Diwa Foundation Inc

About DIWA 

DIWA Foundation, Inc. is a Miami community built on the belief that belonging heals the world. DIWA means spirit or essence in the Filipino culture, and that spirit shapes everything DIWA does: gatherings where the community comes together to exchange, an online marketplace of values-aligned makers launching soon, and a Credits program in development that turns every purchase and volunteered hour into care for someone in the community and beyond.

Why belonging? Across 148 studies and more than 300,000 people, strong social relationships raised the likelihood of survival by 50 percent, an effect on par with quitting smoking and greater than the effects of exercise or body weight. Technology has made us more connected, yet even more isolated than ever before. The Surgeon General has called loneliness an epidemic. DIWA is our answer.

Our inaugural gathering, An Afternoon of Exchange, brought guests and seven local partners together in September 2026. Guests brought pieces from their closets and left with new favorites. Preloved pieces gathered at our events go on to Lotus House, Out of the Closet, and Xavier House, a group home for gifted foster girls. A second Miami gathering follows in 2027.

What your gift does

• $25 prints the signage and bid sheets for one gathering.
• $100 covers the event insurance for a gathering.
• $200 funds one month of the automation that runs DIWA’s operations.
• $500 puts an iPad at the door for check-in and payments at every gathering.
• $1,000 buys the laptop DIWA runs on.

This year, your gifts open three doors

• The DIWA Marketplace: an online home for values-aligned makers, where every purchase sustains culture and a maker’s livelihood.
• Relove x DIWA: a preloved shop where beautiful pieces find their next person, and every sale carries DIWA’s mission forward.
• Programs for elders and for children, taking shape alongside the Credits system.

Every gift takes us one step closer to a physical space where we can gather and feel like we belong.

Belonging Heals the World. Thank you for building it with us.

Donors and volunteers can join at joindiwa.org.