Pulsera Project

CREATE A MORE JUST COLORFUL WORLD VIA EDUCATION/EMPOWERMENT OF CENTRAL AMERICANS/U.S. STUDENTS.

THE PULSERA PROJECT'S NON-PROFIT SOCIAL ENTERPRISE MODEL IS UNIQUE BECAUSE IT ENRICHES LIVES BOTH IN THE U.S. AND ABROAD BY WEAVING PULSERA SALES INTO AN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. WE SELL PULSERAS TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CENTRAL AMERICANS, BUT WE DO SO WHILE EDUCATING THOUSANDS OF U.S. STUDENTS ABOUT FAIR TRADE, CENTRAL AMERICAN CULTURE, AND A RANGE OF SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUES. WE ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO OPEN THEIR HEARTS TO CARE ABOUT OTHERS, BUT WE ALSO ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO OPEN THEIR MINDS TO THE AMAZING DIVERSITY OF IDEAS AND PERSPECTIVES IN OUR WORLD. THIS WIN-WIN MODEL IS THE MAGIC OF THE PULSERA PROJECT. SEE SCHEDULE O.AS WE WORKED TO NAVIGATE THE DRAMATIC REPERCUSSIONS OF COVID-19 ON BOTH THE CENTRAL AMERICAN AND U.S. SIDES OF THE PULSERA PROJECT, WE DID EVERYTHING WE COULD TO ENSURE THE SURVIVAL OF THE THREE INTERWOVEN PARTS OF THE PROJECT:1) EMPLOYING NICARAGUAN AND GUATEMALAN PULSERA ARTISANS2) EDUCATING U.S. STUDENTS THROUGH THE SALE OF PULSERAS3) INVESTING PULSERA SALE PROCEEDS IN CENTRAL AMERICAN COMMUNITIESCOVID-19 AND THE PULSERA PROJECT IN THE U.S.A.: THOUGH 2021 CERTAINLY HAD ITS UPS AND DOWNS WITH NEW VARIANTS OF COVID, WE DID OUR BEST TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH TEACHERS AND STUDENTS TO KEEP THE PROJECT'S MISSION ALIVE. AS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WHOSE FUNDS ARE RAISED ALMOST EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH SCHOOLS, THE EFFECTS CONTINUED TO BE HARD-HITTING FOR US AS THOUSANDS OF SCHOOLS MOVED FORWARD WITH A HYBRID REMOTE-LEARNING MODEL, OR OFTEN WERE NOT IN A POSITION TO FIT A PULSERA SALE INTO AN ALREADY CHAOTIC SCHOOL YEAR. UNFORTUNATELY, 2021 MARKED ANOTHER SUBSTANTIAL DOWNTURN FOR US IN SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS AFTER ALMOST TEN YEARS OF CONSISTENT YEAR-TO-YEAR GROWTH PRE-COVID. ON AVERAGE IN THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS OF 2021, FUNDS RAISED WERE DOWN 77% COMPARED TO OUR LAST NORMAL YEAR IN 2019. WE WERE HAPPY TO START SEEING A SUBSTANTIAL REBOUND OF SCHOOLS IN THE FALL SEMESTER, WORKING WITH 267 SCHOOL COMMUNITIES, WHICH WAS OUR MOST ACTIVE SEMESTER SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. THE INCREDIBLE SUPPORT OF SO MANY SCHOOLS GAVE US THE CHANCE TO START PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE AGAIN, HIRING NEW ARTISANS, AND BEGINNING TO COLLABORATE WITH CENTRAL AMERICAN SOCIAL IMPACT ORGANIZATIONS AGAIN. IN THE U.S. WE CONTINUED TO TAKE STEPS TO KEEP THE PROJECT AFLOAT FINANCIALLY, OPERATING ON A LIMITED BUDGET FOR MOST OF 2021 TO PRESERVE OUR CAPACITY TO HIRE ARTISANS AND ADVANCE THE PROJECT'S MISSION