About Us
We are a network of 17 Mexican community foundations that contribute to community development in 16 states of the country: Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Chiapas, Oaxaca, Puebla, Morelos, Querétaro, State of Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Jalisco, Nayarit, Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Sonora and Nuevo León.
Our reason for being
Mision
Strengthen community foundations in Mexico.
Vision
We are the Alliance of all the Community Foundations of Mexico that impacts the national level from the local, with international projection. Through our work and that of our members, the identity and model of a community foundation is recognized in the country.
VALUES
Subsidiarity
We integrate the strengths and weaknesses that, as a group, represent us.
Commitment
We assume with great conviction and devotion our social co-responsibility to the needs of the community.
Equality
We promote social change, boosting participation and representation without distinguishing between the members of our alliance.
Transparency
We are a solid group that works for the community’s development; we are convinced that our actions ought to be reflected in society in an honest and fair way.
Respect
We understand the differences of our members, partners and beneficiaries.
Congruence
Our actions are product of the collective decisions that we take according to the range of principles that support our alliance.
Unity
Being linked with one another is a fundamental characteristic of our daily work.
Innovation
We encourage individual and collective creativity, searching for new and diverse ways of doing things, creating strategies for the achievement of our objectives, and striving for the best possible result.
History
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The fertile ground for the creation of community foundations in Mexico begins to develop in 1985. The first ones, which started as funds, were the Córdoba Fund, the Chihuahuan Business Social Fund and the Cozumel Fund.
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In 1996, the first community foundation was created as such, the Oaxaca Community Foundation. Most of the community foundations that today are members of Comunalia emerged at the end of the nineties and at the beginning of the 2000s:
- Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC)
- Fundación Comunitaria Cozumel
- Fundación Comunidad
- Fundación Comunitaria Puebla
- Fundación del Empresariado Sonorense (FESAC)
- Corporativa de Fundaciones
- Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad
- Fundación Comunitaria Querétaro
- Fundación Comunitaria de la Frontera Norte (FCFN)
- Fundación Comunitaria Matamoros
- Fundación Merced Coahuila
- Fundación Merced Querétaro
- Fundación Punta de Mita
- Fundación Comunitaria Malinalco
- Fundación COMUNIDAR
- Fundación del Empresariado Yucateco (FEYAC)
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Comunalia began in 2009 as a collective effort of unity and representativity.
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In a strategic and organized way, it was consolidated in August 2011 as the Alliance of Community Foundations of Mexico, Comunalia, after 2 years of work.
Our identity, under the concept of bees and their honeycomb, hexagons in different sizes and colors, represents our land and its people; the teams of community foundations, Councils and communities, united to promote sustainable development.
The community foundations that participated in this process were:
- Chihuahua Business Foundation (FECHAC)
- Puebla Community Foundation
- Cozumel Community Foundation
- International Community Foundation
- Leon Foundation
- Querétaro Community Foundation
- Community Foundation
- Northern Border Community Foundation
- Corporate Foundations
- Oaxaca Community Foundation
- Sonoran Entrepreneurship Foundation (FESAC)
- Bajío Community Foundation
- Morelense Community Foundation
- Dishani Foundation
- Punta de Mita Community Foundation
- Malinalco Community Foundation
In 2013 they join:
- COMUNIDAR Foundation
- Merced Coahuila Foundation
In 2014:
- Yucateco Business Foundation, FEYAC
In 2015:
- Merced Querétaro Foundation
In 2020:
- Friends of Saint Christopher
In 2022:
- Potosino Social Investment Fund
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Today, Comunalia is a civil association made up of 17 community foundations, with presence in 16 states of the country and a central office in Monterrey, Nuevo León.
Board of Directors
Carlos García
PRESIDENT
Carlos García is a graduate of the UIA with a degree in Electronic Engineering, a Master’s Degree in Administration at ITAM, he has worked in 5 countries for transnational companies in different industries holding executive positions, he currently works as Director of Business Development at KI Industries, manufacturer of original equipment for the appliance and automotive industry.
