Pastoral Social Cáritas

What Pastoral Social Cáritas does

Pastoral Social Cáritas (legal name: Cáritas de Guatemala) is the official social action arm of the Guatemalan Catholic Church, operating as a national ecclesiastical division under the Pastoral Social umbrella and aligned with the Confederation of the Camex Zone. Its mission centers on solidarity assistance, human promotion, and national advocacy for poor and excluded populations in Guatemala, delivered through a network of diocesan Cáritas organizations across regions including Jalapa, Escuintla, Baja Verapaz, Suchitepéquez, and Santa Rosa. Core program areas include food security and child nutrition (operationalized through the App Nutricional mobile application and the Alimétrica CARI+ methodology, both grounded in WHO infant growth standards), youth leadership for territorial governance, and gender-based violence prevention training with adults and elderly community members.

The organization's technology footprint consists of three proprietary assets: (1) the App Nutricional de Cáritas de Guatemala, a mobile/tablet application for nutritional evaluation, diagnosis, and monitoring of children; (2) the Metodología Alimétrica and CARI+ food and nutritional security application; and (3) the Inter Cáritas internal portal (ci.caritas.org.gt) for coordination among member organizations. These are internally deployed tools rather than commercial software products, and there is no evidence of AI/ML capability, public APIs, or external integrations. Cáritas Guatemala also publishes a project portfolio for 2026 covering youth governance and community transformation initiatives, executed under a multi-year strategic plan covering 2024-2029.

The business model is non-commercial: operations are funded primarily through donations from individuals and institutions (channeled via a dedicated bank account and an online donation portal) and through provision of technical assistance, project management, and capacity-building services to diocesan Cáritas organizations. Cáritas Guatemala does not sell products or services to end beneficiaries and does not disclose pricing. Go-to-market is community-led, with beneficiaries reached through diocesan networks, parish connections, and ecclesiastical channels rather than traditional sales motions. The organization markets primarily through organic Facebook and Instagram presence plus its donation portal, and reports contact via [email protected] and phone 2432-3175. Headquarters are located at 1era. Avenida 9-44 Colonia El Rosario Zona 3, Mixco, Guatemala.

Name

Pastoral Social Cáritas

Legal name

Cáritas de Guatemala

Website

https://caritas.org.gt

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Pastoral Social Cáritas (Cáritas de Guatemala) is the social action arm of the Guatemalan Catholic Church, delivering food security, nutrition, youth governance, and gender-based violence programs to poor and excluded populations through a national network of diocesan Cáritas organizations, supported by donations and the WHO-based App Nutricional and CARI+ methodology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian and Social Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Nutrition & Food Security (Global Health) NGOs (HLAJAKAH), Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health (MNCAH) NGOs (HLAJAKAG), Health Systems Strengthening & Primary Care Development (HLAJAKAJ)

Keywords

• Catholic social services
• Food security programs
• Humanitarian aid services
• Nutritional monitoring
• Community development programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Guatemala

HQ country

Guatemala

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Cáritas de Guatemala operates as a non-profit charitable organization funded primarily through donations from individuals, institutions, and supporters. The organization accepts monetary donations through dedicated bank accounts for solidarity with those in need.
2. Diocesan Support Services: Provides general services to dioceses including technical assistance, project management support, and capacity building for social action programs at the local level.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Cáritas de Guatemala is the official social action arm of the Guatemalan Catholic Church, providing charitable assistance, human promotion, and advocacy for vulnerable populations. It delivers food security and nutritional monitoring programs (using the Alimétrica CARI+ methodology and a mobile application based on WHO growth standards), youth leadership initiatives for territorial governance, and gender-based violence prevention training, distributed through a national network of diocesan Cáritas organizations.

Product overview

Cáritas de Guatemala is a Catholic charitable organization operating as a national ecclesiastical division of Cáritas. The organization offers charitable assistance, human promotion, and advocacy services through a network of diocesan instances. Its primary technology products include the App Nutricional (nutritional evaluation mobile app) and the CARI+ Alimetric Methodology, both focused on food and nutritional security. Additional services include youth governance projects, community transformation initiatives, and an internal staff portal (Inter Cáritas). The product portfolio centers on social welfare programs and nutritional monitoring rather than a traditional software platform architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• App Nutricional de Cáritas de Guatemala: Nutritional evaluation, diagnosis and monitoring application for children based on WHO infant growth patterns

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Confederación de la Zona CamexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCáritas de Guatemala works in coordination and alignment with the Confederation of the Camex Zone, following its pastoral guidelines and participating in its strategic initiatives at the regional level.
• Catholic Church Guatemala - Pastoral SocialcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCáritas de Guatemala is an instance of the Guatemalan Catholic Church, operating as part of the Pastoral Social (Social Pastoral) division of the Church, working with other commissions at the national level.
• Cáritas ArquidiocesanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchdiocesan Cáritas organizations that develop social actions at the diocesan level, implementing programs for vulnerable populations.
• Diocesan Cáritas OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiocesan organizations including Diocese of Verapaz and others that receive support services and coordinate social programs at the local level.
• WHO (World Health Organization)supportingOthersCáritas de Guatemala's nutritional app is based on WHO infant growth patterns for nutritional assessment and monitoring of children.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Catholic Relief Services (CRS): USCCB-affiliated international humanitarian agency operating in Guatemala. Shares the Catholic institutional identity and operates similar social action programs (food security, livelihoods, GBV prevention) in overlapping geographies.
• Save the Children Guatemala: INGO focused on child welfare, nutrition, and protection in Guatemala. Comparable programmatic mix around vulnerable children, food security, and rights-based community engagement.
• Acción contra el Hambre Guatemala: INGO specialized in nutrition, food security, and WASH in Guatemala. Directly comparable on the nutritional assessment and food security monitoring programs central to Cáritas Guatemala's mission.
• Oxfam Guatemala: INGO focused on poverty, inequality, and food justice in Guatemala. Comparable target beneficiaries (poor and excluded populations) and rights-based programmatic approach, though non-religious affiliation.
• Mercy Corps Guatemala: INGO addressing poverty, conflict, and food insecurity in Guatemala. Comparable on youth leadership programming, community-based resilience, and serving vulnerable populations in Guatemalan territories.

Broad incumbents

• Caritas Internationalis: Global umbrella federation of 166 Cáritas member organizations. Cáritas Guatemala operates within this federation and aligns with its pastoral guidelines — the direct apex of its peer network.
• World Food Programme Guatemala: UN agency addressing food insecurity in Guatemala. Directly comparable on food security and nutritional monitoring programs, with overlapping beneficiary segments in vulnerable populations.
• Caritas Latin America and Caribbean (SELACC): Regional Cáritas confederation covering Central and South America. Cáritas Guatemala coordinates with regional counterparts under the Confederación de la Zona Camex, making SELACC the most direct institutional peer.
• UNICEF Guatemala: UN agency focused on child welfare and nutrition in Guatemala. Operates in overlapping territory on child nutrition, maternal health, and social policy advocacy — the closest institutional peer to Cáritas's MNCAH programming.

Regional players

• Fundación ProNiño (Guatemala): Guatemalan-focused child welfare nonprofit operating youth and child development programs. Comparable beneficiary segment (children and vulnerable youth) and community engagement model, though narrower programmatic scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/caritas.gt
• Instagraminstagram.com/caritas.gt
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pastoral-social-c%C3%A1ritas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Pastoral Social Cáritas