Read about what your donation helps us accomplish by downloading our 2009-2010 Metrics, Successes, and Goals document.

We are a dynamic organization, able to make the most of any kind of donation. From a few dollars to hundreds of vitamins or thousands of half used crayons to a single large donation like a library learning center, it all helps us realize our mission.

Donate Online - Donate by Mail - Designations - In-Kind Donations

Typical Donations

Many of our donations come in the form of small checks of support for individual volunteers and staff abroad, a part of which goes to organizational administration and a part of which goes to support programs. We think these donations have the most effect on the communities we serve, as it is our presence, energy, and commitment to helping these communities that outweigh all else. However, sometimes we need funds to help us grow and give us the resources to support these people on the ground, support local initiatives, and provide material support for programs, and we are grateful for the extra funds raised by our staff or the unspecified small donations we receive.

Designating Donations

Donors may, should, and in most cases do, specify where they want their money to go, be it to support “Tommy” or to meet specific needs like “Milk for children in Managua dump.” As in life, too often we don’t know our most pressing needs until they are upon us. So we encourage donors to specify while being as general as possible, e.g. “art program” instead of “materials for art program” allows us to take the kids on a field trip to see the local crafts museum as a reward for regular attendance. Similarly, and perhaps most importantly, designating to “operational funds” helps us keep Manna Project running, whether it’s a new vehicle to get Ecuador volunteers to their project sites, or money to pay staff and keep our website current. Specifying how you want to help while leaving the details to Manna Project and our careful and strategic financial planning helps us make the most effective use of your donation.

Special Designations

Often, we have on-going fundraising projects for items that will have a major impact in the communities in which we work.

In-kind Donations

We are extremely grateful for the useful materials that have been sent over the years. Whether it is old baseball team jerseys we have used as rewards for good sportsmanship in our baseball leagues, books and computers for our community library, medical supplies for the doctors and clinics we partner with, and even vehicles, these items go a long way to help us realize our mission. Please contact Leah Croker in Nicaragua and Mike Gabrys in Ecuador about the logistics of transporting in-kind donations.

We are always grateful for the following items:

used clothing, especially shoes;
books, especially in Spanish;
computers, peripherals, supplies, and software;
art supplies, whatever condition;
Sporting goods, especially soccer and baseball uniforms and cleats, bicycles, and athletic shoes;
Vitamins, Medical equipment, and supplies.

We are currently seeking the following items:

For anemia tests: Capillary tubes 32 x 0.8 Heparinized
Needles
Strips for blood sugar monitor
Blood Pressure monitor
Vehicle for Ecuador
amoxicillin liquid 250 mg and 400 mg
Tylenol cold
Acetaminophen
Cough Syrup (Tos Jarabe)
Trimetrophin Sulfa (Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole), liquid suspension
Prenatals
Toothbrushes and toothpaste
With in-kind donations, please bear in mind the cost of transporting the item. At times, despite the quality or value of a donation, the cost of transportation makes it infeasible. We try to work with other organizations to realize collective shipping of containers from time to time, however with many items, it is just easier to buy one in the country in which we work. For example, despite our long-standing desire for a riding lawnmower to care for our sports fields in Nicaragua, it is financially impractical to ship a used one from the United States. We have had success transporting working vehicles.