GLA, 2011 and the cost of operating the orphanage

With so much disaster relief that was sent in last year, many people feel that  organizations in Haiti are sitting on mountains of cash.

In the case of GLA, we received donations for disaster relief of approximately $642,000 and spent approximately $644,000 on disaster relief along with bringing in $445,000 worth of donated items (that’s just the containers from the US – not counting Canada and others) to distribute to the Haitian people. While donations came in to help disaster relief, our donations toward keeping the orphanage running were down by over 70%.

Some of the reason that our general funding is lower in 2011 are:

• Adoptions were on hold for 9 months.   They have resumed as of October, 2010.
• Because of that gap, we’re looking at a significant drop in adoption fee income for 2011.
• It will resume its normal levels in 2012 as long as adoptions keep moving at a normal pace.
• We have a general public that is dealing with disaster fatigue.   It’s been a rough stretch in terms of natural disasters lately.

But at the same time:

• We have needs in Haiti that are just as severe as they were last  summer (maybe more so as the stress of living in tents wears on people  and children).  Look at what Dixie wrote about the stress of living in a tent this past weekend at New Girl.
• We have a short fall in adoption income. So far in 2011, we have taken in only $7,645 in adoption fee income. A very large percentage of the cost of adoptions is the cost of caring for the kids throughout their time with us.
• And we have substantial increases in the costs of running the orphanage in Haiti.   Laurie told me on Friday that in the cost of fuel has gone up over $1 a gallon in the last couple of weeks.   Also, the changes in adoption requirements in Haiti require that we run DNA testing on both birth parents and the children in our care.   That additional step cost us four times as much in the first quarter of 2011 as it did all of 2010

That’s all a nice way of saying that for us to end 2011 in the black,  we’re going to need the ongoing support of many of you for our general operating expenses.   You know, those really exciting things like  food, diapers, formula, car repairs, printer cartridges, phone bills and the  rest of the stuff that it takes to keep the orphanage going.

If you’d like to talk to me about how you can help us, click on the Contact Us button on the top of the page and let’s start a conversation about it.  Or if you’d prefer, call me at (616) 884-8901. Or you can go to the bottom of this post and click on the chip-in button and make a dent in that today….

Thanks in advance for your support of our ongoing efforts on behalf of the least of the least of these in Haiti,

Tom Vanderwell

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