How do i sponsor a child
Child Sponsorship: Learn How Sponsorship Works
1. What is the child sponsorship program?
Child sponsorship is a program that connects children in need with compassionate sponsors like you! Becoming a sponsor means investing in a child’s life and empowering them to grow up healthy, educated and safe. When you join our sponsorship family, you can be sure you're joining a growing, global community dedicated to doing whatever it takes for children, transforming their lives and the future we share.
When you become a child sponsor, Save the Children does not give your donation directly to the child you sponsor, rather we combine your monthly contribution with the support of other sponsors to help aid projects in their community – creating a “ripple effect” of positive change.
2. How much does it cost to sponsor a child with Save the Children?
Sponsoring a child with Save the Children is just $39 a month.
The most effective way to help children is by combining your contributions with those of other sponsors, rather than giving them directly to the child you sponsor.
Your generous monthly support will go towards helping empower the lives of children and families in your sponsorship community through our innovative programs. Your sponsorship is truly an investment in children’s lives and futures!
3. Is child sponsorship effective?
With an ambitious vision and over a century of leading expertise, Save the Children is one of the oldest and highly regarded charities in the world. We are consistently recognized for our proven program responsibility and fiscal accountability. We earn high ratings from independent services like Charity Navigator and Charity Watch, and we are accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
When you become a Save the Children sponsor, you can be sure you’re joining a growing, global community dedicated to doing whatever it takes for children, empowering their lives and the future we share.
4. Can I write or email my sponsored child?
Yes! Exchanging letters and emails with the child you sponsor helps build a caring connection that deepens the impact of our work.
Writing a letter on behalf of your family, or even having your child/grandchild correspond, is a great way to get your family involved in the sponsorship experience, help them learn more about the world and share in the joy of connecting with others. Once you become a sponsor, you will be able to email your sponsored child through your online account. Your email will be printed, translated and delivered directly to your sponsored child by our country office staff.
Please keep in mind that there may be delays or inability to deliver letters in a timely manner due to the Coronavirus pandemic. We will do everything in our power to deliver your message while keeping staff and children safe.
We’ll also occasionally provide you with colorful greeting cards that you can personalize and send to the child you sponsor in recognition of special occasions, such as his or her birthday. Children love reading your messages, so please be on the lookout for these special mailings.
5.
What types of child sponsorships are available?Save the Children offers 3 types of child sponsorship:
- Individual child sponsorship gives you the unique opportunity to develop a one-on-one relationship with the child who you sponsor, while benefiting children in their community as well. Individual sponsors have the opportunity to exchange messages with their sponsored child via email or postal mail.
- Lifeline sponsorship is where you contribute monthly support to a sponsorship community and receive information and updates about a single child, but there is no one-on-one relationship or ability to communicate with the child. This is a great option if you’re interested in learning how an individual child participates in sponsorship, but you aren’t able to or interested in corresponding with a child.
- Program sponsorship is where you contribute monthly support to our programs in a specific sponsorship country.
Program sponsors receive updates and success stories on our overall results in the country, but have no individual child communication or updates. This is a great option if you’re interested in supporting sponsorship programs, but you aren’t interested in corresponding with a child.
You can become an individual child sponsorship and lifeline sponsorship online. If you are interested in program sponsorship, please contact your Supporter Experience Center team at 1-800-728-3843, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm (EST).
How to Sponsor a Child in Need | Children International | Kid Sponsorship | Sponsoring A Child for Charity
In times of crisis, children in poverty are especially vulnerable and face uncertain futures. Your monthly gift of $39 will give your sponsored child access to life-changing benefits, like medical care, educational support, life skills and job training before graduation.
As a sponsor, you'll be able to see your impact firsthand through letters and photos from your child.
You’ll learn about key programs specifically designed to address children's toughest issues in their fight to escape poverty.
Use the search tool to find a child waiting for a sponsor like you!
Questions? Call 1-800-888-3089, chat or send an email. Our team is ready to help.
"Sponsorship is something that melts my soul. You are never the same again..."
Marily R., CI sponsor since 1993
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REQUEST A FREE INFO KIT
What is child sponsorship?Child sponsorship connects two people — a sponsor with a generous heart and a child living in poverty.
