KNOW US

Fundación Ávila Cruz, A. C. is a Mexican civil society organization rooted in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca.

We were founded out of firsthand experience with the challenges faced by Indigenous communities in the region and have evolved into an organization focused on sustainable community development, capacity building, participation, and results.

We work alongside Indigenous communities and vulnerable groups to help reduce extreme poverty and expand opportunities for the exercise of rights and community well-being.

Our story begins in Joya Grande an Indigenous community in the municipality of Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca.

It was there that siblings Edgar, César, Laura, and Armando Ávila Cruz grew up in a context where farming, limited access to essential services, and the challenges inherent to the region were part of everyday life.

Their family and community experience strengthened a shared conviction:

Education, capacity building, and community organization can expand opportunities for individuals and communities.

After completing their professional education, they established Fundación Ávila Cruz, A. C. in 2013.

The organization was founded on its deep territorial roots and commitment to Indigenous communities.

FIRST STAGE – Community Action
Initiatives were developed to address specific needs identified within the communities.

CONSOLIDATION – From Activities to Structured Projects
The organization began structuring its interventions around defined objectives, components, monitoring processes, and partnerships.

TODAY – Toward Results-Based Management
Fundación Ávila Cruz continues to strengthen its institutional capacities in:

PROJECT DESIGN
RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
PARTNERSHIPS
ACCOUNTABILITY
SUSTAINABILITY

TOWARD 2030 – A Community-Rooted Organization with Stronger Institutional Capacity
Our 2025–2030 Strategic Plan guides the organization’s institutional strengthening and the consolidation of its five strategic pillars.

To contribute to reducing extreme poverty among Indigenous communities and vulnerable groups in Mexico through sustainable community development processes that strengthen capacities, food and nutrition security, health and well-being, cultural identity, and resilience to emergencies, while promoting community participation, a gender perspective, interculturality, and a Human Rights-Based Approach.

Indigenous communities and groups in vulnerable situations with greater capacities, opportunities, and enabling conditions to exercise their rights, sustainably improve their well-being, and actively participate in shaping their own development processes.

We seek to contribute to a pathway of change:

CAPACITIES
↓
GREATER OPPORTUNITIES
↓
REDUCED BARRIERS
↓
GREATER EXERCISE OF RIGHTS
↓
PARTICIPATION AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION
↓
SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Dignity and Human Rights
We recognize people as rights-holders and active agents in their own development processes.

Community Participation
We promote community participation in identifying challenges, decision-making, implementation, monitoring, and sustainability.

Equality and Non-Discrimination
We seek to reduce barriers to participation and access without discrimination.

Interculturality
We recognize and value diverse knowledge, practices, languages, forms of community organization, and cultural identities.

Transparency and Accountability
We seek to clearly communicate how we use resources, what we do, the results we achieve, and what we learn.

Sustainability
We design interventions with a focus on what can be sustained beyond the funding period.

INTEGRITY
RESPECT
NON-DISCRIMINATION
DO NO HARM
PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING
CONFIDENTIALITY
DATA PROTECTION
ACCOUNTABILITY
LEARNING

INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES
FAMILIES
CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
WOMEN
OLDER PERSONS
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS FACING SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, OR TERRITORIAL BARRIERS

Belonging to a particular population group does not automatically imply vulnerability.

Therefore, each project must identify:

BARRIERS
↓
NEEDS
↓
CAPACITIES
↓
RISKS
↓
PRIORITIZATION CRITERIA

Our headquarters are located in Heroica Ciudad de Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca.

The Mixteca region is our primary territory of reference and institutional learning.

We design our interventions taking into account factors such as:

POVERTY
MARGINALIZATION
ACCESS TO SERVICES
TERRITORIAL CONTEXT
CULTURE
GENDER
DISABILITY
RISKS
LOCAL CAPACITIES

We recognize that communities have their own knowledge, capacities, networks, organizations, leadership, and resources.

Our role is not to replace these existing capacities.

We seek to contribute to strengthening them.

WE LISTEN
↓
WE GENERATE AND ANALYZE EVIDENCE
↓
WE ASSESS NEEDS AND CONTEXT
↓
WE CO-DESIGN
↓
WE IMPLEMENT
↓
WE MONITOR
↓
WE EVALUATE
↓
WE ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY
↓
WE LEARN
↓
WE ADAPT
↓
WE STRENGTHEN CAPACITIES
↓
WE PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY

Fundación Ávila Cruz has a Board of Directors, supporting committees, and an operational team.

