCA’s 2014 Day of Action in Washington, DC.

8 The June issue of La Voz included information about a visit to the DR by President Kim Herman, John and Jean Epler and their meeting, along with board member Guy Baehr, with the new PC-DR Country Director, Mary Latka and other staff members, the Chicas Brillantes program and their conference in San Cristobal, CCF’s Latrine project for 33 families in Peralta de Azua and three DR-RPCVs selected as Fulbright Scholars – Trenia Childers, Mica Jenkins and Ryan Stock,

La Voz in August included information about PSF support of the Declaro Mis Derechos program, an article by new PC-DR Country Director, Mary Latka, a CCF grant to install smokeless stoves for families in Tres Ceibos and Higuerito and a story about the purpose of the CCF and PSF grant programs of FDR.

La Voz in November included information about FDR being recognized by Peace Corps Headquarters for our participation in the Peace Corps Partnership Program, a call for nominations for the FDR board elections, several volunteer projects in the DR seeking funding through the Peace Corps Partnership Program and an article by former PC-DR Country Director, Art Flanagan.

Invitee Match and Mentoring Program The Invitee Match and Mentoring Program received five requests for assistance from volunteers completing their service (COSing) during 2014 and one request for assistance from an invitee to training for the Dominican Republic. Coordinator Linda Goetz provided most of the assistance to these former and future volunteers by contacting them after their request was received. Ann Tatarsky also participated as a coordinator for several months and LeeAnn Wolf, a member of FDR’s board, provided assistance to one COSing volunteer.

Linda and Kim Herman, the current FDR president, coordinated with the NPCA staff to respond to several of the requests for assistance. Kim and Linda also discussed some of the challenges that are presented in the Invitee Match and Mentoring Program including:  Finding RPCVs to mentor returning volunteers  Finding current volunteers or PC/DR staff willing to contact Invitees to the DR  Helping returning volunteers make contact with RPCVs during job searches  Finding resources for returning volunteers in specific fields of employment and geographic regions where they want to live and work

Following a discussion about these problems, it seems clear that FDR should work with our members and NPCA to develop additional resources to help returning volunteers. In addition, we need to increase the number of RPCVs from the DR who are willing to act as mentors for returning volunteers. Finally, FDR needs to clarify with PC/DR how better assistance can be provided to Invitees who request information about serving as a volunteer in the DR.

While recognizing the need to address these challenges, the Invitee Match and Mentoring program has provided important and useful information, assistance and mentors to returning volunteers over the years and every effort should be made to improve the program and find more mentors in 2015.

History Committee Report

9 In 2014, members of the History Committee began conversations with American University (AU) about possibly using their Peace Corps Collection as a repository for documents and material collected by the FDR History Committee. Committee member Neil Ross met in person with the AU archivist during a trip to D.C. and committee President, Kim Herman, corresponded with the archivist regarding the AU guidelines for donations by RPCVs. The committee continued to collect materials for the History Project and was able to significantly add to the FDR collection of Gringo Gritas during the year.

At the April 13, 2014 Board meeting, the board approved two revised documents prepared and approved by the History Committee. The first was the History Committee Structure and Responsibilities, which contain a purpose statement, a summary of the committee’s role, principal contacts, the committee structure and the committee’s responsibilities. The second document was the committee’s Proposed Plan of Action for 2014 and 2015, which included 9 goals to be accomplished during the two years.

During the balance of the year the committee continued to download and collect significant information concerning the history of PC in the DR to be added to FDRs collection of historical materials. 2014 FDR Board members President: Kim Herman; Vice President: John Epler; Treasurer: John Evans; Acting Secretary: John Epler; Board Members: Kathryn Hanowell, Janice Jorgensen, Guy Baehr, Mark Feedman, Steve Johnson, Lauren Abreu, James. W. Shrefler, LeeAnn Wolf, Robert Davis; Sarah Henry.