The Kurt Marquart Fund was founded in 2007 by the Concordia Theological Seminary graduating class. The original objective of the fund was to provide material aid to The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Haiti to support in-country seminary education. KMF has raised a permanent endowment of over $100,000 to that end. In addition, KMF has taken a broad role in providing operating capital to our sister church and her fledgling seminary. KMF has provided over $35,000 in direct cash for emergency needs after the January, 2010 earthquake, and continues to support the ELCH in her mission to reach out with the gospel of Christ, crucified.
The needs faced by our Christian brothers and sisters in Haiti are many, but people worldwide can and are helping! We invite your prayers, your volunteer time, and your financial assistance in this worthy mission endeavor, which seeks to ensure the future of confessional Lutheranism in Haiti. We hope you will join us, and be a part of their story.
Our Philosophy
Our philosophy is quite different from that of many mission support organizations.
We begin with the assumption that the leadership of the ELCH know their needs better than any group of people sitting around a table in the USA. This assumption drives every part of our organization, from structure to mission to realization:
- structure, so that we have two pastors that serve on the KMF board who are members of the ELCH executive committee, and are involved in all the big decisions;
- mission, so that we provide not only designated project capital, but working capital that the ELCH can spend as they see fit; and
- realization, so that the projects that get done are the projects that the Haitian church has prioritized, rather than those things that a bunch of Americans want to do.
Trust and Christian mercy come first. We believe that this is the way to offer material help, while protecting the dignity of our Christian brothers and sisters.
How is my donation spent?
When you give an undesignated donation to KMF,
- 10% goes into the perpetual theological education fund (TEF), which distributes earnings, or a minimum of 5% of principal, each year, specifically to educate Haitian pastors for Lutheran congregations;
- 10% goes into the Kurt Marquart Endowment (KME), a long term capital endowment. This perpetual fund is growing each year until 2017, when the ELCH will be able to begin drawing earnings for any use they deem appropriate;
- 80% goes into the operating fund, which is put immediately at the disposal of the ELCH to use according to their needs. KMF’s promotional budget is also funded from this portion, and historically represents less than 15%.
- 0% goes into staff salaries (we are 100% volunteer).
In addition to undesignated donations, KMF can receive donations designated for either of the endowments, for the general fund, or for specific major projects. To see the major projects we’re working on, click the “Major Projects” link to the left!
Donations to KMF are Tax Deductible
The Kurt Marquart Fund for Theological Education in Haiti is organized as a Not For Profit Corporation under the laws of the State of Indiana, Title 23, Article 17. It was incorporated in the Year of Our Lord 2007. The Corporation was recognized under the Federal Revenue Code, Section 501(c)3 on December 17, 2007. Contributions made to the fund are tax-deductible* under Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.
Click here for a copy of the determination letter.
KMF is 100% Volunteer!
We are proud to be a 100% volunteer organization with no paid staff.
That means that donations to the fund really help the Church in Haiti in a direct way. That also means that we need volunteers: people like you, who want to do what they can in our context to help our Christian brothers and sisters in Haiti! Volunteers can give as little or much time as they wish and can fill a variety of roles.
Simply submit the volunteer form below and we’ll be in touch!