1.  While nobody in the US gets paid, we still have costs associated with operating a nonprofit. General Fund donations allows us to cover all our (minimal) overhead costs, which include:

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• Costs associated with operating a website

• Providing e-newsletters, etc.​

• Postage, envelopes, etc.

• Insurance

• Wire transfer fees (to get the money to India) and other small bank fees

• Credit card fees.  When someone gives using a credit card, we generally do not receive 100% of their donation amount, as the credit cards assess a fee of about 3.5%.  Sometimes the original donor pays extra to cover this cost, but most donors do not. We use GF donations to cover credit card fees so that all of the money given by the donor goes to the work in India. 

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2.  General Fund donations cover expenses in India, such as:

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• Government taxes and fees.

• An annual audit, required by the Indian government.

• Government inspections.

• Bribes (Yes, unfortunately India is a country in which bribes are a normal way of life. It's just something we have to endure while working in India. For example, after an inspection, even if the inspector sees everything is good, he expects a bribe or he might nitpick and exaggerate any negatives before he sends his report to the government.)

• Bank fees

• Quarter-annual plowing the land of our new 5-acre orphanage campus, to keep snakes away.

• Maintenance on our van or motorcycle

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3.  General Fund donations directly support our children, widows, and others in India.

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Sometimes, a donor will start off sponsoring a child, for example, and then at some point he/she might stop giving before that child ages out. We feel responsible for that child, who no longer has a sponsor, so we use GF money to continue to allow that child to live in our children's home.

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4.  General Fund donations allow us to meet needs and requests in India as they arise.

We pray for God's wisdom as we receive funds from our donors. Sometimes we will be provided with opportunities to help because of unforeseen circumstances or urgent needs that arise. If we are able, we want to answer the call put before us. Here are a few examples, but this is by no means an exhaustive list:

 

• After a cyclone (which is what a hurricane is called in India), the flooding caused hardship for many people in our adopted slum area. The men could not go to work in the fields for many days, and therefore did not have money to purchase food. Our team in India requested that we feed all the people of the slum.  We used GF money to provide all of our friends a heaty meal with chicken curry, rice, etc. General Fund donations were used to cover this $750 cost.

• When one of the ministers in our family passed away during Covid, we used $500 from the GF to pay for his funeral and to help his widow.

• When a donor gave money to drill a water well, we found out that the cost was actually a couple hundred dollars more than we anticipated, so we used GF money to make up the difference.

• We received a request to put flooring into a new church building because, although a building had been constructed, our friends in India ran out of money to finish, and they were worshipping in the dirt within their new building. We used GF money to provide them with a new floor.

• Several congregations within 25 miles of each other had to block off a small stream in order to pool enough water for baptisms. We were requested funds to build a baptistry to accommodate these congregations. We used GF money to honor their request.

• One minister was traveling home on his motorcycle from a gospel meeting when he had an accident. While he had no broken bones and did not require surgery, he received gashes and scrapes and required medical attention. We used GF money to pay his medical expenses.

 

As you can see, donations to our General Fund are extremely critical to our our work in India. Your support is much needed and greatly appreciated.