This structure is designed to strengthen:

STRATEGIC DIRECTION
OVERSIGHT
FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
PROGRAM MANAGEMENT
ACCOUNTABILITY

Finance and Transparency Committee
Contributes to the oversight of financial matters, internal controls, and institutional transparency.

Programs and Social Impact Committee
Contributes to the strategic review of programs, results, and social impact.

Networks and Community Participation Committee
Contributes to strengthening relationships, networks, and mechanisms for community participation.

Executive Director
Edgar Ávila Cruz
Responsible for the organization’s executive leadership, implementation of the institutional strategy, external representation, and overall coordination.

Director of Social Programs
Cristian Adrián Gómez Velasco, Eng.
Coordinates program planning and implementation.

Director of Partnerships and Fundraising
Ana I. Cisneros Santiago
Coordinates partnership development, institutional engagement, and resource mobilization.

Director of Logistics and Evaluation
César Ávila Cruz
Coordinates logistical processes and contributes to the monitoring and evaluation of interventions.

Junior Design Director
Oscar Sánchez Reyes
Supports institutional design and visual communication processes.

Director of Volunteer Engagement
Coordinates the recruitment, participation, and ongoing support of volunteers.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
↓
COMMITTEES
Finance and Transparency
Programs and Social Impact
Networks and Community Participation
↓
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
↓
SOCIAL PROGRAMS
PARTNERSHIPS AND FUNDRAISING
LOGISTICS AND EVALUATION
DESIGN AND COMMUNICATION

Board of Directors
PROVIDES STRATEGIC DIRECTION
OVERSEES
APPROVES
ENSURES ACCOUNTABILITY

Executive Director
MANAGES
COORDINATES
EXECUTES THE STRATEGY

Operational Team
IMPLEMENTS
DOCUMENTS
MONITORS
REPORTS

PROJECT DESIGN
Technical project formulation, Logical Framework Approach, Theory of Change, and planning.

IMPLEMENTATION
Territorial management and operational coordination.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION
Tracking indicators, results, and lessons learned.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
Administration, financial oversight, and resource control.

PARTNERSHIPS
Engagement with foundations, companies, international cooperation agencies, and other stakeholders.

RESOURCE MOBILIZATION
Fundraising and proposal development.

VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT
Structured participation and mobilization of external expertise and capacities.

SUSTAINABILITY
Capacity strengthening and the progressive transfer of knowledge, responsibilities, and processes.

The 2025–2030 Strategic Plan guides the institutional and programmatic development of Fundación Ávila Cruz.

Its implementation seeks to strengthen:

THE FIVE STRATEGIC PILLARS
RESULTS-BASED MANAGEMENT
MONITORING AND EVALUATION
LEARNING
PARTNERSHIPS
SUSTAINABILITY
TRANSPARENCY
INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING

After an intervention, we seek to answer:

WHAT DID WE DO?
WHO DID WE REACH?
WHAT CHANGED?
HOW DO WE KNOW?
WHAT WORKED?
WHAT DID NOT WORK AS EXPECTED?
WHAT SHOULD WE CHANGE?
WHAT CAN BE SUSTAINED?

Lessons learned should inform the design of future projects and institutional decision-making.

Deep Territorial Roots
We have firsthand knowledge of the Mixteca region of Oaxaca and continue to learn from the communities and the territory.

Participation
We work alongside communities.

Integrated Approach
We bring together five strategic pillars within our community development approach.

Results-Oriented Approach
We seek to measure meaningful change, not simply activities.

Learning
We use evidence to adapt and improve our interventions.

Sustainability
We consider from the outset what can continue beyond the funding period.

Our institutional aspiration is to consolidate Fundación Ávila Cruz as an organization with greater capacity to:

DESIGN
IMPLEMENT
MEASURE
LEARN
ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY
BUILD PARTNERSHIPS
MOBILIZE RESOURCES
STRENGTHEN CAPACITIES
PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY

We seek to collaborate with:

COMMUNITIES
FOUNDATIONS
COMPANIES
CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS
UNIVERSITIES
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS
NETWORKS
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION ORGANIZATIONS AND AGENCIES

Partnerships can contribute:

FUNDING
KNOWLEDGE
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
RESEARCH
VOLUNTEER ENGAGEMENT
NETWORKS
CAPACITIES