Description of NGO Database

The Purpose of this Database

This DB is designed for educational NGOs in Haiti to find each other to share resources. It can also be used by donors or volunteers who want to be involved with a certain kind of NGO - one that provides special education for example.  

330 Organizations are Included

Schools, orphanages, and teacher training organizations are among those include. There is no comprehensive list of  educational NGOs available from the Haitian government, the IRS or organizations like Charity Navigator or Foundation Center. This list was assembled from the information that was available from these resources combined with schools and NGOs mentioned in scholarly articles and books. Many of these groups label themselves as Christian.

Orphanages are included because they are always associated with at least one school and by nature of their support have input into the school’s operation.

American NGOs are the focus mainly because those were the easiest to research and to find information for. This is not because Haitian groups are not important or that Americans are doing better work. Far from it. The most culturally appropriate care and education will always best be provided by Haitians. I just couldn’t find much information on the web for such groups.

The database will be updated on a regular basis. I have undoubtedly made mistakes, missed NGOs, or failed to include information. I would be very happy to make corrections and include in the next update. My email is: winifred dot flint at gmail dot com.

What is in the database?

Information for each NGO was gleaned from the NGO’s website, blog, newsletters, emails, and newspaper articles. Inclusion in this database does not indicate a certain level of quality. I make no judgments as to the quality of the NGO. 

Identifying information includes the group’s name, the name under which it’s registered with the IRS and the group’s website. If the group cannot be found in the IRS list of registered charities, NA as in Not Available is listed in that field. This usually happens when the name under which it is registered is not the public name of the group.  Individuals’ names, and emails are not provided since these change frequently making the database out of date quickly.  Phone numbers for both Haiti and in the United States are included. The group’s status as a registered charity with the Haitian government is also noted. This is a lengthy process but one that speaks well for the group that takes it on. Very few groups note on their website if they are registered with the government. If this information is not available on the website, NA is indicated in that field.

Information includes location  in both Haiti and the United States. Finding NGOs close by in Haiti will minimize some of the travel and communication issues and provide a way to  share information about local government entities that impact the local NGOs.  Finding NGO’s in the same state can help NGOs share shipping costs among other things.  Among the groups, there was no uniform description of their location. It went from only the Department down to Arrondissements to Commune to village/ city to street address. I give the most detailed location on the website down to neighborhood. I don’t give street addresses. Typically I chose the U.S.  location listed as the contact on the website. If no address was listed I took it from the group’s IRS tax form 990. There are some groups that have multiple locations in Haiti  so the location is listed as Multiple. Most of these include a base in Port Au Prince (PAP) A few groups gave no location information in Haiti.

The size of the NGO can be assessed by the number of students served in one year, the number of school staff or the number of schools. Few NGOs listed all three.

Ways to Use This Database

This is designed to make it easy to find connections for help making it easier to run your NGO or to improve it. Questions you may have that this database can help answer include:

• Where can I get information on setting up a school library? Where  can I buy  books?

• What kind of business can I set up to sustain my NGO?

• Who are good tradespeople in our area?

• How do I maintain good relations with the local authorities?

• What's involved in getting accredited?

• Where can I find professional development for our special ed teachers?

• What are some keys to setting up a good model farm program?

• Who can I combine shipping with from my state?

Examples of questions that donors or volunteers may have:

• Where can my grant-making organization help outside of Port Au Prince?

• Where could I teach earthquake proof construction?

Attribute Descriptions 

There are more than 10 descriptors or attributes included in the database that can be used to describe the NGOs. These include:

• Management based in Haiti. The executive level decisions are being made in Haiti. 

• Founded and/or run by Diaspora.

• Contains a school library.

• Runs a community library.

• Provides teacher training.

• Provides special education for handicapped children.

• Provides vocational education. This can run the gamut from agricultural to the trades to auto mechanics to sewing.

• Encourages family reunification and/or helping orphans age out of care.

• Provides assistance for getting into university or scholarships for university.

• Uses Kreyol curriculum.

• Publishes Kreyol books. 

• Provider.  This is an organization that provides a service such as teacher training or school construction. It may also do quality control.  It typically does not contribute financially to school(s).

• INGO - International Non-governmental organization. Operates in 2 or more countries.

• Runs a business to move the organization away from donations to sustainability.