He has held positions on the board of directors of Canacintra, Coparmex and the Mesón del Prado Colonos Association. For many years he has been part of Rotary International with various positions including President of the Jurica Rotary Club.
He enjoys traveling and doing outdoor sports such as road and mountain biking, tennis, paddle tennis, motorcycles or diving, as well as closely following the adventures of his two sons around the world.
Alberto Cárdenas Aldrete
Alberto Cárdenas Aldrete is founder of Salexperts, a business consultancy focused on the development of business strategies, from where he has helped companies grow.
In addition to being part of the board of several companies, he is a writer, author of the books Grow or die and Grow: decisions that make history, he is also a lecturer on sales strategies, a columnist for more than 15 media outlets in the country and a philanthropist where He has helped multiple CSOs grow pro bono through his firm, he has participated in some boards such as COMUNIDAR and is the founding president of Ser Filántropo.
Susana Morán
VOCAL
Susana Morán
Susana Morán Martínez is an economist and cultural manager with an extensive background in strengthening civil society organisations and community outreach. Born in Salamanca, Spain, and resident in San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas, since 2001, she holds a BA in Economics and Finance (UVA, Spain) and a Masters in International Trade and Finance (IAE Poitiers, France).
After working in the private sector in Spain, France and England, she joined the field of civil associations in Chiapas, focusing on administration, social project management, community networks and educational and cultural development.
Her training in arts and education includes studies in Theatre and Performance in Ireland and several diplomas in theatre applied to resilience, change facilitation and collaborative cultural management.
She is currently president and coordinator of Cuxtitali Expresión A.C., as well as serving on the boards of Amigos de San Cristóbal A.C. and other organisations. Her work has made her a point of reference for linking and strengthening the social sector in the highlands of Chiapas.
Erik Bruce Friend
With a deep passion for justice and equality, Erik Friend has worked in the social sector for many years. A graduate of Union Institute University in San Diego, he worked in the development of automotive repair cooperatives, while at the same time working in coordination with the Social Immersion Program of the Lutheran Church in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The experience of living between two worlds brought him great respect and appreciation for cultural and social diversity.
As a facilitator and training leader for Pachamama Alliance’s Awakening the Dreamer Program, he has traveled to Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Guatemala, Costa Rica and China to train and support local community leaders. He is also part of the team that is adapting the intensive course “Changing the Game” and “Drawdown” for Latin America, and the initiative to create an adaptation of the Alliance programs for companies that are seeking to be more sustainable, fair and full.
He is currently the President of the Community Foundation, where he works for community development. Also, he works with people with disabilities who have a wheelchair repair workshop, ALEM and Enchúlame la Silla.
David Pérez Rulfo Torres
VOCAL
David Pérez Rulfo Torres
David Pérez Rulfo Torres has a degree in Business Administration, with a specialty in University Management and Leadership from the OUI, where he obtained the “Gilles Boulet” award.
He was President of Comunalia, CIDES and the Committee of the Law for the Promotion of Civil Society Organizations of the State of Jalisco and member of the Technical Advisory Council of the Federal Law for the Promotion of Activities Carried out by Civil Society Organizations. of the Social Council of the IDB and the Council of AMEXCID.
He is director of Corporativa de Fundaciones A.C., and member of the board of directors of CEMEFI, and of the Business Council of UNIVA.
Alejandra Rivera
VOCAL
Alejandra Rivera
Alejandra Rivera is a Master in Administration and Social Entrepreneurship at the ORT University. She studied the European Master in Organization of Congresses, Events and Fairs, at the University of Deusto, in Bilbao, Spain; and a bachelor’s degree in Administration from the Universidad Nuevo Mundo, in the State of Mexico.
She studied the diplomas in: Social Intervention Models, ORT University; Social Direction and Management for Civil Society Organizations of Fundación Merced, A.C.; Thanatology and its Application in Clinical Practice by Tech Palewi, A.C.; Thanatological Clinical Intervention of Tech Palewi, A.C.; and Social volunteering, by the Iberoamericana University.
