We are often asked, “I love what GVCM is doing in Haiti, what is the best way I can help?”
To understand the answer, you have to understand GVCM’s ministry model. We’re all about Haitians helping Haitians, and that means we have a lot of Haitian staff. Having 200+ Haitians on staff means that we can do a lot more ministry at a lower cost, and we can empower our employees as we do it. But even though the average salary in Haiti is not expensive ($50-$400 a month), anything multiplied by 200 people starts to be a big expense.
Projects are exciting. When we see people donate generously to fund something like our new health clinic, it makes us thankful to be a part of God’s work here. But when we look at that new project, we also know that it’s going to require us to fund 16 monthly salaries, it’s going to need maintenance, and it’s going to need medicine. Projects inevitably turn into increased operational cost.
People like to earmark funds for specific purposes, which is something we understand. We have also seen that over-earmarking can be detrimental to the work of the ministry. We find situations where we have plenty of money to repair a church, but no money to fund the ministry that happens inside the church. When this happens, it is our ministry partners who save the day. We can use their donations to support the rural pastor, so that the construction project doesn’t just repair an empty building. Or we can use ministry partner money to buy medicine for the clinic, or repair a school bus, or replace a toilet, or countless other things behind the scenes that are critical to running a successful ministry.
Sometimes people get nervous about entrusting a ministry to spend their dollars where needed most. We get that. That’s why we’re committed to financial transparency.
The best way to help Haitians through GVCM is to become a ministry partner. A ministry partner does two things.
1) Donate any amount on a recurring basis to the “Ministry Partner” category. You can donate online or by check. If you donate by check, just put “Ministry Partner” in the note.
2) Keep up with GVCM via social media and our newsletter and keep us in your prayers. Click on the links at the bottom of the page to find us on social media and sign up below for our monthly newsletter.
Ministry partners are the keystone contributors who allow us to bring the hope and light of Christ into the darkest parts of Haiti.
“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” Hebrews 6:10