Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage

What Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage does

Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1988, headquartered in Chula Vista, California, with primary operational facilities on a 16-acre ranch near Rosarito, Mexico. The organization runs two principal program lines: a volunteer-driven homebuilding program that constructs weather-tight homes for impoverished families in Northern Mexico over four-day work trips, and residential orphan care at the St. Innocent Orphanage (founded 1996 by Greg Yova) for teenage boys. Casa Cuna extends this care to infants and toddlers and is described as the only Orthodox infant orphanage in North America.

The organization's program architecture combines direct service delivery with a layered donor and volunteer engagement model. Supporting programs include Faithful Friends recurring giving, School Buddies, Santa's Helpers, Pantry Partners, vehicle donation, legacy giving, and a Shopify-based merchandise store. The organization publishes a Stories of Hope podcast (now in Season 6), annual impact reports, and runs the FOrCE (Forming Orthodox Christian Evangelists) speaker series in partnership with Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology. Casa Cuna's establishment was enabled by the Phillip Giannakis Foundation, and the organization holds official endorsement from the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central America. Governance is split between a U.S. Board of Directors and a separate Mexican Board; Executive Director Fr. Nicholas Andruchow oversees both U.S. and Mexico operations.

Revenue is generated entirely through donations from individuals, churches, and church organizations. There is no commercial product, software platform, or technology offering; the underlying "product" is human service delivery (homebuilding and residential care) augmented by volunteer labor and donor-funded operations. Headcount is reported at 11-50 employees, with the 2024-2025 fiscal year marking 27 homes built in Northern Mexico.

Name

Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage

Legal name

Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage

Website

https://projectmexico.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage is a 501(c)(3) non-profit operating volunteer homebuilding programs in Northern Mexico and Orthodox orphanages for boys and infants on a 16-acre ranch near Rosarito, funded entirely through donations from Orthodox Christian individuals and churches.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Humanitarian and Child Welfare Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Education in Emergencies (EiE) & Safe Schools (BPADAKAJ)

Keywords

• Volunteer homebuilding
• Orphanage services
• Humanitarian aid
• Charitable programs
• Donation-based services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chula Vista

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: The organization generates revenue primarily through donations from individuals, churches, and church organizations. This includes one-time donations, recurring donations through the Faithful Friends program, and special campaigns such as School Buddies, Santa's Helpers, Pantry Partners, Amazon Needs Lists, Vehicle Donation, and Legacy Giving.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage is a non-profit organization that runs volunteer-driven homebuilding programs to construct safe, weather-tight homes for impoverished families in Northern Mexico over four-day builds, and operates Orthodox-affiliated orphanages (St. Innocent Orphanage for teenage boys and Casa Cuna for infants and toddlers) on a 16-acre ranch near Rosarito, Mexico. All programs are funded through charitable donations from individuals, churches, and partner foundations.

Product overview

Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage is a humanitarian non-profit organization offering a portfolio of programs focused on serving impoverished families and orphaned children in Northern Mexico. The core offerings include a volunteer homebuilding program that constructs homes over four-day periods, the St. Innocent Orphanage providing residential care for teenage boys on a 16-acre ranch, and Casa Cuna, the only Orthodox infant orphanage in North America. Supporting programs include the FOrCE speaker series for Orthodox Christian education, a podcast, internship opportunities, various child and family sponsorship programs, and an online merchandise store.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FOrCE (Forming Orthodox Christian Evangelists): A speaker series program in partnership with Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, exploring post-service opportunities in Orthodox education, service, leadership, and community.
• Casa Cuna

Products and services

• Volunteer Homebuilding Program Volunteer-based homebuilding program constructing safe, secure, and weather-tight homes for impoverished families in Northern Mexico. Each home is built over four days with entirely volunteer labor, provided free to recipient families.
• St. Innocent Orphanage Residential care facility for orphaned teenage boys located on a 16-acre ranch near Rosarito, Mexico, providing spiritual direction, education, athletics, and extracurricular activities.
• Casa Cuna Infant Orphanage The only Orthodox infant orphanage in North America, caring for infants and toddlers with a focus on healthy attachment, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual development through daily care, prayer, and community.
• FOrCE (Forming Orthodox Christian Evangelists) Speaker Series Educational initiative providing free Zoom-based speaker series in partnership with Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, exploring Orthodox vocations, spiritual insight, and community leadership.

Quantifiable outcome

• Built 27 homes for families in 2024-2025 fiscal year

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hellenic College Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of TheologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the FOrCE (Forming Orthodox Christian Evangelists) Speaker Series - six 45-minute Zoom webinars exploring post-service opportunities in Orthodox education, service, leadership, and community. The series strengthens faith, empowers believers, and helps form Orthodox Christian evangelists.
• Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops of North and Central AmericacoreOthersOfficially recognizes Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage as an endorsed organization. This recognition provides ecclesiastical endorsement and legitimacy within the Orthodox Christian community across North and Central America.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Compassion International: Christian child sponsorship nonprofit supporting vulnerable children worldwide. Comparable child sponsorship, faith-based donor base, and recurring giving model, though much larger and focused on development rather than orphanages.
• International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC): Official humanitarian aid agency of the Assembly of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the USA. Comparable Orthodox affiliation, donor base, and ecclesiastical endorsement structure, but operating at a much larger scale across global relief and development.
• Samaritan's Purse: Large evangelical nonprofit that runs volunteer homebuilding programs (including in Mexico) and humanitarian relief. Comparable short-term volunteer homebuilding trips and faith-based fundraising, though at substantially larger scale.
• World Vision: Global Christian humanitarian organization that supports child welfare, sponsorship, and family housing. Comparable child sponsorship and faith-based family-services model, but at vastly larger scale and broader geographic scope.
• Habitat for Humanity: Global nonprofit building affordable housing with volunteer labor. Comparable volunteer-driven homebuilding model, but at vastly larger scale and serving a broader (non-sectarian) population.

Emerging players

• Mercy Chefs: Faith-based nonprofit providing disaster relief meals and family services, primarily in the US and Latin America. Comparable faith-driven, volunteer-supported service model targeting vulnerable families in Latin America.
• Youth With A Mission (YWAM): Global interdenominational Christian missionary movement that mobilizes volunteer teams for short-term service trips. Comparable short-term volunteer mission model and faith-driven recruitment pipeline, though broader in scope than homebuilding/orphanage work.

Direct peers

• Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC): Orthodox missionary organization that mobilizes volunteers, missionaries, and donor support for service work. Comparable faith-driven volunteer mobilization, Orthodox donor base, and short-term mission trip model.
• Homes of Hope: Faith-based nonprofit that builds homes for families in poverty through short-term volunteer trips in Mexico and Central America. Directly comparable short-trip, volunteer-driven homebuilding model serving similar beneficiary families.
• Esperanza International: Faith-based nonprofit that builds homes and provides services for families in the Dominican Republic and Haiti using volunteer trip model. Directly comparable volunteer-driven international homebuilding and family-services mission.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/projectmexico
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjWX21bD-yMINGlUlxnp9XA
• Facebookfacebook.com/ProjectMexico
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/project-mexico
• Instagraminstagram.com/projectmexico

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Project Mexico & St. Innocent Orphanage