What did you expect Compassion to say or do when you threatened to quit them? I recently recieved a packet from a friend to spnsor a child. Donna, I am so sorry that you have waited so long for a letter from Juliano and that it has caused you to consider canceling your sponsorship of him. You can expect to receive up to six letters per year from him if you are writing regularly (about every two months). Internal and independent audits are regularly conducted for our offices in the field and here in Colorado Springs. Not that I dont trust Compassion, but rather that I do trust Compassion. This marked the 15th consecutive year of 4 Star ratings. Yall really didnt think of that? This practice is part of the Pathway to Happiness Program Self-Compassionate Letter Stop beating yourself up for flaws and mistakes. Nevertheless, this miniscule calculation impacted Compassions overall 4 Star rating. I would further suggest that you check them out on Charity Navigator and look for some of the old articles that have appeared in Christianity today. Please know that our wonderful, loving tutors do their absolute best to help each and every child write to their sponsor and answer their questions. Images of an Ontario shop teacher wearing oversized prosthetic breasts to work has drawn international attention. Karen, we have run across more issues with the new letter translation and processing system than we had anticipated. http://christiannews.net/2012/12/23/non-profit-organizations-feeding-impoverished-children-serving-up-six-figure-salaries-to-ceos/. I have been aware all of my life of the conditions in which some children throughout the world find themselves in, and this organization gave me the means to pick one child and tell them I love them and care about them with my entire being, and back up those words by means of prayer and financial assistance. The initial information that was given to me was that he lived with his mother. Can you please reduce the paper mail coming into my mailbox as well? If you can, travel to see what we do firsthand and meet your child. I am able to send inquiries when it has been longer than six months since you last heard from your children. May the Lord, as only He can, provide you with the grace, peace, and wisdom to face whatever is in front of you. While we in the US might go several months without thinking of the Child outside that monthly credit card charge and thank Uncle Sam for the tax write-off but those children and their families are playing to God, speaking your name, thanking God for you, calling you mommy and/or daddy. Our own kids are of similar age which makes it great for them too to see the letters. Founded in 1952 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Compassion International is a child-sponsoring charitable organization that was originally known as the Everett Swanson Evangelistic Association. This means that with your donation (should you choose to give), we will purchase a gift for your child, gifts for children whose sponsors cant give, and children who arent yet sponsored. Why would it be dated March? The above post about the CEO receiving a 6 digit salary plus staff taking expensive trips with family concern me. Some seasons of life are more enjoyable, I think it's really important to teach our children, as Christians, to have compassion on the poor. Im glad I came across this discussion as I decided to sponsor a beautiful girl from India after church on Sunday. She would say things like, Please pray for my parents to have more money to provide for me and my two brothers. In every letter, it made me feel like my contributions werent enough. I work with nurses from other countries. I see that you sent her a graduation gift as well as her birthday gift in January of 2014. (And for those of you who are wondering no, I dont work for Compassion. Tim, thank you for sharing about your work in the Philippines! I supposedly am getting a little drawing and coloring from the child, but they are very inconsistent in the way it is done.One is very neat and in the lines while the other is scribbled and messy. Im really sorry to hear that you felt misled and hassled by Compassion. In the last letter sent, he asked if I had children or pets. They are positively impacting lives! Compassion is a top-notch organization and I wish I could sponsor more kids! It is an honor to have you in our Compassion family! This fund is used to purchase gifts for all children in Compassions program. Please let us know if you have any other questions or concerns. We would love to speak with you further and offer additional information and assistance. Why choose a specific child if the money is given to other children. I didnt really know what to do so I just ignored it. In many countries, the day is listed first and the month second. Its directly taking from the poor which is sad to me. It sounded more authentic than the letters I was getting from Uganda, at least. Originally voiced by singer Mary Costa, Aurora is the only child of King Stefan and Queen Leah.An evil fairy named Maleficent seeks revenge for not being invited to Aurora's christening and curses the newborn princess . This has caused letters to sit in translation as we work through these issues. Ask questions. Uploaded by on the Internet. -Shannon. One of the websites I use to check out a charity is http://www.ministrywatch.com. Thats between them and God. Kyle, Absolutely. I would even encourage you to ask your child if they are able to write on their own. We put in a birth date for the child as closely estimated as we can and if we find more information on the child later, well then update his profile. Strangely though, when I reached my second (third?) The Compassion kids we visited would always bring out their sponsor letters. Furthermore, it is unfortunate that Sarahs suggestions were not fully addressed (video chat which is free, continuous bulk mail, lack of proof of the children actually receiving our presents and letters pictures can be downloaded for free, the suggestion