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Our Strategic Approach
There are thousands of well-meaning and accomplished non-profits scattered throughout the world. Common to 99% of these organizations is their reliance on financial contributions via donations and grants. A few of the drawbacks of this traditional model include mission distraction as a result of perpetual fund-raising, isolation of donors from beneficiaries, and death of the organization when the founders withdraw or the funding well dries up. We seek a different path. The “not-for-profit business” model has succeeded in the United States in certain niche markets (e.g. bakeries, recycling of clothes, housewares, construction materials) thanks to a forward-thinking tax code. Our goal is to adapt this model to help the disadvantaged in the city of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. Friends of Segundo Uso, a 501(c)3 non-profit incorporated in Shoreline, Washington, will accomplish this by assisting Segundo Uso Materiales de Construcción, A.C., a Mexican non-profit established in June 2015. Lessons learned in Mazatlan can be applied to many other locations around the world. |
Segundo Uso's Mission
Segundo Uso’s goal is to alleviate poverty and improve the lives of families and individuals in and around Mazatlan. Segundo Uso gathers and resells a wide variety of construction materials and furniture donated by local expats and Mexicans, hotels, condominiums, and material suppliers in order to: 1. Support community charitable organizations and programs with building materials and targeted grants from revenues 2. Create jobs and a job-training program 3. Facilitate access to building materials to improve the dwellings of the disadvantaged 4. Improve the environment by recycling and coordinating diversion of waste going to landfill 5. Demonstrate that a recycling-based business model can sustain a successful non-profit enterprise in Mexico that supports the local community |
Why Mazatlan?
Despite Mexico’s impressive economic growth over the past decades, a large proportion of Mexican families struggle. As of 2013, the Mexican government estimated that 33% of the population lives in moderate and 9% in extreme poverty. Social inequality and lack of opportunity in many parts of the country lead to a highly skewed distribution of wealth. Mazatlan is unique among Mexican coastal cities in its relatively healthy balance of light industry and tourism. Presently, the population is growing as a result of the new toll highway through the Sierra Madre Occidental. Seeking work, newcomers often settle in outlying districts east and south of the city, and many live in substandard housing. The co-existence of affluent and poor residents in Mazatlán makes possible the premise of Segundo Uso. Please lend a hand and help us achieve our multi-pronged mission to help the community. |