The 99¢ Goodwill Initiative
One Life. Every Month.
The Easiest Yes In The Diaspora
Every active GI member commits to a 99-cent monthly donation. Not a dollar. Ninety-nine cents. It is the easiest "yes" we will ever request from our community.
Almost no one declines a 99-cent ask. And yet, when 1,400 members say yes — even at 75% participation — the pool becomes genuinely meaningful money, every single month, with no one feeling the pinch.
How It Works
The mechanic is intentionally simple:
- A small Goodwill Committee — appointed by the President with Board approval, drawing from chapter leadership and pastoral voices — selects one specific need each month.
- The entire month's collection is directed to that single recipient. No splitting. No hedging. One life, fully supported.
- The Committee vets every case for legitimacy — verifying documentation, confirming the need, and ensuring funds reach the recipient directly.
- A brief story and photo update is published back to the GI community within 30 days. Members see exactly who was helped, how, and what it meant.
Who Might Be Helped
Recipients are chosen entirely by need, not by petition. In a typical year, the Initiative might reach:
- A family that just lost a breadwinner — covering immediate funeral costs and one month of household expenses while they regroup
- A child needing surgery that the local hospital cannot afford to delay
- A rural school whose desks have collapsed or roof has fallen in
- A widow facing eviction during a season of crisis
- An elderly community member whose medication regimen has become unaffordable
- A young person whose university registration fee stands between them and a semester
Why The 99¢ Matters
Universal Participation
Every other ask in our community separates members by capacity — who can give thousands, who can give hundreds, who cannot give. The 99¢ ask flattens all of that. A retired widow on Social Security gives the same as a six-figure software engineer. Both receive equal credit. Both are equal participants. This is how a true community moves.
Pastoral Trust In The Pipeline
The Goodwill Committee draws on pastoral voices from the Spiritual Council to vet recipients. Pastors know which requests are legitimate and which are not. They have the trust required to handle small, sensitive cash distributions with integrity. The Goodwill Initiative is universal — but its conscience runs through the Council.
Tangible Impact
Over a year, the Initiative touches twelve real lives back home in ways the rest of our platform cannot. Twelve stories. Twelve photo updates. Twelve names. Twelve proofs that Gotabgaa membership matters.