As evidenced by the previous sections of the “Community-Based Assets and Needs in Baja California Sur,” this region has wide-ranging opportunities and needs among its various urban and rural communities.  Responding to those needs are dozens of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) across the state and at least 40 U.S.-based nonprofit organizations committed to improving the quality of life, as well as protecting and preserving the state’s natural resources for future generations. The work of these NGOs is far-reaching and includes projects and initiatives in the areas of education, health and human services, the environment, community and economic development, as well as arts and culture. 

This survey was undertaken to better inform the U.S. and Mexican donor community of the important work being undertaken by NGOs across Baja California Sur. Of the almost 140 estimated organizations now operating in Baja California Sur, UABCS was able to identify 48 that have a community service orientation[1] and are comparable to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, as defined by section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code.  For these 48 groups, ICF and UABCS staff undertook thorough due diligence to validate the following:

1. Current legal status with the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP) and the Servicio de Administración Tributaria (SAT) to determine that a group is, in fact, a registered public charity in Mexico or a nonprofit entity that is a 501(c)(3) equivalent organization.
2. Tax Identification number or Clave del Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC).
3. Articles of incorporation (Acta Constitutiva).
4. Current board of directors.
5. Description of programmatic activities.
6. Annual operating budget and funding sources.
7. Number of staff (paid and volunteer).
8. Formal affiliation with US or other nonprofit group (convenios).

An exhaustive outreach effort was undertaken by UABCS in all five municipalities of Baja California Sur to identify qualified nonprofits, which included on-site interviews, media advisories, and follow up communications by phone, fax, and email.

For a variety of reasons, not all groups were in a position to provide the documentation required as a pre-condition for inclusion in this survey.  In some cases, NGOs were not legally constituted or did not have a valid Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC).  In other cases, because of a group’s small size and limited volunteer staff, they were unable to fulfill the requirements set forth to participate in this survey (20 groups). Some groups simply could not be reached due to having moved or having become fiscally dormant or inactive (60 groups).

It is likely that there is somewhat of a response bias in favor of larger, more long-standing organizations, and those that have closer affiliations with U.S. organizations. Many of the smaller, more grassroots and protest-oriented organizations are less likely to be legally constituted, and may not have responded. 

Where a nonprofit’s legal status could not be verified but where contact information was available, this has been included in an accompanying list of other organizations working on community-based needs.  UABCS located 45 groups in this category. Also included is the contact information of U.S. organizations working with partner organizations in Baja California Sur, or on their own projects; 41 U.S.-based groups fall into this category.

As the non-governmental sector is among the most dynamic and ever-changing sectors in Baja California Sur, we hope that in future editions of this document more NGOs will be included.   Also, because ICF is committed to ensuring that U.S. and Mexican donors have the most current information available on Baja California Sur nonprofits, we encourage each and every NGO to submit their group’s supporting documentation along with details of their budget and programmatic activities. Participating nonprofits will be added to our approved listing of nonprofits eligible to receive financial and in-kind support from our institutions.