Alternativas y Capacidades

What Alternativas y Capacidades does

Alternativas y Capacidades A.C. is a Mexican nonprofit civil society organization headquartered in Mexico City, founded in 2002 (with one source citing 2004), that strengthens civil society organizations, advises strategic philanthropists, and fosters citizen participation across Mexico. It operates three core program lines — Nuevas Filantropías (flexible, trust-based philanthropy advisory), Acción Colectiva (organizational strengthening and accompaniment), and Impacto Público (research and advocacy on civic space) — supported by specialized initiatives including LabSocial (youth empowerment in Quintana Roo, Campeche, and Yucatán), JuventudActúaMX (civic participation alliance with INE, 11+ years, 244+ youth leaders and 140 social projects), Causas Ciudadanas (network across 21 Mexican states), and Raíces (regional accompaniment in Yucatán and Chiapas). The organization also maintains El Cauce, a resource hub distributing publications, tools, and blog content, and convenes the annual "Conjuros para la Filantropía" virtual event.

The organization's "technology" consists of methodological frameworks, accompaniment toolkits, a content/resource platform (El Cauce), and primary research instruments such as the 2025 Voces México youth survey, rather than software products. Services are delivered through customized accompaniment engagements in hybrid, in-person, and virtual modalities, with multi-year contract cadences and inquiry-based onboarding via the website. The "Causas Ciudadanas Network" functions as a multi-organization collaboration layer spanning 21 states and is identified as a proprietary differentiator supporting integration across participating organizations.

The business model is nonprofit and project-based. Revenue is generated through grants from international donors and bilateral institutions (European Union, Mexican Government, ICNL), long-term strategic partnerships (INE for JuventudActúaMX, Harvard Kennedy School for the Global Philanthropy Report), and fee-based accompaniment services to organizations, philanthropists, companies, and government institutions. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed. A small core team of 8 staff, including Executive Director Jenny Zehner, delivers the work alongside a 4-member board. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on long-term institutional relationships, virtual convenings, and content marketing rather than a traditional sales motion.

Name

Alternativas y Capacidades

Legal name

Alternativas y Capacidades A.C.

Website

https://alternativasycapacidades.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alternativas y Capacidades A.C. is a Mexico City-based nonprofit that strengthens civil society organizations, advises strategic philanthropists, and fosters youth civic participation through accompaniment services, research, and advocacy programs operating across 21 Mexican states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Civil Society Capacity Building Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil Society Strengthening & Civic Space (BPADAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Governance, Democracy & Rule of Law (BPAGABAI)

Keywords

• Civil society strengthening
• Philanthropy advisory
• Organizational capacity building
• Civic participation programs
• Nonprofit consulting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Project-based funding: The organization receives funding from international donors and foundations for specific projects, such as the European Union and Mexican Government co-financed Social Cohesion Laboratory project in the Huasteca region.
2. Accompaniment services: Customized consulting and training services provided to organizations, companies, collectives, and government institutions seeking to strengthen their capacity and sustainability.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Alternativas y Capacidades A.C. is a Mexican civil society organization (Asociación Civil) that accompanies organizations, networks, philanthropists, and youth through customized advisory, training, and capacity-building services. It delivers three core program lines — Nuevas Filantropías (strategic philanthropy advisory), Acción Colectiva (organizational strengthening and movement support), and Impacto Público (civic space research and public policy advocacy) — and supports a national network of civil society actors across 21 Mexican states. Its work is funded by international donors and foundations through project-based grants and direct accompaniment engagements.

