VIDA PLENA

STARTED: Incubation Program 2022

Co-founder, Executive Director

SEED GRANT: $132,000

MONEY FUNDRAISED TO DATE (AUG 2023): $348,000

TEAM SIZE: 4 core team members; 11 community group facilitators

Anita Kaslin

Co-founder, Community Group Coordinator

Building Strong Mental Health in Latin America

CURRENT OR PREDICTED IMPACT:

71% of people who take part in theirprogram have significant reducts in their mental health, finishing the program with mild - to no depression
Vida Plena expecst to treat 600 people by the end of 2023 and are aiming for 6,000 in 2024

COST-EFFECTIVENESS:

Predictive CEA, conducted by volunteers from the Happier Lives Institute
- Estimated to be at least 8x more cost-effective than GiveDirectly in terms of improving subjective well-being
- Cost per DALY: $462
- Cost per WELLBY: $17
- Projected cost per person treated at scale: $77

SIGNIFICANT UPDATES:

Training partnership completed with the Columbia University Global Mental Health Lab in NYC
Collaboration agreements signed with World Vision and 11 other local implementation partners in Ecuador, demonstrating on the ground support
Joy gave presentations at EAGx Latam in Mexico City, EA Global in SF, EA for Christians in London, and Christians in Impact in Washington DC
Vida Plena in the Ecuadorian national news:
Article in the nation-wide newspaper, Diario Expresso
Featured three times on national tv news, TeleAmazonas
Gave three full-length interviews with GlobalTV
Anita and Joy were selected to participate in the South Park Commons Social Innovators Fellowship, which is run by the Agency Fund
Vida Plena is selected to participate in an accelerator through turn.io
Vida Plena was awarded a USAID subgrant through IMPAQTO to provide mental health care to 600 vulnerable female entreprenures in 10 cities across Ecuador

ACHIEVEMENTS:

Pilot completed: In the fall of 2022, Vida Plena completed a pilot program to test the implementation of the program model in Latin America, which included:
- Community training: 12 local community members certified by certified by Columbia University as group facilitators
- Inauguration of first 10 support groups: Groups are composed of an average of 7 people and meet in local neighborhood locations for 9 weeks
Scaling of services: Vida Plena has continue to scale services across Quito, and is on target to treat 600 by the end of 2023.

IMPORTANT PUBLICATIONS:

ROOM FOR MORE FUNDING IN 2023

We are seeking to raise $40,000 to meet our total 2023 annual budget goal of $230,000. This will help us to:
- Develop a robust monitoring and evaluation system to ensure quality of therapy offered
- Strengthen our local partner network by establishing collaborations with 10 Ecuadorian nonprofits and local government agencies.
Funding proposal