Today, more than 200 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean grapple with poverty—lacking adequate homes, clean water, sanitation, and access to electricity. 

Operating across 18 countries in the region, TECHO is dedicated to transforming this reality. They're focused on solutions that can break the cycle of poverty and help create a future we all dream of living in.  

Their central focus is on housing projects that aim to provide decent housing to families in vulnerable situations. But these aren't just homes—they're the result of joint efforts by families and volunteers, a dynamic combo that powers TECHO's impact. This collaboration contributes to bridging societal divides caused by ideologies, religion, and worldviews.

But TECHO doesn't stop at housing. They also dedicate their efforts to community projects that span settlement-wide transformations, including water projects, essential services, improved infrastructure, and transportation enhancements.

“Our dream is for everyone to have a home with a proper floor, where no one has to sleep on the ground. With this dream, we invite everyone to contribute to overcoming the situation of poverty in which more than 200 million people live.”—Juan José Ayerza, International Executive Director.

In 25 years, TECHO has united over 1.4 million volunteers, constructing 138,000 homes and positively affecting 609,000 lives across Latin America and the Caribbean. That's equivalent to empowering 15 families daily with safe and dignified homes.

Problem

TECHO's extensive network includes regional teams in 18 countries overseeing local operations coordinated through an international hub. This complex setup, consisting of multidisciplinary teams across Latin America alongside local units, presented an alignment challenge. And it became clear that synergies and a unified approach were necessary to steer operations toward a common strategy.

Traditional tools like Google Sheets and PowerPoint weren't enough to handle the situation. And basic task management solutions, like Basecamp and Notion, which they used for day-to-day tasks, weren't providing the big-picture perspective they needed to navigate this complexity. They recognized that these communication and task tools wouldn't provide the holistic view or insights to guide their organization to success.

"Before Cascade, we relied on Google Sheets and PowerPoint for our strategy. But with so many projects, each with its own spreadsheet, we frequently found formulas were breaking, things often got confusing, and teams were disconnected,” says Juan. “We realized we needed a way to bring everything together."

What they lacked was a tool that could provide a comprehensive view of their strategy. 

The goal was twofold: 

1. To gain full visibility of the overall strategy
2. To understand how individual goals connect with the bigger picture

Understanding this connection was especially important for TECHO, given that its vision is a strong force of motivation for every single employee.

These challenges drove TECHO to seek a solution that could help improve coordination and strategic alignment.

Solution

Cascade came onto their radar thanks to a colleague's recommendation, sparking an immediate interest that led to deeper exploration.

“When we saw Cascade, we thought, this is great! It felt like the puzzle piece we've been missing all these years—the way to bring our strategy under one roof and actually see it,” adds Juan.

Achieving such a massive impact in the market and driving a dream as bold and ambitious as TECHO's demands a lean and focused strategy execution. 

With these high stakes in mind, Juan and the team recognized they needed to achieve three crucial things:

1. Engaging teams and communicating a shared vision, making it accessible to everyone.
2. Making the impact clear for donors and other organizations by quantifying results and sharing their strategy and progress through communication channels, building trust and visibility.
3. Centralizing the strategy in one place to establish both internal and external accountability for donors over time.

When they came across Cascade, they saw it as the perfect fit to achieve these critical requirements, ultimately leading them to adopt the platform.

Their journey started by implementing Cascade within the international team, allowing them to become familiar with the tool and focus on a seamless adoption. Then, they worked out how different teams would interact with it, to ensure a smooth transition.

"Often, the challenge with strategy is using a certain methodology or framework and applying it to a complex organization like ours with numerous stakeholders, each with their own intentions and interests. These frameworks can be rigid, so adjusting them to your needs becomes an art," Juan explains.

Building on their success with the international team, they extended Cascade's use to other countries. It proved especially valuable in connecting different operations across various regions, fostering the much-needed alignment. Teams that were once disjointed and working in different directions, causing disunity, found themselves working and collaborating toward a shared aspiration.

“Without alignment you can’t get things done,” says Juan “And without a clear view of your strategy, you can’t make decisions because you can't see how your actions fit into the bigger picture.”

Results

TECHO has seen a noticeable improvement in how their teams work together, leading to better alignment among them. While measuring alignment can be challenging, it's clear that everyone's efforts are coming together more harmoniously.

This improved alignment has allowed TECHO to focus more on what truly matters, giving team members a sense of ownership over their projects and objectives. 

“People are more focused and proactively bring up their goals from their Cascade plans in broader discussions about strategy and operations, which has made a big difference in holding themselves accountable,” shares Juan.

This increased focus has paid off. By prioritizing their volunteering initiatives, TECHO achieved remarkable progress in volunteer mobilization compared to the first half of 2022 and exceeded their goal for H1 2023 by +53%. This growth was fueled by their alignment, dedication, and strategic commitment.

By regularly tracking the progress of their strategy and gaining a holistic view through Cascade, TECHO maintains its course while staying adaptable to changes when necessary. Cascade plays a vital role in aligning their teams, coordinating efforts, and fostering accountability across the organization.

“Cascade gives us clarity. We hope other organizations like ours can gain that same clarity, bringing them closer to achieving their dreams and making a positive impact in society,” Juan emphasizes.