Clinton School student Spencer Lucker (’12) spent the fall semester working with Minga Peru, an NGO based in Lima, Peru, to assist in the development and implementation of strategic fundraising practices.
Minga Peru facilitates projects in the Peruvian Amazon to improve the lives of women and families in the Amazon’s riverine communities. Through a health education radio broadcast, women’s leadership training program and resource management program, Minga provides programming to communities that increase quality of life, gender equality and community health.
Over the past year Minga has directed focus towards its fundraising practices and expanding funding support from private donors in the United States. Lucker worked with Minga staff and strategic fundraisers to develop a communications plan for Minga to broadcast its programming outcomes and recruit potential supporters.
Lucker partnered with multiple universities in the United States to assess the feasibility of educational partnerships between Minga and American institutions. From interviews and interactions with representatives of these institutions, he provided resources that will assist Minga staff in future development and implementation of educational programming for students visiting Peru and Minga’s projects.
He also spent time in the Amazon observing Minga’s training workshops and interviewing participants in its programs. As part of the organization’s strategic communication plan, Lucker collected testimonials from program participants and members of Minga’s communities in the Amazon. He then compiled these profiles into a communications bank for Minga staff to use in future communication outreach to donors.
“The past fall was a great experience serving as a liaison between institutions and individuals in the United States and community members in the Peruvian Amazon,” Lucker said. “Minga is doing wonderful work to improve the quality of life for women, children, and communities in the Amazon, and these successes should be known throughout the world.”
Lucker completed the work as his final Clinton School Capstone in the Master of Public Service program. The program is designed to provide students with leadership skills and expertise for careers in nonprofit, government, and private sector service work.
For more information about Minga Peru’s programs, visit http://www.mingaperu.com/.
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