Who We Are
San Lucas Tolimán Scholars is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing scholarships to students who have demonstrated academic achievement and are from families of limited economic means to give them the opportunity to attend junior high school. Our organization is led by 2 local women in San Lucas Tolimán and a volunteer Board and Executive Director in the United States.
We are all deeply motivated by the value that education brings to those whose outlook is less. We believe that education brings opportunities for a better life.
Our Vision
We envision a just world, where all young people have the opportunity to attend school to become who they wish to be which allows them to lead lives of dignity and hope.
Our Values
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Education as the source for escaping poverty
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Compassionate action
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Transparency and accountability
Our History
In 2001, Dennis Evans, a retired British educator, discovered in 2001 that Guatemala, his adopted country, only provides free education through the sixth grade. He used his own limited funds to pay tuition for a few students and asked friends from other countries to join in that endeavor. He knew that for poor Guatemalan children education was the key to escaping a life of poverty.
In that first year, 97 children living in San Lucas Tolimán were able to go on to seventh grade and by the time Dennis died in 2021, there were 1,037 students in the program from San Lucas Tolimán and surrounding communities.
In 2004, San Lucas Tolimán Scholars was formed in Minnesota as a non-profit organization and in 2006 we earned tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
In 2021, we formed Asociación Becas Dennis Evans-San Lucas Tolimán Scholars (Dennis Evans Scholarships-San Lucas Tolimán Scholars) which is a Guatemala non-profit organization recognized by the Guatemala government as a “non-tax” entity. There was a change in government guidelines that made it important for us to form this organization.