Product overview

Alternativas y Capacidades is a civil society organization (A.C.) with more than 20 years of experience accompanying social justice work. The organization operates a portfolio of interconnected programs centered on three core pillars: Nuevas filantropías (strategic philanthropy advisory), Acción colectiva (organizational strengthening), and Impacto público (civic engagement). These are supported by specialized initiatives including LabSocial (youth empowerment in southern Mexico), JuventudActúaMX (civic participation with INE), Causas Ciudadanas (national civil society network), and Raíces (regional support in Yucatán and Chiapas). The organization also maintains El Cauce, a resource platform providing publications, tools, and blog content to the social sector. Conjuros para la Filantropía represents an annual virtual convening. Together, these programs offer a comprehensive ecosystem for civil society capacity building, philanthropy strategy, and citizen participation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Nuevas Filantropías Program that accompanies individuals, foundations, and companies seeking to donate more strategically, consciously, and transformatively, providing advisory services and promoting flexible, trust-based philanthropy models for Mexican donors and institutions.
• Acción Colectiva Program that strengthens organizations, networks, and social movements through training and accompaniment to sustain their work and advance change agendas, promoting organizational sustainability, knowledge management, and public policy advocacy.
• Impacto Público Program promoting an environment where civil society can grow and drive its work, democratizing knowledge about civic space through research to foster collaboration between government and civil society in informed decision-making.
• Causas Ciudadanas

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 244 young people have led 140 social projects through JuventudActúaMX in over 11 years
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Long-term alliance with INE for #JuventudActúaMX, a project that promotes youth civic participation with human rights and gender enfoque. Over more than 11 years, over 244 young people have led 140 social projects through this partnership.
• Harvard Kennedy SchoolmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal collaborator for the Global Philanthropy Report research initiative, contributing Mexican perspective and context to comprehensive global analysis of philanthropy practices led by Harvard Kennedy School.
• AppleseedmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance partner in advocacy actions against proposed tax law reforms, along with Centro de Enlace y Desarrollo para OSC, COEO Consultores, Dakshina, Fondo Semillas, Fortalece Legal, and Colectivo Causas Ciudadanas.
• Fondo SemillasmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlliance partner in advocacy coalition to defend civil society organizations against harmful tax reforms, collaborating on analysis, proposals, and public positioning.
• Colectivo Causas CiudadanascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA collaborative network that Alternativas y Capacidades is part of, working to strengthen organized civil society (SCO) through visibility, alliance generation, and inclusive public policy advocacy across 21 Mexican states.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• ICNL (International Center for Not-for-Profit Law): International organization that supports enabling legal environments for civil society; an active funder and partner of AyC on LISR advocacy, with a directly overlapping focus on regulatory threats to Mexican CSOs.
• Oxfam Mexico: Mexican office of a major international NGO working on inequality, civic participation, and social justice; comparable mission and beneficiary base to AyC but with significantly larger scale, brand, and global funding access.
• WINGS (Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support): Global network of philanthropy-support organizations; highly comparable to AyC's Nuevas Filantropías program in mission (strengthening and advising funders), but operating at global rather than Mexican scale.
• CIVICUS: Global civil society alliance tracking civic space conditions and mobilizing collective advocacy; directly comparable in mission to AyC's civic-space strengthening work but with global scope and significantly larger footprint.

Direct peers

• Fondo Semillas: Mexican women's fund that provides grants and capacity-building accompaniment to civil society organizations in Mexico; an active alliance partner of Alternativas y Capacidades in the LISR tax defense coalition, with overlapping funder and advocacy networks.
• ARTICLE 19 (Mexico & Central America): International organization defending freedom of expression and civic space in Mexico; comparable mission around civil society enabling and advocacy, with overlapping coalitions on tax and regulatory issues affecting Mexican NGOs.
• Fundar, Centro de Análisis e Investigación: Mexico-based research and advocacy CSO working on public policy, transparency, and civic space — directly comparable to AyC's Impacto Público program and often operating in the same donor and coalition ecosystems.
• COEO Consultores: Mexican consultancy that provides accompaniment and organizational development to civil society organizations; alliance partner of AyC and a near-direct competitor in the same niche of customized CSO capacity building.
• Centro de Enlace y Desarrollo para OSC: Mexican civil society support organization that works on organizational strengthening and advocacy for OSCs; an explicit alliance partner of AyC in the LISR defense coalition, with similar capacity-building service offerings.
• Fortalece Legal: Mexican legal support initiative for civil society organizations facing regulatory threats; an alliance partner of AyC in LISR advocacy and comparable as a CSO-enabling intermediary in Mexico.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/alternativasycapacidades
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alternativas-y-capacidades-a-c-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Alternativas y Capacidades