From toddlerhood to young adulthood, our child sponsorship program equips kids with crucial life and job skills to break the cycle of poverty. For good.
Your $39 monthly gift supports
1.
A safe place, like 67+ community centers around the world
2. A caring team of local staff and volunteers
3. A path out of poverty through life-changing programs and services
How Child Sponsorship Works
What does my child receive?
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Access to life-changing benefits through our innovative community centers, such as medical and dental care, empowerment initiatives and education programs focused on giving children the support and tools they need to be healthy, stay in school, graduate and create a lasting change in their community. (Our U.S. children are served through the University of Arkansas in Little Rock.)
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Support from our dedicated staff and volunteers who are embedded in the community and committed to helping your child succeed.
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A personal connection with someone who cares (you!) and the invaluable knowledge that they are special and loved.
- A chance for a better life free from poverty.
What can I expect as a sponsor?
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A quick-start guide to child sponsorship along with more info about your child including a photo.
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Photos and updates about your child on a regular basis.
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Letters from your child, many of which contain hand-drawn pictures.
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Access to MyCI, your online account, where you can view photos and learn more about your child, read and write letters, manage your giving, and connect with other sponsors.
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See your impact in action through updates and monthly emails. And the option to visit your child and tour our life-changing community centers.
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A unique and rewarding opportunity to make a difference.
Sponsorship continues providing life-changing help to your child
Your support is especially critical right now.
Disadvantaged families around the world are trying to recover from the economic and emotional toll caused by the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Due to sporadic closures from spiking infection rates in some of the areas we serve, as well as other related factors, your sponsorship experience may begin a bit differently than it normally would.
Read about some of the changes you can expect Read Less
What changes should I expect to the sponsorship experience due to the coronavirus?
- Photos – as a sponsor, you receive a photo of your child each year, which you will still receive in your welcome kit. However, due to occasional shutdowns and other ongoing interruptions and shortages beyond our control, a more recent photo of your child may be delayed. We continually assess our processes and adjust so we can provide sponsors with the latest possible updates.
- Letters – as a sponsor, you can expect to receive a welcome letter, and then one to two letters from your child each year.
But we cannot guarantee that communities – or that all community centers – will not experience occasional shutdowns. For the health of children, parents, and staff, we will only collect letters when it is safe to do so. Significant delays of letters, including the welcome letter you would normally receive, are still possible. We appreciate your patience! - Your letters – we encourage sponsors to write to their children, but for now, there still could be interruptions in delivering letters to sponsored children. Currently, the only letters we can process are ones written through MyCI. When you write a letter through MyCI, your letter will be transferred electronically to your child’s field office. If your child’s family has a phone, a staff member will either digitally forward it to your child’s family or call and read it to them.
Note: If the family is not able to communicate digitally, we will try to find a way to deliver it and keep the lines of communication open whenever possible.
The use of digital communications enables agency staff to get your messages to families much more quickly, and vice-versa. There is also a cost-saving feature with virtual letters. Families save time and money (transportation to the center, taking time off from work or school to retrieve letters, etc.) and our staff processing time is significantly reduced by digital communications.
Sponsorship support is so important right now. It’s been a difficult time for everyone and finding a new friend can be a great source of hope and confidence, especially for children in poverty.
FAQs about Sponsorship
Where can I sponsor a child?
Children International is proud to support children, families and communities in India, the Philippines, Colombia, Ecuador, Zambia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and the United States.
How much of my $39 monthly gift actually goes to my sponsored child?
82% of Children International’s total operating expenses fund programs for children and youth. So, the majority of your donation dollars go toward exactly what you intended — supporting children in poverty.
How long will my sponsorship last?
Child sponsorship is a voluntary, ongoing contribution you can cancel at anytime — you’re in charge of how long you sponsor (and how many kids you sponsor).
What if I need to make a change to my sponsorship?
You can make changes to your monthly giving anytime. Please contact our Care Team to adjust, delay, or cancel. And because of our on-going commitment to our children from the time of sponsorship through graduation, your child will continue to receive benefits from the program, and we will work to find them another sponsor as soon as possible.
Who is Children International?
