Project Schoolhouse
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In rural Nicaragua where we work, the vast majority of communities have no access to safe water or adequate school buildings. Families drink from surface water that is contaminated and often causes endemic health issues. In addition, functioning latrines are not commonplace, as families typically use uncovered, overflowing holes in the ground or resort to open defecation. This burden disproportionately affects women and children as they are often tasked with collecting water from remote drainage ditches and streams. When Project Schoolhouse responds to a community's request for support, we commit to leaving families empowered with their own in-home improved water source, and sanitary latrine and a functional school building for their children. With these basic facilities secured, women will have more time to pursue occupational ambitions outside of the home, while children are able to attend school consistently and spend a sufficient amount of time preparing for their future.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Constructing Elementary Schools
Project Schoolhouse helps communities build schools. We work in places where a new school could be the first structure ever built from concrete. It serves as the heart of the community and represents a place of learning and community gatherings. A new school can be a source of enormous community pride.
In communities where we work, existing schools are ramshackle affairs. They are small, old, leaky, wet, and dirty. Often 40 or so children will be crammed into a building no larger than an average bedroom in the USA. When it rains, water enters the classroom, turns the dirt floor to mud, and completely disrupts the learning process.
Students and teachers distracted by mud, rain, and overcrowding find it difficult to do their jobs of learning and teaching. Dry, secure, spacious classroom environments greatly benefit developing communities and can mean the difference between learning or not.
Where we work
External reviews

Photos
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Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of people with improved water access
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Project Schoolhouse collaborates with families of Nicaraguan rural communities to build improved school, water and sanitation infrastructure. Our financial contributions source local supplies and technical expertise, while communities volunteer all of the labor to bring clean water and latrines to every home, and build an elementary school for each child. With a sustained focus on fundraising and partnership, we aim to increase the number of projects completed each year. Additionally, we are collaborating with community volunteers to implement programs aimed at addressing child learning gaps and encourage school retention through provision of enrichment opportunities in the primary schools.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We have a multi-pronged approach to increasing the provision of clean water, sanitation and educational infrastructure. We are working to increase the level of funding obtained via our own fundraising efforts in various giving channels, expansion of partnerships and sharing of expertise with others interested in learning how to implement gravity-fed water systems. We have also grown our local team to support our school retention initiatives.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our investment in US fundraising efforts are taking off. We continue to invest in local capacity building to support increased project and program implementation, efficacy and effectiveness. The Project Schoolhouse team is embedded in the communities in which we work, allowing us to quickly scale construction as our funding grows. The community advocacy and building skills that are a direct, positive outcome of each of our prior projects heightens the awareness of our work within the region and adds to the pipeline of future projects.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
To date, we have helped 15 communities transform their lives; 2300 people have safe water in their homes and 1700 children study in schools we've helped them build. We are proud of the expansion of our work over the years from single projects in one community annually, to multiple projects in several communities each year. Moving forward, we will stewards and expand partnerships with foundations, organizations and individuals whose funding priorities align with our work, sustaining the growth of these life-changing projects.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Project Schoolhouse
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Mr. Gene Bosche
Thomas Barker
Cheryl Barker
Selina Serna
JP Kloninger
Gene Bosche
Evan Lambert
Amit Motwani
Dennis Passovoy
Kris Sloan
Sara Wagner
Kristen Palmer
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data