to aid in translating letters for other children ) I have been sponsoring numerous children since 2013 and also receive generic letters which do not address specific questions that I have asked. I apologize for the inconvenience and if this makes you hesitant in what you send. They said Sorry to lose you, and we will find another sponsor for the child. What else is there for them to say? I have had wonderful and not wonderful experiences with other sponsorship organizations but Compassion has been consistently first-rate. Which one is correct? In no way did we expect or intend to force you to give more. So our almost 6 year old is really almost a 10 year old??? I think that it is worthwhile. Her sponsor has not written to her for unknown reasons, I dont know him or her at all, so I cant say, and so I have been asked to write. I would love to encourage you to consider letter writing your personal ministry to your child. 2.CHILD FOCUSED: When you sponsor a child through Compassion International a minimum of 80% of your monthly gift goes toward meeting the spiritual and physical needs of your sponsored child through a partnership with a church in his or her neighborhood. And we will continue being committed to at least 80% of each dollar you send, going towards the programs that directly impact your child. Sponsors Share Their Best Letter Writing Tips, Before and After Safe Water: 20 Powerful Photos, How to Get to Know Your Sponsored Childs Family, Thank you, Samantha. Don't forget! I am so thankful for my experience so far as a sponsor, and the connection that is being formed with my sponsored child. I gave way more than enough. I am sure each location is a little different but my $38 goes pretty much for school expenses and Compassion sponsored activities. I am very sorry for any concerns that the salary of our CEOs has caused you. The children have always written more letters to us than we to them, which make us grateful. The only gifts that we combine are Christmas Gifts. Dear Vicki, I was on the fence about selecting a child to sponsor but your letter and hearing about your faithfulness for 14 years with this organization and the children has made up my mind to take a chance and sponsor a child! Hi this is Trace. I have not heard from my child in a while and when I do it is so generic it could be from anyone. It's also likely that his parents didn . This has changed and now Compassion will utilize a small percentage of your individual child-gift donation (10 percent) for the ministrys administration and program delivery costs of the gift. Heres the financials chart used by Ministry Watch so you can see how Compassions numbers line up with other organizations: Industry average vs. Compassion: The customer service is available Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. Huh???? Cancel Your Compassion International Membership Over the Phone. Over the past year of being 4 years old and not in school yet I do not feel the majority of these were even done by her. Now the doubt creeps in. For example, he said that he finished the first semester of College and that he was on vacation with his family. Letters as you might know can now be viewed straight from your My Account. Gioto- (means really hot place Hell) a dump city in Nakuru where the people sometimes wont speak its name because it is a dangerous place of no hope and it is where you go when you have no where else to go. We appreciate your patience and understanding regarding the letter writing process. The easiest way to find an available child in the Philippines is on our website: https://www.compassion.com/. In my junior year of high school, I went to 722 in Atlanta and Lewi Giggleo gave his testimony and recommendation of Compassion and outside the conference hall I became a sponsor. Hell be thrilled to hear from you and get to know you. Im saddened to see that youre so disappointed and frustrated with us so soon into your sponsorship. If you didnt receive these, please verify that we have your correct mailing address on file and email us at [emailprotected] and we can get them re sent to you. Good move! For those that are thinking of dropping the sponsorship please, please reconsider and dont drop it. As you can see hes gotten taller and has matured in his features. Also, some more testimonials from teens and adults, who have been long in the programme or finished the programme, would be very impactful. So Im not sure how much benefit there is to having my reply on here, now. New sponsors should receive this introduction letter within the first four months of sponsorship. Please let us know if you would like us to do this. I have another sponsor child who I do sponsor fully, and so that has given me somewhat of a reference for how to interact through letters. One way we have increased the speed of letters is by having the letters scanned and sent electronically between the United States and the countries we work in instead of air mailed. Please explain. Hi Rayshell, But I was born in a third world country and live in the modern United States. Hi Marci! Their pages under My Sponsorships are often several years out of date. According to Compassion International, I was sponsoring an eight year old girl in Ghana named Elizabeth. Im sorry Sarah, I understand your position as you are an employee there, but I agree with Marci that from the Bible perspective, $330K/yr is huge amount of donations towards one persons salary. Remember that we dont have because we dont ask. When you began supporting your child, we were working with older systems in which processing letters to and from your child was very manual and took 2-3 months for letters to be delivered both ways. I have been a sponsor since 2020. My husband and I have sponsored many different children at Compassion over the years, and as of right now we may be looking to find another charity where the CEO actually makes a normal living wage. I saw how my monthly support offered so much to my sponsor child. Hi Lee! Please be encouraged that in the next