Children International is a global humanitarian organization connecting people in the fight to end poverty for good. Headquartered in Kansas City, we work in 10 countries, serving 200,000 children to create lasting change in their lives. We believe ending poverty starts with children, so we focus on programs and efforts for children and youth during the critical years. We build community centers, send volunteers to staff those centers, create educational and healthcare programs, and fund empowerment initiatives to help break the cycle of generational poverty.
I received a special code from a concert recently. How can I use that code to start sponsoring?
If you recently attended a concert and received a child packet, you were provided with a code that you can use to begin sponsoring that child.
Please click here to go to children.org/start and enter your code.
Have questions or need some help? Good news: We’d love to talk with you!
Sorry we missed you!
Our live chat isn’t available right now (check out our hours below). But you can send us an email at [email protected]. Or you can check out our Frequently Asked Questions section to find a quick answer.
- Monday – Friday: 7:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. CT
- Saturday – Sunday: Closed
Support a Child - Food for Life Global
Sponsoring a child is one of the most beautiful and generous things a person can do. Through your sponsorship, we can give a child hope. We can help change the lives of these children and support their local community.
By sponsoring children, you will help them provide themselves with food, clothing, education, clean water, health care and, above all, the opportunity for a better life.
What does it mean to sponsor a child?
Sponsoring a child is a great way to help a child in need who hasn't gotten the best start in life.
Through your sponsorship, you can reach out to a child who has suffered a lot throughout his young life.
Your money can help change a young person's life by opening opportunities they never thought they would have. When you sponsor a child, you are not just giving him a helping hand, you are also lifting his community. You are giving them the opportunity to live a better life in which they can support their family and community.
Why would you sponsor a child?
The benefits a child receives from your sponsorship are endless. You will breathe new life and opportunity into their world, allowing them to have a standard of living that would never have been possible without your support.
There are three main reasons why child sponsorship is the best way to help:
- You can support a child from home money, for most of us it is simply impossible. Our demanding lifestyle at home does not allow us to do such things.
You can support these poor children, their families and their communities from the comfort of your own home by sponsoring a child.
Our professional team at FFL is working hard to do whatever it takes to support this kid. We have the people, resources and experience to do it on your behalf. - Your money affects not one, but many
Although you are required to sponsor only one child, if you agree to support that child, he begins to worry Positive change effect When you support one child, you help and his family. A stronger family provides stronger social services to society.
A child who has been educated can teach his family, his family can teach the community, and as a result, the community rises. Sponsored children are much more likely to complete their education.
Sponsoring a child is not an isolated project, it is part of a larger, multifaceted mission that aims to help many.
- Personal Connection
When you sponsor a child, you're not just throwing money at something, you're making a name for yourself and really looking at poverty on a human level.
Many sponsors form deep bonds with their children by keeping in touch, tracking their progress and supporting them along the way. Sponsoring a child connects you with a big problem. These are real people fighting in real life.
How does child sponsorship work?We ask that you make a commitment to donate a certain amount each month to sponsor your child. This is usually done on a quarterly basis, which helps to procure needed materials and cover any education costs. The goal is to provide every child you sponsor with food, housing and education as a minimum.
Payments are generally made by credit card online, choosing between monthly, quarterly or annual payments.
How long have you sponsored a child?The length of time you decide to sponsor a child is entirely up to you, but we strongly encourage you to commit until they have at least completed their primary school education. Although it is much more profitable to sponsor a child before graduation from high school or university.
Helping a child complete education is one of the main goals of sponsoring a child. When a child completes their education, it gives that child, their family and community a much brighter future.
Is child sponsorship taxable?Your sponsorship payments may be tax deductible depending on your personal tax position. Sponsors will receive an annual tax return detailing all donations you made in the previous year.
Can I send gifts to my sponsor child?Some sponsors like to send gifts to their children from home. Consider only sending small, light items that are easy to send, such as drawings, photographs, letters, stickers, and postcards.
If you would like to send something special, we can arrange for your gift to be delivered to your child. However, it is worth noting that large and lavish gifts can have a negative impact, such as failing to clear customs or causing tension among family members. There is also the possibility that it could be stolen during the shipping process.
