Puerto Rico · Nonprofit Alliance

Ecosistema
de Voluntades

An intentional collaborative alliance among three nonprofit organizations committed to systemic change in Puerto Rico — operating from a foundation of trust, care, and a politics of solidary abundance.

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An alliance born
from will

The Ecosistema de Voluntades was born in May 2021 out of a shared conviction among the executive directors of three nonprofits in Puerto Rico. What began as informal peer support organically transformed into a collective of mutual aid and active solidarity.

Driven by the growing complexity of a colonial, post-María, and post-PROMESA context, the Ecosistema became an engine of cross-sector collaboration: a space where experience, resources, and capacities are put in service of systemic change.

Its purpose is to transform human systems toward a more just and participatory Puerto Rico, with community at the center of decision-making. In the face of scarcity imposed by the colonial context, the Ecosistema bets on a lens of solidary abundance.

Trust

The relational foundation that enables delegation, mutual representation, and acting with confidence for the common good — without constant oversight.

Care

Practices of active listening, accompaniment, and validation that humanize the people behind executive titles and roles.

Solidary Abundance

A conscious alternative to competition and scarcity culture: sharing resources, creativity, and connections as a political and anti-colonial act.

Programmatic Collaboration

Collective fundraising, strategic capacity building, shared workspaces and resources, and cross-organizational programmatic initiatives.

"The Ecosistema emerged. None of us three arrived at something that already existed — we three, together as a collective, created the space where we found each other." — Member of the Ecosistema de Voluntades

Impact & Achievements

What we've built
together

2021
Year Founded
The Ecosistema formalized as a collaborative collective, building on relationships that began in 2019 in the post-Hurricane María context.
3
Member Organizations
CRH, La Liga de Ciudades, and Sembrando Sentido, with combined teams of more than 50 staff and multiple communities served across Puerto Rico.
+50
Combined Staff
The Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat alone employs more than 50 people, growing from a fully volunteer operation in 2019.
🤝

Shared Common FundCollective management of financial resources with consensus-based decisions, including flexible transfers between organizations based on urgent needs.

💡

Executive Kitchen CabinetStrategic peer consultations among executive directors for organizational decisions, political landscape analysis, and scenario planning.

🏢

Shared ResourcesOperational materials (laptops, printers, office space) and human resources (lawyers, advisors) shared across organizations, reducing individual costs.

📋

Collective Fiscal SponsorshipFacilitating urgent donations through fiscal sponsorship agreements between member organizations — deployed in under 48 hours when needed.

The Organizations

Three missions,
one convergence

Each organization in the Ecosistema brings a unique and complementary perspective to the work of systemic change in Puerto Rico. Together, they cover local governance, community revitalization, transparency, and public accountability.

Housing & Community

Centro para la Reconstrucción del Hábitat

CRH

Transforms abandoned properties into valuable community assets. Drives affordable housing, community centers, and essential public spaces through innovative financial strategies such as community land funds and credit lines. Today employs more than 50 people.

www.crhpr.org →
Local Governance

La Liga de Ciudades de Puerto Rico

La Liga

Strengthens local governments and connects municipal ecosystems through an action-based municipalist agenda. Works alongside elected officials, municipal teams, and civil society to build resilient local ecosystems through research, advocacy, innovation, and training.

www.ligadeciudadespr.com →
Transparency & Data

Sembrando Sentido

Sembrando Sentido

Works to transform Puerto Rico's governmental structures toward a just distribution of public resources. Combines technology, research, and advocacy so that communities can participate in decisions about the allocation, investment, and management of public funds.

www.sembrandosentido.com →

For Funders

A catalytic
philanthropy

The Ecosistema proposes a collaboration model as an alternative to competition and the scarcity mindset that pervades the nonprofit sector. In a context of philanthropic precarity, political uncertainty, and social fragmentation, we commit to a politics of solidary abundance.

Our collaboration with Magic Cabinet has shown that the most transformative philanthropic support is the kind that builds long-term organizational capacity, grounded in mutual trust and centered on the communities we serve.

Investing in the Ecosistema de Voluntades means investing in a replicable model that simultaneously strengthens three organizations committed to governance, affordable housing, and public transparency in Puerto Rico.

Holistic Support

We seek funders who accompany processes, not just outcomes. Trust and time are the most valuable inputs for systemic change.

Community First

Decision-making must be centered in communities. The community knows what it knows, and there is no substitute for that situated knowledge.

Collective Sustainability

Flexible funding models — shared funds, credit lines, fiscal sponsorship — that respond to real needs in real time.

Open Communication

We prioritize partnerships built on transparency, direct communication, and the shared certainty that everyone is acting for the common good.