Frequently asked questions

To one specific project, with its spending list published. On every project you can see what gets bought and what it costs, at real local prices. That list is the whole budget: there are no hidden lines.

Stripe — the company that processes the cards — takes its fee out of the payment. The rest goes to the project. When the project reaches its goal, the foundation buys the item and delivers it.

The foundation buys and delivers what is needed, directly. We never hand cash to the person being helped. If it is for nappies, we buy the nappies. If it is for food, we buy the food. If a child needs school supplies, we buy the supplies. This is not distrust of the family: it is how everything stays clear, for the person giving and for the person receiving alike.

That way whoever gives knows exactly what their money turned into, and nobody has to negotiate over cash inside their own house.

Evelyn García. She goes to the house before a project is published, talks with the family and confirms the situation. Her verification note and the date of the visit appear on every project.

I don’t just look at whether the house is humble. I look at how the person lives and what they actually need: whether there are children and no food, whether there is an older person who needs nappies, whether there is a mother on her own holding up her children, whether someone is ill or disabled and the family has no way to cover it. And I look at whether the need is real, rather than someone trying to take advantage of help.

We publish the community — Las Galeras, El Limón, Samaná — but never anyone’s exact address.

It is the question we get most, and the answer is a photograph. When what was needed is delivered, we put the delivery photos on the project page and email them to everyone who gave. There are no invoices to interpret: there are photos of the delivery and, when the family wants, a few words from them.

That photo is there so you can see that what you gave arrived — not so you feel sorry for anyone.

The page stays open, and anything that comes in after the goal goes to the Fondo Samaná: the next verified project. We say so on the project page before you enter your card, not after.

If the person’s situation changes before the project is carried out — if they die, move away, or no longer need the help — the funds go to the next verified project in the same category. We do not give refunds, but we write to every donor to tell them exactly where their gift went.

Two people. Evelyn García does the visits, the verification and the deliveries on the peninsula. Marvin runs the foundation and this page. We are small on purpose: one project at a time, done properly. As Evelyn puts it: this is not about her, it is about what we can do for Samaná together.

Not yet. Ayuda Samaná does not issue tax-deductible receipts. If you give, give as direct help to a family, not as a deductible donation. When that changes, we will say so here.

The payment happens on Stripe’s page, not ours: Ayuda Samaná never sees or stores your card number. We accept credit and debit cards, in US dollars.

Yes. Tick “I would rather appear as Anonymous” on the form and that is how you appear on the page. Your email is never published: we use it only to send you the delivery photos.

We publish the first name and the initial of the surname, never the full name. Nobody appears on this page without having given permission, recorded or signed.

We do not put misery on display to get attention. We do not publish anyone crying, or in a situation that would make them feel bad about it afterwards, and we do not tell private details that serve no purpose. A bag of groceries, some school supplies or a pack of nappies tell the story without turning somebody’s suffering into content.

If a family asks us to take down their story and their photos, we take them down the same day. Just write to info@ayudasamana.do.