ONCE THE WORST OF THE PANDEMIC SUBSIDED. THIS INCLUDED SALARY CUTS AND TEMPORARILY FURLOUGHING STAFF, BUT THANKS TO THESE SACRIFICES, THE PROJECT IS IN A GREAT POSITION TO JUMPSTART OUR ARTISAN EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM AGAIN. IN 2022, WE PLAN TO PURCHASE 142,000 PULSERAS, PROVIDING FAIR TRADE EMPLOYMENT FOR DOZENS OF ARTISANS IN NICARAGUA & GUATEMALA. WE WERE ALSO FORTUNATE TO BENEFIT FROM THE U.S. GOVERNMENT'S PAYCHECK PROTECTION PLAN, RECEIVING A LOAN IN 2021 TO COVER STAFF SALARIES FOR TWO AND A HALF MONTHS. WE ADDITIONALLY CONTINUED TO BENEFIT FROM THE "ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER RELIEF LOAN" FROM 2020 THAT HELPED SUBSIDIZE PROJECT OPERATIONS THROUGHOUT 2021. SCHOOL COLLABORATIONS & EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM: OUR MISSION WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE IF NOT FOR THE VOLUNTEER EFFORTS OF THOUSANDS OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ACROSS THE U.S., WHO NOT ONLY CREATE MEANINGFUL EMPLOYMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA, BUT ALSO LEARN ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE, SOLIDARITY, FAIR TRADE, AND GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP THROUGH PULSERA SALES. WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF EFFECTIVE VACCINES AGAINST COVID, DOZENS OF ENTERPRISING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS MANAGED TO HOST SALES IN 2021, NAVIGATING SOCIAL DISTANCING REQUIREMENTS AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS. THE PULSERA PROJECT WAS FORTUNATE TO WORK WITH 101 SCHOOLS IN THE SPRING OF 2021, AND 267 SCHOOLS IN THE FALL, REPRESENTING A TOTAL OF 369 SALES, A WELCOME TREND AFTER ONLY 48 SCHOOL SALES IN FALL 2020. THE SCHOOLS THAT HOSTED SALES WHILE NAVIGATING VIRTUAL LEARNING, SCHOOL CLOSURES, MASK REQUIREMENTS, AND MORE, TRULY SAVED THE PROJECT. WITH VIRTUALLY ALL OF OUR REVENUE COMING FROM SCHOOL SALES, THE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS WHO HAVE CONTINUED TO ADAPT AND MAKE THE PROJECT SUCCESSFUL HAVE ENSURED A FUTURE FOR THE PROJECT'S MISSION, BOTH IN THE U.S. AND CENTRAL AMERICA. WE ARE SO GRATEFUL FOR EVERY TEACHER, STUDENT, AND VOLUNTEER WHO BOUGHT OR SOLD A PULSERA DURING THE UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES BROUGHT ON BY COVID.IN TOTAL, THE PULSERA PROJECT HAS NOW COLLABORATED WITH 3,423 SCHOOLS, AND WITH THE HELP OF MANY MULTI-YEAR SCHOOL PARTNERSHIPS, 6,115 PULSERA PROJECT SCHOOL EVENTS HAVE BEEN HOSTED BY STUDENTS AND TEACHERS SINCE 2009. COVID-19 AND THE PULSERA PROJECT IN CENTRAL AMERICA:TRAVEL REQUIREMENTS, RESTRICTIONS, NEW WAVES OF INFECTIONS, AND THE CLOSING OF OUR OFFICE IN GRANADA, NICARAGUA MADE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS CHALLENGING THIS YEAR, BUT WE ADJUSTED AND ALWAYS FOUND A WAY TO GET THINGS DONE. CENTRAL