American Nicaraguan Foundation

What American Nicaraguan Foundation does

American Nicaraguan Foundation (ANF) is a 501(c)(3) public charity (US EIN 65-0326517) founded in 1992 by F. Alfredo Pellas Jr., Theresa Pellas, and Fr. León Pallais to deliver development and humanitarian assistance in Nicaragua. Over its 30-year operational life, ANF executed programs across six interconnected verticals: housing (including planned communities and dignified low-income homes), education (school meals, classroom rehabilitation, the Angels of Hope foster home program in 18 homes), health and nutrition (malnutrition treatment, healthy-communities campaigns, mobility-equipment provision), water and sanitation (community wells with solar pumps, 12,425 sanitation facilities), agriculture (training at the Centro de Entrenamiento Agrícola, coffee and bean value-chain projects), and humanitarian aid (COVID-19 and hurricane-relief packages). Cumulative program outputs included 23,564 houses built benefiting 120,620 people, 187,710 daily meals served at educational centers, and 129,827 beneficiaries reached through WASH initiatives.

ANF's business model was donations-based: tax-deductible contributions from individual donors, corporate partners (Unilever, Grupo Pellas, BAC Credomatic, Fundación FEMSA, Food For The Poor), and event fundraisers such as the "Together for Nicaragua" gala in Miami. Programs were delivered through a network of 150+ local partner organizations — municipal governments, schools, clinics, orphanages, feeding centers, religious organizations, and elderly homes — and through ANF's own in-house technical staff of 110+ specialists covering nutrition, agronomy, water/sanitation, civil engineering, architecture, and monitoring & evaluation. The organization was not technology- or product-driven; its core deliverable is program execution funded by philanthropy.

On May 11, 2022, ANF's board voted to discontinue Nicaraguan operations due to a sustained decrease in international donations. The organization notified the Ministry of Governance (MIGOB), ceased accepting donations, and began liquidation of physical assets (furniture, IT equipment, tools). The US entity (Miami headquarters at 1000 NW 57th CT, Suite 170) and the Nicaraguan entity (Managua, Ofiplaza el Retiro) remain on file but are not operating active programs. Independent credibility signals prior to closure included Charity Navigator 4-star ratings for six consecutive years (2015–2020) and a 2020 GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. There is no parent company, no institutional funding rounds, and no M&A activity; ownership remains with the founding Pellas family and an independent board.

Name

American Nicaraguan Foundation

Legal name

American Nicaraguan Foundation

Website

https://anfnicaragua.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

American Nicaraguan Foundation is a 501(c)(3) humanitarian nonprofit founded in 1992 that delivered housing, education, health, nutrition, water, sanitation, agriculture, and disaster-relief programs in Nicaragua through a network of 150+ local partners; operations in Nicaragua were discontinued in May 2022.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Aid and Community Development Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Community Food Services (624210), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Assistance & Nutrition Relief (Emergency Feeding) (BPAGAAAD), Emergency Food Assistance & Nutrition Response (BPADADAE), Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• Humanitarian aid programs
• Poverty alleviation services
• Community development programs
• Disaster relief services
• Nonprofit social services

Headquarters

HQ city

Managua

HQ country

Nicaragua

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations: ANF relies primarily on donations from individual donors, corporate donors, and foundations. The organization is a tax-exempt nonprofit registered as a 501(c)(3) public charity in the United States with tax identification number 65-0326517.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ANF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit humanitarian organization that delivers integrated poverty alleviation programs across six pillars — humanitarian aid, housing, health and nutrition, education, agriculture, and water and sanitation — to vulnerable families in Nicaragua. Programs are implemented through 150+ local partner organizations and ANF's in-house staff of nutritionists, agronomists, water and sanitation specialists, architects, civil engineers, public health specialists, and monitoring and evaluation supervisors. The organization also runs emergency disaster relief (hurricanes, COVID-19) and operates an Agricultural Training Center.