Can I visit my sponsored child?Of course! There is no greater gift than going abroad to spend time with your sponsored child. They will probably be glad that you want to visit. This is also a great chance for you to see where your money is going and the reality of the situation the child is in.
Those who wish to visit their sponsored child must first contact us to discuss details and complete all required paperwork.
How you can help us nowYou can help us now by choosing to sponsor a child for all of the reasons listed above.
We are always looking for new people to volunteer. This can be an extremely rewarding experience and gives you the opportunity to have a direct impact on the lives of these children and their communities.
If you run your own business or organization, we are always looking for new partnerships that can help make a difference together. If you have a product or service that you think can help us in our mission to improve people's lives, we'd love to hear from you and discuss how we can work together.
We are quite specific about the type of business we want to work with. They include: - All Vegan Food Companies
- Vegan Organizations
- Human Rights Organizations
Make a Donation
Food for Life serves more food for less money than any other food relief organization in the world. To continue this fantastic work for children in need, we need your donations. All meals are 100% vegan and made the same day.
Essentials Food for Life Global's mission is to help those who cannot help themselves by providing clean, healthy and nutritious food. Food is how we choose to support these people, but our mission goes beyond that by helping to lift the spirits of entire communities of people and provide them with opportunities for a better life.
We want to continue our amazing work, but we need your help to do so.
You can help!
Food for Life Global is a 501(c)(3) charity, EIN 36-4887167. All donations are considered tax-deductible without any limitation on deductibility applicable to a particular taxpayer. No goods or services have been provided in exchange for your contribution. The mission of Food For Life Global is to bring peace and prosperity to the world through the fair distribution of clean, plant-based food prepared with care.
Top 7 "Child Sponsor" charities to help a world in need
Unfortunately, many charities use donations irresponsibly - spending huge sums of money on fundraising and CEO salaries instead of actually helping those in need.
The desire to help others is amazing, but you want to make sure the money you give is really good for the world!
Why Sponsor?
Sponsorship is one of the most popular ways for individuals and families to donate.
Much of this is due to the personal connection that can be formed around the world through letters, photos and program updates.
It is important for many people to know exactly where their money is going, and this helps them feel more confident about their donations. In general, giving a certain amount of money each month to a sponsorship or charitable cause that you believe in can be a great financial choice for most people. For many, the monthly amount easily fits into your personal budget. without breaking the bank, and most donations allow you to get a charitable donation receipt.
Criticism of sponsorship programs
The ethical, economic and moral implications of international development are incredibly complex, and the research I have done on this topic is by no means sufficient to offer a comprehensive view of these topics!
However, it is important to know that giving to charity is not as easy as “the rich help the poor”, however much we might like it.
Most of the criticisms of child sponsorship come from the model that was originally used, where families of sponsored children were given money but others in the community were not.
This strategy created conflict in communities and often created problems for children and families after the end of the program. Wealth redistribution is difficult to do in an efficient way that supports the development of communities and does not create instability and social problems. While not necessarily done with bad intentions, charities have done great harm to those they have tried to help in recent history.
Other criticisms of child sponsorship include cultural confusion (especially regarding the religious overtones present in many charities), high administrative costs, the persistence of negative stereotypes of various cultural groups, and the continued harmful emphasis that Westerners "save » children to other countries.
For more detailed reading on this topic, I would recommend Rough Guide to a Better World, published by the UK Department for International Development and this BBC article entitled "What is it like to be a sponsored child?", but there are hours after hours of learning on the subject out there!
How have sponsorship programs changed?
Fortunately, many sponsorship programs have learned from the mistakes of the past.
Now, instead of sending their donations to one child, sponsorship programs send donations to a community foundation that works in partnership with local experts to improve the community in a way that improves the lives of everyone who lives there.
These initiatives can focus on building new schools, building roads for better accessibility, increasing local hiring, and providing programs for all youth in the area, whether technically funded or not.
While charities may not be perfect yet, most have learned from the mistakes of the past and are working hard to make sure they use your donations to help others in the least harmful and most effective way.
7 of the best donation opportunities available
Technology makes it incredibly easy to donate to just about any charitable organization you can think of. Between charity apps that help you donate to local charities with the touch of a finger and websites that give back by donating ad-money, it's never been easier to get involved in charity.
