TL;DR

• We incubated 8 new nonprofits in Latin America using an evidence-based, cost-effectiveness–driven approach.
• Each organization is tackling a high-priority, neglected problem with proven interventions adapted to their context, all designed to scale.
• These orgs would not exist without this process, supporting them creates real counterfactual impact.
• 📅 We are hosting a “Meet the Founder” session on April 9th — connectors, funders, and mentors are invited to join and meet the teams.
• Donations are now open to support these new orgs pilots.

• 🚀 We are also opening applications for our 2026 cohort.

   

Why this work exists

In Latin America, many social organizations are driven by strong intentions — but far fewer are built around:

• rigorous prioritization
• strong causal evidence
• cost-effectiveness thinking

We started Theory of Change Makers (ToCM) to help close that gap.

Instead of launching a single organization, we asked:

What if we could help create many high-impact organizations, designed from day one around evidence, scale, and cost-effectiveness?

This post shares the result of this endeavor.

The process (briefly)

Over 8 months, founders:

1. Identified and prioritized problems using ITN (Importance, Tractability, Neglectedness)
2. Reviewed global evidence (RCTs, meta-analyses, systematic reviews)
3. Selected and adapted proven interventions
4. Built a Theory of Change
5. Developed a cost-effectiveness model
6. Tested key assumptions through real-world prototypes

What emerged are organizations ready to be built. And behind each one, there is a group of brave founders willing to take the risk of building them from scratch.

The organizations

Below are the 8 organizations incubated in this cohort. Each includes a short summary and links to their full work.

You can explore all project information here: https://www.emprendimientosocial.org/tocm

💧 YAKU (Bolivia / Mexico) — Water & Health

Problem:
Millions lack access to microbiologically safe drinking water in rural areas.

Intervention:
Rainwater harvesting and filtration systems for safe household water.

• 📄 YAKU - Research report
• 📊 YAKU - Cost-effectiveness model 
• 🌐 YAKU - Website

Key metric: ~$982 per DALY averted

🧠 LUNAVA (Mexico) — Mental Health

Problem:
Untreated depression and anxiety in women aged 40–59 during menopause and perimenopause.

Intervention:
Group-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) program tailored to women in climacteric stages.

• 📄 LUNAVA - Research report 
• 📊 LUNAVA - Cost-effectiveness model 
• 🌐 LUNAVA - Website 

Key metric: ~$663 per DALY averted

🧠 GRANA (Colombia) — Mental Health

Problem:
Over 7.4 million children and adolescents in Colombia face mental health challenges, with limited access to care — especially in rural schools.

Intervention:
School-based group program to improve socio-emotional wellbeing and reduce anxiety and depression.

• 📄 GRANA - Research report
• 📊 GRANA - Cost-effectiveness model
• 🌐 GRANA - Website
• 📄 GRANA - EA Forum post

Key metric: ~$312 per DALY averted

🍎 VIVIR BIEN (Guatemala) — Child Health

Problem:
40% of primary school children in Guatemala face overweight/obesity, with no structured behavioral interventions.

Intervention:
Family-based behavioral program with digital support to reduce childhood obesity.

• 📄 VIVIR BIEN - Research report
• 📊 VIVIR BIEN - Cost-effectiveness model
• 🌐 VIVIR BIEN - Website

📚 CAYAMBE (Ecuador) — Education

Problem:
65% of students in Ecuador cannot read or understand a simple text by the end of primary school.

Intervention:
Differential Learning (TaRL-style) program for literacy and numeracy.

• 📄 CAYAMBE - Research report
• 📊 CAYAMBE - Cost-effectiveness model
• 🌐 CAYAMBE - Website 

Key metric: ~$13 per LAY

💼 PROPIA (Spain / LATAM migrants) — Livelihoods

Problem:
Latin American migrants in Spain face structural barriers to formal employment and income mobility.

Intervention:
Employability program combining training and employer connections.

• 📄 PROPIA - Research report
• 📊 PROPIA - Cost-effectiveness model
• 🌐 PROPIA - Website
• 📄 PROPIA - EA Forum post

🐔 CENTINELA (Chile / Mexico) — Animal Welfare

Problem:
Factory farming systems lack independent verification of animal welfare commitments.

Intervention:
Monitoring and transparency program to verify corporate commitments.

• 📄 CENTINELA - Research report
• 📊 CENTINELA - Cost-effectiveness model
• 🌐 CENTINELA - Website

Key metric: ~$0.0038 per SAD

🐣 DeNovo (Chile) — Animal Welfare

Problem:
Millions of male chicks are killed annually due to lack of viable alternatives in egg production.

Intervention:
Corporate advocacy to accelerate adoption of in-ovo sexing technologies.

• 📄 DeNovo - Research report
• 📊 DeNovo - Cost-effectiveness model
• 🌐 DeNovo - Website

Key metric: ~$0.009 per SAD

Why supporting these orgs matters

These organizations:

• are highly leveraged bets on impact
• are grounded in evidence and cost-effectiveness
• are tackling large, neglected problems

But most importantly, they would not exist otherwise. Supporting them is funding counterfactual organizations.

📅 Meet the Founders — April 9th

We will be hosting a “Meet the Founder” session on April 9th, where each team will present their organization and connect directly with potential supporters. We are inviting connectors (who can open doors), funders (who can support financially), and mentors (who can guide with expertise) to join us in this space.

The format will be: break-out rooms by topic + short presentations + small group conversations with teams.

Event timing (2 hour meeting)

• 🇲🇽 Mexico City: 09:00 – 11:00 (UTC-6)
• 🇨🇴 Colombia: 10:00 – 12:00 (COT, UTC-5)
• 🇺🇸 New York: 11:00 – 13:00 (EDT, UTC-4) (please verify daylight saving time)
• 🇬🇧 London: 16:00 – 18:00 (BST, UTC+1) (please verify daylight saving time)

If you are interested in attending, please fill out this short form (≈3 minutes), and we will share the meeting link and details:
 👉 https://forms.gle/sb5bYBUihReiexJv8 

💛 Support the work

We are launching a collective fundraising effort to support these organizations, and we invite the EA community to contribute to the projects that best align with your priorities. This funding will enable teams to pilot their interventions over the next year and generate early evidence of impact.

👉 Donate here: https://www.every.org/laboratory-of-social-entrepreneurship

Applications open — ToCM 2026

We are opening the next cohort of Theory of Change Makers - 2026.

We are looking for LATAM founders ready to build evidence-based organizations from scratch.

Please share the opportunity with your network:

• 📄 Program info (in Spanish): https://bit.ly/Info_ToCM_2026
• 📝 Apply here: https://bit.ly/Form_aplicación_ToCM2026

Timeline:

• Selection: April – May 2026
• First 6 months: July – December 2026
• Next 6 months: January – June 2027

Acknowledgements

This work would not have been possible without the support of:

• Coefficient Giving and donor from the Meta Charity Funders, we are very grateful for their trust and support.
• All mentors and experts who have us guided and founders throughout the process.
• And everyone who contributed time, feedback, and encouragement.

Final reflection

Building something from scratch, without funding, without guarantees, is hard. Doing it alongside their full-time responsibilities, with rigor, discipline, and intellectual humility is even harder. What these founders are doing is an act of commitment to the possibility of a better world.

And if this works, and we have strong reasons to believe it can, it will not only shape these 8 organizations, but expand what is possible across the region.

We are in a continuous learning and improvement process, and we would deeply value your feedback and support. 

If you would like to connect, please reach out at: veronicasuarez@emprendimientosocial.org 

Thank you for reading, and for being part of this journey.