couple of years, when we roll out our new software and processes, we are looking to give sponsors more opportunities to connect with their children that are quicker and improved! Then at the end of every month, I would send some extra. You can toss the packet as we will not need that back. 2023 Compassion International. When I asked about specific things I included in the envelope along with the letter in the letter I received they were mentioned once. Its very possible that we accidentally sent you the same letter twice. Fundraising $121M. Shaina is a former team lead in the Compassion U.S. contact center. I had NO idea that it is common for parents in other cultures not to pay too much attention to their childs exact birth date. I havent gotten a Letterrible or picture from my sponsors child nor I have seen an update. We sent an inquiry last week to make sure everything is alright with Pamela and ask her to write back as soon as possible. It takes between six and eight weeks for us to hear back from the country offices regarding inquiries, but I will contact you immediately when we have the results back and letters from your precious kiddos. Im becoming concerned, and it would be nice to know if shes okay or if its just the letter writing change thats the problem. I am very happy to report that I have five sponsored children and have not had this experience at all! Also, with 1.7 million children in our program, we dont have the capabilities to do video chat with our sponsors, I pray that God blesses the relationship you build with your child through letters and that you enjoy investing in his life and watching him grow. Thank you for sponsoring your sweet kiddo. Compassion is accredited with the Better Business Bureau and meets the 20 standards for charity accountability. As I understand it, part of our sponsorship money goes toward our sponsored child going to school in the area as well as being able to visit the center, right? Consequently, I wonder if she received them, so I would probably not sponsor another child, but would give my money locally, so that I could personally see the benefits to a child. In regards to your childs profile on the website, the information under Community, Child Development Center, and Child information are only changed if there is new information to add to it. Please know that the tutors are all different people who are local community members, not experts, so letter writing may still be a foreign concept for them as well. I love sponsoring through Compassion International and feel that I have a great relationship with my sponsored child. I hear your heart for this ministry and your desire to foster a relationship with your sweet girl. I wondered how the childs health, provision, mental well-being, without a mother who was in hospital, was of no concern of Compassion UK? Our records indicate that Marcela was to graduate the program in April of 2014. Thank you so much for your interest in sponsoring a child with Compassion! Im sorry but did this company ever consider VIDEO CHAT?!!! Jennifer, Essentially all these organisations are just multinational begging organisations and we , the sponsors, pay the top beggars a lot of money to beg for money from us. I will be searching for another charity. Cheryl, Im so sorry for the confusion about your sponsorship of sweet Lilibeth in Colombia. It would cost over 3,000 dollars to go hug my child. Half of your gift did go directly to Susis family, and you should be hearing by the end of next month how that gift was used to bless them (just in time for your 1 year anniversary!) I would give it some time and re-evaluate how you feel on the issue. Thank you so much for already writing so often. Throughout the years, Compassion has consistently averaged more than 80 percent of total expenditures being used for program activities, with less than 20 percent being used for fundraising and administration. Please know we are thankful for your choice to be a devoted sponsor and we are so thankful to have you in our Compassion family! Each of your letters will bring incredible encouragement to Farel. Your sweet boy certainly loves you! I am also starting to mistrust this organization. -protection from crime, violence and danger Through those goat pics ive seen my kid, her mother, and her father. Sponsor a child. I hope you enjoy watching him continue to grow and I pray that this helps clarify the concerns and hesitancy caused by this update. Fundraising Costs Ratio: 0.062 vs. 0.086 I informed Compassion International but the only response I received from them was them asking for me to sign up additional children. On letter writing days, the staff put suggestions for topics and questions on the board for the kids to write to their sponsors. Overall, I dont think a Christian-based holistic child development organization would fare well in Givewells evaluation process, simply because Compassion deals in outcomes that arent easily quantifiable increasing childrens self-esteem, quality of life, education, stability within the family, overall child safety, protection from abuse/child trafficking/gangs, spiritual development, etc. 3 fake / fek/ verb You may definitely visit a correspondent child and give financial gifts! You are encouraging them in more ways than you know, and I pray that your open heart will help them begin to share more about themselves as well :). I do apologize for this as our intention is not to deceive you or make you hesitant in the integrity of our ministry. Go look at our financial records which are posted publicly on our website. In regards to one child having multiple sponsors, Compassion is a one to one sponsorship program. You should also begin to see his letters become more personal as your relationship grows. We are so grateful that you responded to God tugging at your heart to sponsor Uwimana Josiane 10 years ago. I was quite upset as one can imagine! I have gotten many pictures and letters back from them. They told me they pray several times a week and thank God for our support. and