Haiti Empowered, a nonprofit organization providing education, meals, and healthcare to more than 2,500 children in Haiti, has launched a cross-country road tour called The Empowered Road. The tour aims to share the mission in person and recruit a new generation of supporters after the COVID-19 pandemic halted mission trips, which had been a primary pipeline for new donors.
For years, mission trips allowed supporters to meet the children and Haitian team, and many returned as sponsors and advocates. When those trips stopped, that pipeline largely disappeared. As a result, child sponsorship, once about 75 percent of Haiti Empowered's income, has fallen to approximately 47 percent. The organization is now behind budget again, with a gap larger than last year. Rising costs for food, fuel, medical supplies, transportation, and Haitian staff wages have added $150,000 in expenses this year, forcing the organization to feed children on credit.
The need is urgent. More than half of Haiti's population faces acute hunger, with over 1.8 million people in the emergency phase. An estimated 253,725 young children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition in the coming year, and one in seven Haitian children is already out of school, with nearly a million more at risk of dropping out. For the children served by Haiti Empowered, school is more than a classroom—it is where they eat, learn, and receive healthcare.
Last year, one of those schools was in danger of closing when Haiti Empowered fell behind budget. President Kay Larson turned to Creative Studio Productions, an Eagan-based creative agency, to build a campaign called Adopt a Box. The campaign page was custom coded and connected to the organization's CRM, allowing supporters to donate at levels from $25 to $1,000. In thirty days, Haiti Empowered raised $42,000, surpassing its $40,000 goal. The school stayed open, and the children continued to receive meals and education.
"Not only did we achieve our goal, but we exceeded it," Larson said. She credits the agency as an extension of her team. "I can honestly say I don't know that we would still be existing if it wasn't for them," she added.
Now, with the gap larger, Larson is embarking on The Empowered Road to bring Haiti's story to communities across the country. The tour runs on introductions—connections to churches, businesses, foundations, and community groups. Those interested can request a meeting or gathering through the organization's website, haitiempowered.org, and can share the mission with others.
The implications extend beyond one organization. As mission trips remain stalled, nonprofits that relied on them must find new ways to engage supporters. Haiti Empowered's road tour is a test of whether in-person storytelling can replace the immersive experience of a mission trip. For the children, the stakes are immediate: without sustained funding, schools could close, meals could stop, and hundreds of thousands facing hunger and malnutrition could lose their safest haven. The success of The Empowered Road could determine whether Haiti Empowered continues to operate and whether its model offers a path for other nonprofits facing similar challenges.