AMERICANS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR PERSEVERANCE, SO IN MANY WAYS, ADJUSTING FOR COVID WAS JUST ANOTHER HURDLE IN AN ANCIENT OBSTACLE COURSE. NONETHELESS, WE WOULD HAVE ENJOYED SPENDING MORE FACE TIME WITH THE PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS WE LOVE AND RESPECT AND LOOK FORWARD TO DOING MORE OF IT IN THE YEAR TO COME. THE ARTISANS OF CENTRAL AMERICA: WITH THE VETERAN GROUP OF ARTISAN LEADERS THAT STAYED ON IN 2020, THIS YEAR WAS ABOUT THEM GROWING INTO A NEW ROLE WITHIN THE PROJECT. ONE IN WHICH THEY TRANSITION FROM BEING BENEFICIARIES TO BECOMING PROTAGONISTS AND LEADERS OF A SHARED PROJECT. WE SPENT THE FIRST 9 MONTHS OF 2021 HOLDING WORKSHOPS WITH THEM TO DISCUSS THE THEMES AND VALUES THAT HAVE HISTORICALLY DRIVEN THE PROJECT, THE OBJECTIVE BEING TO ACQUAINT THEMSELVES WITH AND PARTAKE IN THE MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL JOURNEY THAT GUIDES THE PROJECT'S VISION. STARTING IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF 2021, OUR EFFORTS HAVE SHIFTED TO REBUILDING OUR ARTISAN COMMUNITY. IN ADDITION TO THE ARTISAN LEADERS, WE'RE CURRENTLY TRAINING 35 NEW ARTISANS THROUGH A WORK-STUDY PILOT, AND WE ARE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF EXPANDING OUR PARTNERSHIPS IN GUATEMALA, WITH A MIX OF OLD PARTNERS AND SOME NEW ARTISAN COOPERATIVES. BY MID-2022 WE HOPE TO BE BACK TO WORKING WITH 160+ ARTISANS AND REINVIGORATED BY THE WORK WE LOVE. WHERE SALE FUNDS GO:OCCASIONALLY STUDENTS OR TEACHERS ASK IF ALL PULSERA SALE PROCEEDS GO DIRECTLY TO THE ARTISANS. THE PULSERA PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO BENEFIT THREE GROUPS: ARTISANS, ARTISAN COMMUNITIES, AND U.S. STUDENTS. ARTISANS EARN INCOME AND BENEFITS, CENTRAL AMERICAN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS RECEIVE GRANTS TO FUND THEIR WORK, AND U.S. STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM A WORLD-CLASS EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE PROJECT. IT IS A POINT OF PRIDE FOR ARTISANS THAT THEIR WORK BENEFITS NOT ONLY THEMSELVES, BUT ALSO THEIR EXTENDED COMMUNITIES AND U.S. STUDENTS. U.S. PULSERA SALES IN 2021: U.S. AND CENTRAL AMERICAN STAFF DEVOTE MUCH OF THEIR TIME TO U.S. STUDENT EDUCATION, ARTISAN WELL-BEING, AND OUR PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS, BUT AS A SOCIAL ENTERPRISE WE KNOW THAT OUR MISSION DEPENDS ON PULSERA SALES. IN 2021, THE PULSERA PROJECT RECEIVED $232,211 FROM PRODUCT SALES AND $1,378 FROM DONATIONS, A TOTAL OF $233,589, WHICH INCLUDES MONEY FROM SALES THAT TOOK PLACE IN 2020 BUT WHERE PAYMENT WAS NOT RECEIVED UNTIL 2021. OF PARTICULAR NOTE IS THAT DUE TO THE SCHOOL YEAR'S SLOW START THANKS TO COVID'S CONTINUED IMPACT, $216,384 OF THOSE FUNDS WERE NOT RECEIVED UNTIL THE FOURTH QUARTER OF 2021; RECEIVING A MAJORITY OF OUR FUNDS THIS LATE IN THE YEAR MEANS THAT MONEY HAS BEEN SET ASIDE FOR INVESTMENTS & ARTISAN PROGRAMS IN 2022.