By Jim Mulholland
Jason Burk is an Indianapolis architect, a husband, and a father of two. There are millions of men with similar biographies. However, Jason is also a champion of projects in rural communities in Nicaragua and El Salvador – something far more rare in Indianapolis or even in the United States. He has taken both his son and his father to visit these communities. He has shared his experiences with family, friends and his peers, both giving and raising thousands of dollars for people he’s never met.
Why?
When asked this question, Jason chuckles, “I honestly got involved with CoCoDA because I’d met Jim Mulholland and I liked him. I liked what he stood for and figured anything he was involved with was probably worth supporting.”
Based on this hunch, Jason took his 12-year-old son, Ethan, on a Friends of CoCoDA trip to El Salvador in 2019. This father and son bonding experience would lead to Jason becoming more involved in CoCoDA.
“After meeting other volunteers and seeing many projects in person, I was inspired by CoCoDA’s ethical approach to collaborating with these communities and the huge impact these projects had on the lives of people.”
Jason Burk
In 2021, Jason Burk become more than a traveler with CoCoDA. He joined the CoCoDA Board. He became the technical director for CoCoDA’s Febrero Fiesta. He began to intentionally reach out to his personal and professional networks and tell them the stories of CoCoDA. Jason says, “I loved telling people about our water projects and how these projects freed women and children from three to four hours of tedious work obtaining water every day. I bragged about how CoCoDA accomplished amazing things with a tiny budget, using every dollar deliberately and intentionally. CoCoDA is a lean operation.”
In his three years on the Board, Jason was able to attract at least a dozen others as significant donors to CoCoDA. Just as he got involved with CoCoDA because of a personal connection with Jim Mulholland, others got involved because of their connection with him.
“One of the keys to CoCoDA’s growth over the past ten years has been recruiting people like Jason, who have been encouraged to tell the stories of CoCoDA to others. 99% of our donations come from individuals with a personal connection to CoCoDA. People give because they are asked to give by someone they respect and trust.”
Jim Mulholland, CoCoDA Executive Director
In 2024, Jason and his father, Russ, traveled together on another Friends of CoCoDA trip. His father, inspired by Jason’s stories, surprised Jason by signing up for the trip without telling him. Jason says, “I wasn’t sure how he would do, but he did great. We got to explore Nicaragua together.” With this trip, Jason may be one of the few CoCoDA supporters who has traveled with both their son and with their father to Central America.
Jason reflects, “The older I get and the more financially stable I become, the more I am attracted to giving back. CoCoDA has been a great opportunity to connect with other people with a similar vision for giving back.” Jason admits that there are lots of good causes in the world. For him, CoCoDA has been an opportunity to expand his worldview. Jason says, “For me, CoCoDA came along at just the right time. I was ready to give, and they showed me some wonderful places to do that.”
Jason is unusual, but he is not unique. Dozens of other men and women have similar stories. CoCoDA attracts people with a desire to make a difference, a keen interest in doing so in an ethical and thoughtful manner and a willingness to do all of this outside the box.
Jim Mulholland says, “It is people like Jason and our other champions that make our work sustainable. They are the trusted story tellers who attract others to support people living in rural communities in Central America.”
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