OUR STORY
meet san juan diego institute
the latino community
SERVING
AND SUPPORTING MISSION-BASED
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
San Juan Diego Institute is honored to provide critical support, guidance and technical assistance to Latino-serving organizations and businesses making a difference in their community and beyond. Our approach to uplifting Latino communities in the United States centers on creating integrated and lasting solutions for non-profits. We help our clients mitigate and manage business and organizational challenges as well as implementing sustainable and resilient practices that ensure enterprise viability and impact. We also manage complex grants and projects that often entail building coalitions to serve those most in need.
The roots of San Juan Diego Institute (SJDI) stretch over 20 years ago as part of the efforts to serve the growing needs of Latino families and their communities. Tom Espinoza and other South Phoenix community leaders sought to unify their efforts to help struggling, largely poor, Hispanic families grow in their spiritual identities and foster economic development and personal opportunities. Recognizing the specific needs (and contributions) of faith-based and community-based nonprofits, the San Juan Diego Institute was formed to provide much-needed business, strategic and management consulting, offering strategic support, and technical assistance to promising organizations making demonstrable impact in their communities.
Inspired by the story of Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, whose faithful response to the Virgencita transformed a nation while respecting and harmoniously blending cultures, SJDI first sought to serve the Roman Catholic Church and Our Lady of Guadalupe’s call to serve the least of God’s children. SJDI assisted Catholic organizations, namely those educating children, serving the poor, and developing future Latino leaders and strengthening the national fabric. SJDI provided integrative support to help these non-profits more effectively fulfill their missions and advance the charitable work of the Church in the United States and Latin America. This work built spiritual communities that assisted individuals in fulfilling their human vocation and strengthened families. Often, this work was assisted through creative partnerships with public and private entities. Today, our clients include other faith-based and community-based non-profit organizations, small businesses, and schools.
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These national and community-based client organizations fulfill a unique role that cannot be played by the private sector or government programs and agencies. Clients seek tailored solutions, guidance and expertise when they have reached a decision point that requires careful navigation, additional clarity, and honest counsel. This can include maintaining operations in a crisis, exploring new revenue opportunities, or strategic planning or preparing for growth or major transitions. SJDI serves as more than a consultant: we care as much about our clients fulfilling their missions as they do, providing guidance to overcome obstacles and collaboratively crafting solutions, so their impactful work isn’t interrupted and can be sustained for years to come.
TODAY...
San Juan Diego Institute is honored to provide critical support and formation to Latino organizations making a difference in their community and beyond.
SAN JUAN DIEGO INSTITUTE
is a guild of professionals that assists organizations more effectively fulfill their mission.
our purpose
Knowing that community-based and faith-based nonprofits have a deep and enduring effect in their local communities, San Juan Diego Institute provides comprehensive, integrative support so organizations can more effectively fulfill their mission.
Our guild of seasoned professionals with diverse professional and community backgrounds seeks to understand the mission, identity and, therefore, the value proposition of each organization. Together we develop lasting, organizationally tailored, high impact and sustainable solutions that strengthen organizations’ core activities to better serve their community.
our core values
CREATING
enterprise-level solutions that integrate all areas of operation and all aspects of the organization's mission, then ensuring that these solutions have ongoing viability and demonstrated community impact.
COMMITTING
to a customized dialogue with staff, board and key stakeholders to develop optimal solutions that provide the client with a clear path to project execution and ongoing support.
INCREASING
social capital of our clients by facilitating introductions to our network of funders and investors, as well as partner organizations with similar missions who can accelerate their learning curve and potentially serve as collaborators.
MEETING
clients' needs through a diverse group of backgrounds that provide hands-on experience in relevant disciplines that cover the scope of operations for most faith-based and community-based non-profits.