Her professional development began in 1996, focusing primarily on social projects and the organization and management of events; hers two great professional passions of hers. Which, united under the same objective, led to the creation of the CODAF Centers Program (FONABEC Community Learning Centers), from which more than 1,600 people have been given the opportunity to study at the upper secondary level and a human training program. young people from 26 communities in vulnerable conditions, where study opportunities are scarce or non-existent.
She has been a member of business and civil society councils, as well as a consultant in various organizations on topics such as the creation of governing bodies, institutional diagnosis and strategic planning.
Some of the institutions or companies with which she has collaborated are: Fundación Pro Niños de la Calle, Doctor Payaso, Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve (Costa Rica), DILOE and FONABEC. She is currently director of Fundación Punta de Mita, A.C., in Nayarit, and is part of the Comunalia Council.
Luis Ruiz Saucedo
Luis Ruiz Saucedo is a Sociologist, with 25 years in the social sector, he is currently General Director of the Oaxaca Community Foundation and President of the Board of Directors of the Oaxacan Fund for Nature Conservation.
In his career he has participated as founding President of the Center for Community Development of Oaxaca; Founding Director of Radio Calenda la Voz del Valle, Oaxaca. He was also a member of the Council of the Mexican Youth Institute, and part of the Technical Advisory Council of Oaxaca of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT).
Passionate about collaborating in community development processes, enjoying coexistence, music and village festivals.
Team
Daniella Undreiner
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
She has a degree in Political Science and 26 years of experience in functions related to social investment, fundraising and recruitment in sectors such as oil, pharmaceuticals and banking. She has been collaborating with the social ecosystem since 2006, as CEO of the SANA organization and since then has understood the importance of supporting communities in generating sustainable solutions.
In the last 6 years she has worked as a consultant for Fundación Telefónica Movistar and as Deputy Director of Donor Relations for Nacional Monte de Piedad. This experience has allowed her to learn about the offerings of more than 500 Mexican civil society organizations, for which she had the task of raising national and international funds.
Raquel Maldonado
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Raquel is an accountant with more than a decade of experience in financial administration, accounting and fund management in the social and corporate sector. She holds a degree in Accounting from the Universidad del Tepeyac, a specialisation in National Taxes from the Universidad Panamericana and a diploma in Human Capital Management from the Universidad Anáhuac Mayab.
Throughout her career, she has worked in various civil society organisations, such as Fundación para la Justicia y el Estado Democrático de Derecho A.C., Fundación Pro Niños de la Calle I.A.P. and ARTICLE 19, where she has played key roles in accounting administration, fundraising and financial reporting for funders.
Her experience also includes roles in other sectors, most notably at the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) and Grupo Financiero Actinver, where she managed financial analysis, fundraising and auditing.
Raquel has a strong interest in ESG (environmental, social and governance) project development and the implementation of sustainable practices in organisations. Her commitment to financial transparency and administrative efficiency has made her a key professional for resource management in social impact projects.
Minerva Zamora Domínguez
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
She graduated from Wellesley College in Massachusetts, USA where she studied Biological Sciences. She has worked as a Program Coordinator within the sector for more than 7 years, in the Bahía de Banderas A.C. Initiative, and the Punta de Mita Community Foundation, contributing to the strengthening of civil society organizations and grassroots groups.
In 2018 she was a fellow in the Emerging Leaders program of the Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society at CUNY University in New York. Since 2015 she has been part of the board of directors of the Network of Altruistic Associations of Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas A.C., and is its current President.
Anakaren Perales
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
She is a specialist in institutional development, strategic alliances and resource mobilisation, with an outstanding track record in the management of social projects and international cooperation. She holds a degree in International Relations from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León and a Masters in Development and International Cooperation from the University of the Basque Country.
Throughout her career, she has led financing strategies, corporate volunteering and social responsibility in high impact organizations such as United Way Mexico, TECHO Mexico, Ipas LAC and the Pan-American Institute of Business Studies (IPADE). Her experience includes managing relationships with donors and national and international companies.
She was National Director of Empresarios con Sentido Social, where she led the expansion and strengthening of MSMEs in Mexico and the United States through financing and training programs.