However, the fact that these options are simple does not mean that they are the most effective.
These seven charities may not have a donation text. , but were instead chosen for their high Charity Navigator scores (based on transparency, use of donations, and accountability), the percentage of every dollar that goes directly to programming rather than administration or fundraising, the lack of any active religious affiliation and the success of the programs they currently have.
1. Sponsor children around the world and at home with Save the Children
Type of sponsorship: donation, gift catalog or individual sponsorship of children in the US or abroad.
Charity Navigator Rating: 90.29
Money used in programs: 89.6%
Charity Purpose: Save the Children is committed to ensuring that children in the United States and around the world are protected from harm, have access to health care and have access to education.
These goals are supported by a wide range of programs focused on education, emergency response, health and nutrition, HIV and AIDS, US disaster response, and child protection. 2. Sponsor the development of a child-friendly community through PLAN.
Type of sponsorship: Donation, gift catalog and sponsorship of children, community or project.
Charity Navigator Rating: 95.07
Money used in programs: 80.4%
Charity Goal: The plan has been working for more than 75 years to ensure that children can live in conditions of justice, equality and dignity through programs focused on education, child protection, child participation, economic security, emergencies, sexual and reproductive health, health starts and water and sanitation. All programs of the Plan are implemented with the aim of joint development of communities with a focus on the child.
3. Sponsor a class with donorsChoose
Sponsorship type: Support for selected classes throughout the United States.
Charity Navigator Rating: 96.37
Money used in programs: 93.0%
Charity Goal: Teachers in the United States are often limited in the amount of resources they can provide to their students due to a shortage available funds. DonorsChoose allows you to partner with a classroom project hosted on a website by the right teacher (over 68% of US public schools have already posted at least one project on DonorsChoose to date) by donating any amount you wish to further your project's goal.
4. Sponsor Worldwide Healthcare with direct relief
Type of sponsorship: Donation
Charity navigator Rating: 99.94
Money used in programs: 99,2%
Direct Relief is committed to providing access to health care for everyone, both in the United States and around the world. Charitable activities focus on programs related to maternal and child health, disease prevention and treatment, emergency preparedness and response, and strengthening health systems.
Direct Relief works in partnership with local institutions in 72 countries to strengthen existing infrastructure and increase access to care. 5. Sponsor of the Refugee Service of the American Committee on Refugees.
Type of sponsorship: donation
Charity navigator Rating: 92.15
Money used in the programs: 89.1%
Purpose of charity: American refugee Affairs of Refugees and moved by moving through movements by means programs focused on disaster relief, reproductive health, economic empowerment, prevention and response to gender-based violence, and the provision of services that enable refugees to access housing and cleanliness. water, skills and business development training, and education. Currently over 39millions of people in the world live as refugees or displaced persons, so the work being done by the ARC in countries such as Sudan, Liberia, Pakistan, Rwanda, Somalia and Syria should not be overlooked.
6. Sponsored access to clean water with charity: Water (97.05)
Type of sponsorship: Donation and investment program Pipeline.
Charitable Navigator Rating: 97.05
Money used in programs: 90,192 83.4% 90,003 90,002 90,007 Charity goal: 90,008 Currently, almost one in ten people in the world lives without access to clean water. Affordable clean water gives people (especially women and girls) an opportunity to improve their health and well-being, as well as time to get an education and earn an income.
Charity: Water works with local experts and communities in need to find a sustainable solution that meets their needs. The charity also provides training to the community on sanitation and hygiene, and their new Pipeline initiative ensures that the technology needed to access water remains in good condition through local maintenance and repair programs. 7. Sponsor of International Small Business with Kiva
Type of Sponsorship: Microeads
Charity Navigator Rating: 96.903
Money used in programs: 82.4%
9000 challenging the typical notion of “philanthropy” by providing the infrastructure through which loans are made to small businesses around the world. Each Kiva donation is applied to a small business of the sponsor's choice and is paid out by the business owner as their business grows. Once the loan is repaid, the donation can be applied to another small business. This framework aims to empower people around the world to create their own future and is an incredibly positive way to make a difference in the lives of small business owners and their families.