are currently blessing 14 children! Please know that we do regularly ask outside, non-biased watchdog organizations, such as Charity Navigators, to research us. I want to be a dad like yours - showing love in tangible ways no matter what., Trouble, challenges, pain, suffering, grief, transition, change and renewal come to us all. Help Us Innovate. -clean drinking water Somerset High School Yearbook Class of 1969 91 images, 703 students, 8 faculty. They told me it was a local matter and nothing to do with them. Sarah, I see that you just began supporting a child with us on March 30th of this year. If my child is legitimate and my donations are going towards assisting the family , praise the lord . I was involved in 2 childrens lives who grew up and left the Compassion program. Share it with her friends, etc. I really hope you enjoy it! Do the greetings sometimes seemed coached? MJ, thank you so much for the kind and encouraging words! The way our program works, sponsors are not guaranteed to receive a Christmas gift acknowledgement since all Christmas gifts are combined and distributed evenly among both sponsored and unsponsored children to ensure each child receives a gift. This new system seems more complicated than it might originally have been planned. Compassion Internationals profile at the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, Compassion International meets the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliances Standards for Charity Accountability, https://www.compassion.com/donate-to-charity.htm, https://www.compassion.com/multimedia/2015-2016-form-990-compassion-international.pdf, https://www.compassion.com/about/financial.htm, see what we do firsthand and meet your child, Why Do My Sponsored Childs Letters Seem So Impersonal, https://www.compassion.com/newsponsor/visit.htm, our other post about our new letter guidelines, Charity Navigators, has given us a 4-star rating for over 14 years in a row. Were excited to be able to start sending more communications to sponsors via email with our new system upgrade and you can go to your My Account on https://www.compassion.com and customize your preferences for receiving things via email such as our magazine! And, they say, the school board has let the kids down. Please do research us and prayerfully consider whether this is the organization you are called to give to. Your letters and cards will make a major difference in her life! I was so shocked I didnt believe. Trying to have more patience, and most of all I pray my little Pamela is safe and sound. Some of us get letter writing blues, too . Our junk hauling services handle just about everything from read more. Also, we so so appreciate all that you have done for this child! I will also pray for great wisdom among your Compassion leaders in TZ in handling such matters. Yes, I was concerned, but I felt that God was leading me to Compassion and told me that this organization can be trusted. Now Ive been a sponsor for 6 1/2 years and dont regret a day of it! Compassion International I had one child who never said much of anything. Youre both right. Secondly, the letters I have recently received from my sponsored child are no longer being written by him. I am a long-time sponsor through Compassion, and I know they are not running a scam. Liza, I am so sorry that your childrens letters no longer seem genuine and that they are vague. Our staff who enter the childs information are locals to that community. Hello Kate. In the few letters that I received, her information/background was very inconsistent. I always noticed that the handwriting was somewhat different, but thought he was getting older and perhaps his penmanship was improving. The week after Christmas my husband almost died. Diane, at the time we had written this blog, 100% of your gift was going to your child. We sincerely look forward to earning your trust and proving our hearts for serving our sponsors and children with excellence. Have you already sent in the sponsorship form to sponsor the child whose packet your friend gave you? We certainly want to ensure youre receiving these. Hope that helps yours and anyone else who is having trust issues regarding misuse of a pronoun in relation to their childs gender. If you are in business, either for profit or non-profit problems are bound to crop up that is inevitable. The agency surveys compensation levels of similar faith-based sponsorship, poverty and relief non-profits in the United States. I would think by this time, he could have learned to write a few words. Even my district administrators dont earn 1/3 that much. If Josiane is unsure of what to write, then she may choose to write what the tutor is recommending, and this may result in letters sounding the same. Blessings! For example, if your child lives with the same guardians during the duration of their time in the program, this will not be updated. And if I want a new picture I need to send $60.00. I would rate them one of the best Christian sponsorship organizations that I have dealt with. My family has been sponsoring a young boy named Alanael. I declined. and as compassion says its the Lords money so why panic if you know its going directly to a child in need. I also get quotes from the Bible that are not accurate such as this example: Joel 6:8 There are only 3 chapters in Joel. We simply would like to provide the education for those who have the desire to give more on how they can give more. If you have additional questions, please email us at [emailprotected]. Thank you so much for choosing to bless your sweet Mimi by sponsoring her this past year! They may not know how to express themselves to you in a letter, but you never know how impactful your letters are to them. Hi Vicki! Although children may have had multiple sponsors throughout their time in the program as circumstances arise and some sponsors need to cancel their support before their child completes the program; Compassion only has one sponsor per child. 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