The Mariposa DR Foundation

Name

The Mariposa DR Foundation

Legal name

The Mariposa DR Foundation

Website

https://mariposadrfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Education and Empowerment Services

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Gender Equality, Inclusion & Social Protection Programs (BPADABAK)

Keywords

• Girls education programs
• Youth empowerment services
• Nonprofit social enterprise
• Community development programs
• Educational scholarship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Cabarete

HQ country

Dominican Republic

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Individual and Corporate Donations: Tax-deductible charitable contributions from individuals, foundations, and corporations supporting girls education and empowerment programs in the Dominican Republic
2. Social Enterprises: Revenue-generating operations including Cabarete Coffee Company, Cabarete Guide magazine, and Upcycled Sails project that support organizational sustainability and employ women in the community
3. Founders' Circle: High-level donors contributing $150,000 or more since Mariposa's inception who support the expansion project

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Mariposa DR Foundation provides holistic education, empowerment, and employment programs for girls and young women ages 7-23+ living in poverty in the Dominican Republic. The core offering is the Mariposa Center for Girls in Cabarete (the largest safe space for girls in Latin America and the Caribbean), complemented by the Mariposa Mountain School at Finca Alta Gracia in Jarabacoa. All programs — academic enrichment, health and wellness, athletics, arts, environmental education, scholarships, and career support — are provided free of charge to participants.

Product overview

The Mariposa DR Foundation operates as a non-profit organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and social enterprises focused on educating, empowering, and employing girls in the Dominican Republic. The core offering is the Mariposa Center for Girls in Cabarete (the largest safe space for girls in Latin America and the Caribbean), complemented by the Mariposa Mountain School at Finca Alta Gracia in Jarabacoa. The organization supports girls through a tiered model progressing from ages 7 through young adulthood (Mariposa Model). Supporting social enterprises include Cabarete Coffee Company (providing employment to graduates), the Cabarete Guide (annual tourism magazine), the Primeros Lectores Book Series (literacy materials), and the Mariposa Upcycled Sails project. The Mariposa Volando Program provides post-high school scholarships and career support. All programs and enterprises work together to fulfill the mission of ending generational poverty through girls' education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Mariposa Center for Girls: The main facility and programming center, described as the largest safe space for girls in Latin America and the Caribbean, serving girls ages 7-23+ with comprehensive educational and empowerment programs.
• Mariposa Mountain School at Finca Alta Gracia
• Cabarete Coffee Company
• Mariposa Primeros Lectores
• Cabarete Guide
• Mariposa Upcycled Sails
• Mariposa Volandos