Product overview

American Nicaraguan Foundation (ANF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit humanitarian organization that takes a holistic approach to poverty alleviation across six interconnected program areas: Agriculture, Education, Health and Nutrition, Water and Sanitation, Housing, and Humanitarian Aid. ANF does not offer a technology product; rather, it delivers social programs through a network of over 150 local partner organizations throughout Nicaragua. The organization's integrated approach provides families with dignified housing, educational support including school meals, healthcare access, safe water, and sustainable agricultural practices to achieve food security.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Housing Programs

Quantifiable outcome

• 23,564 houses built benefiting 120,620 people
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered mission critical, supporting and core.

• Food For The Poormission criticalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992Long-term mission critical partner in housing, community development, water systems, and disaster relief programs. Supported construction of planned communities, dignified homes, and water infrastructure across Nicaragua. One of ANF's most significant partnerships spanning decades.
• BAC CredomaticsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsor for Mi Planeta Verde campaign in 2014, supporting environmental protection education in 25 elementary schools within ANF's network.
• UNILEVERsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered with ANF in 2014 to deliver personal hygiene education campaign at San Martin de Porres school in Ciudad Sandino, Managua, promoting healthier lifestyles.
• Fundación FEMSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic alliance partner for Campaña de Colores, ANF's major health and nutrition campaign promoting healthy eating habits and prevention of chronic diseases in schools.
• Ministry of Education (Nicaragua)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for school meal programs, working to improve school retention rates and reduce hunger while implementing educational infrastructure improvements.
• Ministry of Health (Nicaragua)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare system partner for health center construction, medical attention programs, and nutrition initiatives in underserved communities.
• Municipal Governments (Nicaragua)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government partners for community development projects, housing programs, and infrastructure implementation throughout Nicaragua.
• El Novillo RestaurantsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerMiami-based restaurant venue partner for annual 'Together for Nicaragua' fundraising gala events.
• Soflochefs (Chef David Melendez)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPersonal chef service contributor to silent auction at Together for Nicaragua event. Chef David Melendez, born in Pearl Lagoon Nicaragua, supports ANF fundraising efforts.
• Restaurant partners (Papa John's, Pollos Narcy's, Porterhouse, Mingo's, Emporio, Café Las Flores)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerRestaurant allies for 'Comparte Tu Plato' campaign where purchases include donations to school meal programs.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• World Vision: World Vision operates a similarly holistic portfolio (WASH, health, education, food security, child sponsorship) across Central America — overlapping ANF's six program areas but at a much larger global scale.
• CARE International: CARE operates an integrated poverty-alleviation portfolio — food security, WASH, women's economic empowerment, humanitarian response — across Latin America and globally, making it a comparable broad-based development NGO.
• Catholic Relief Services: CRS is a large-scale humanitarian and development NGO with deep Central American presence, comparable to ANF's integrated relief-to-development model and government partnership approach.
• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps runs multi-sector humanitarian and economic development programs in fragile contexts including Central America, with a comparable blend of emergency response and longer-term development programming.

Direct peers

• Food For The Poor: Food For The Poor is ANF's mission-critical partner and a direct comparable: a US-based 501(c)(3) operating integrated housing, water, agriculture, and disaster relief programs across Latin America and the Caribbean, with an overlapping programmatic model and donor base.
• WaterAid: WaterAid is a direct comparable on ANF's WASH program (129,827 beneficiaries, 12,425 sanitation facilities), delivering community-managed water systems and sanitation infrastructure in low-income contexts.
• Heifer International: Heifer International closely mirrors ANF's agriculture pillar — smallholder farmer training, food security, and rural livelihoods — with analogous training-center and technical-assistance models.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Habitat for Humanity is a direct comparable on ANF's housing pillar, building dignified homes and community infrastructure in Latin America through local partner networks and donor-funded models analogous to ANF's 23,564-house track record.

Regional players

• Helps International: Helps International partners with rural Guatemalan communities on health, education, and economic development — a regional peer with a similar integrated rural-development model and field-implementation approach relevant to ANF's Central American footprint.

Emerging players

• Self-Help International: Self-Help International works alongside Nicaraguan and Central American smallholder farmers on food security and agricultural training — a niche, emerging-peer overlay with ANF's agricultural training and income-generation programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/anf
• Facebookfacebook.com/anfnicaragua
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/anfnicaragua

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about American Nicaraguan Foundation