Products and services

• Mariposa Center for Girls The flagship facility in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, serving as the largest safe space for girls in Latin America and the Caribbean. Provides academic enrichment, sports, arts, health and wellness, environmental education, and experiential learning programs for approximately 200 girls ages 7-23+, all at no cost to participants.
• Mariposa Mountain School at Finca Alta Gracia A second campus in the mountains near Jarabacoa, spanning approximately 230 acres, offering educational and empowerment programs to girls in the rural Los Marranitos community. Includes a coffee, fruit, vegetable, and macadamia farm providing environmental education and agricultural programming.
• Mariposa Volando Program A transition program supporting Mariposa graduates ages 17-23 who have completed high school, offering scholarships for higher education, internships, career guidance, and professional development opportunities.
• Cabarete Coffee Company A social enterprise coffee shop offering organic, fair trade, shade-grown coffee and food. Donated to the Foundation by the Suriel family in 2017, providing employment to Mariposa graduates with 100% of profits supporting Mariposa programming.
• Cabarete Guide An annual Responsible Tourism and Investment Guide magazine published by the Foundation as a fundraiser. Features travel tips, business profiles, and high-quality photography about Cabarete, Dominican Republic, with 100,000+ annual circulation.
• Mariposa Primeros Lectores Book Series A Dominican-centered literacy book series for early readers, featuring 10 titles and a matching memory card set, written and illustrated by the Mariposa community to represent local language and culture.
• Mariposa Upcycled Sails A social enterprise project that repurposes used sails into new products, providing employment to Mariposa mothers and generating income for the organization while keeping materials out of landfills.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of Mariposa girls reach age 18 without child pregnancy and with high school degree
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Julia Alvarez and Bill Eichner (Finca Alta Gracia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019In 2019, MDRF signed an agreement with Honorary Chairwomen Julia Alvarez and husband Bill Eichner to restore their 260-acre organic coffee farm, Finca Alta Gracia, and add it to the Mariposa Family. The farm is located near Jarabacoa in the Dominican mountains.
• United World College (UWC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018In 2018 MDRF was endorsed by UWC as an official UWC short course site. In July 2019, students and staff from 16 countries took part in the first UWC short course 'Sustainability as Social Justice: Investing in Girls and in Mother Earth.' UWC also offers IB opportunities and has given some Mariposas full scholarships to study in the U.S.
• 3 Mariposas MontessoricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal pre and elementary school with Montessori learning focus. Dominican and Haitian children who graduate from 3 Mariposas programs join Mariposa programming. Co-founded by Patricia Suriel and Sarah Ludwig Ross.
• CORAL SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrivate school partnership where Mariposa provides scholarships for girls to attend. Created a half-day 6th grade class specifically for Mariposas.
• Girl RisingmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal campaign for girls education. Holly Gordon, Chief Impact Officer at Participant Media and Girl Rising co-founder, serves on the Advisory Board. Girl Rising film has elevated global awareness of girls education issues.
• Plastic Tides FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on environmental education to protect waterways as a coastal community, especially in response to climate change effects.
• Rise UpcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2019, the first three Rise Up Scholars headed to the USA to study at colleges in Idaho, Iowa and North Carolina on full scholarships.
• Princeton in Latin America (PiLA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner8 PiLA fellows from September 2025 - July 2026 bringing knowledge in health, creative writing, paddle boarding, biology and more to Mariposa programs.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Room to Read: Global non-profit focused on girls' education and literacy, operating direct-service programs with measurable outcomes (similar to Mariposa's 100% HS grad claim). Both run tiered, longitudinal programs targeting marginalized girls, and share a donor-supported, results-driven operating model.
• She's the First: Non-profit that partners with local organizations to ensure girls complete secondary school and become leaders. Comparable to Mariposa's wraparound model that combines scholarships, mentorship, and post-secondary transition (Mariposa Volando).
• Malala Fund: Advocacy and programming-focused non-profit working to give every girl 12 years of free, safe, quality education. Comparable to Mariposa in mission (ending generational poverty via girls' education) and donor-supported funding model, with similar international visibility.
• Rise Up: Non-profit that invests in local leaders and organizations advancing health, education, and equity for girls and women. Mariposa has direct partnership ties to Rise Up (the 'Rise Up Scholars' program sending graduates to US colleges on full scholarships).
• Educate Girls: Non-profit working in rural India to enroll out-of-school girls and improve learning outcomes via community mobilization and direct programming. Comparable operating model: targeting girls in low-income communities with measurable enrollment/graduation outcomes, similar to Mariposa's Cabarete and Los Marranitos campuses.

Broad incumbents

• Plan International: Large multinational NGO with extensive girls' education and child rights programming globally. Overlaps with Mariposa's gender-equality mission but operates across many countries rather than concentrating on a single community like MDRF.
• CARE: Major international humanitarian organization with significant focus on girls' and women's empowerment and education in low-income countries. Comparable mission surface, but operates at far greater scale and geographic breadth than Mariposa's two campuses.

Others

• United World Colleges (UWC): Global network of IB schools offering scholarships and short courses; a core Mariposa partner (MDRF is an official UWC short-course site and UWC has placed Mariposa girls on full IB scholarships). Listed as an ecosystem partner rather than a peer.

Emerging players

• Girl Rising: Global non-profit using storytelling and partnerships to drive awareness and action for girls' education; the Girl Rising Chief Impact Officer sits on MDRF's Advisory Board. Overlaps with Mariposa on mission and donor-base but focuses more on narrative/advocacy than direct center operations.
• Lotus Outreach: Non-profit operating direct-service education and empowerment programs for girls in Cambodia and India. Comparable in being a smaller, community-anchored girls' education organization with measurable outcomes, though focused on Southeast Asia rather than the Caribbean.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mariposadrfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries2 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 The Mariposa DR Foundation