FAQs

Children, Incorporated is an international nonprofit organization assisting impoverished children in the U.S. and abroad through already established schools, orphanages, and child care centers since 1964. We facilitate sponsorships, maintain several special funds, and manage special projects on an as-needed basis. Children, Incorporated provides resources for children in need in the United States and abroad, because we passionately believe that children everywhere deserve education, hope and opportunity.

Our administrative offices are located in Richmond, Virginia. We maintain program sites in 12 states and 23 foreign countries.

We serve over 20,000 children on an annual basis and have assisted more than 250,000 children since 1964.

No. Children, Incorporated is an independent charity. We have no religious or political agenda. Our goal is to assist as many impoverished children as possible, and we respect each child's religious and cultural heritage.

In some countries, we work with child-care facilities that are managed by religious organizations. For example, we support children who live at the Puente Piedra Girl's Home, an orphanage in Peru that is run by Catholic nuns. We work with existing NGOs throughout our program locations.

Children, Incorporated employs 24 paid staff members at our Richmond, Virginia office. We also employ one regional coordinator in Brazil and one regional coordinator in South Korea.

In addition to our paid staff, we work with nearly 400 project volunteers. Each of our project sites is located at a school, orphanage, or community center. At least one staff member at each of these sites volunteers to administer our services to children in their care.

We work primarily with volunteers for two reasons:

First, we have found that volunteers are in the best position to meet the unique needs of each child. All of our volunteers are teachers, social workers, guidance counselors, school principals, or other child-care professionals. They work with the children on our rolls on a daily basis, and they observe firsthand the circumstances of each child's life.

Second, working with volunteers allows us to keep our programs highly efficient. We benefit because we employ only a small number of paid staff. This allows us to devote a higher percentage of our funds (81.9%) directly to our child care programs. Thus, your dollars go very far in aiding the children on our rolls. Meanwhile, our volunteers benefit because our programs help them to improve the lives of the children in their care.

Each volunteer must submit reports verifying that he/she has appropriately managed the Children, Incorporated funds. All project reports are carefully audited at our Richmond, Virginia office. Additionally, our staff routinely visits project sites to ensure that every volunteer is correctly implementing our program.

Our coordinators volunteer with Children, Incorporated because we help them to help their children. Our volunteers take great pains to uphold the integrity of our programs, and we are very grateful to them for all that they do.

Child sponsorship enables a donor to support a child by means of monthly contributions. Our current monthly rate is $28. Sponsorship pays for basic necessities such as school supplies and fees, food, clothing and access to medical care.

We also welcome and encourage you to send letters to your sponsored child. A sponsor's friendship and encouragement is priceless to a child in such circumstances. Indeed, many children value their sponsor's friendship and encouragement as much as they value the financial support they receive. There is an opportunity to build a relationship between sponsor and child that can be quite profound.

Sponsoring a child is not just a donation; it is a relationship. Because of that, we prefer that you sponsor your child until he or she leaves our program, which usually occurs when a child graduates from high school or moves out of our service area. At times, a child will no longer require support for a different reason, such as improvement in the family's financial circumstances. If this occurs, we will select a new child for you to sponsor. It is our sincere hope that you accept the new child for sponsorship and continue your kind support.

We hope each sponsor will continue to support his/her sponsored child until the child no longer requires the support. We recognize that circumstances change and you may be unable to continue your sponsorship. Sponsorship does not require a binding agreement and you may cancel at any time. We simply ask that you notify us of your decision so that we may find a new sponsor for your child.

Children whose sponsors cancel are added to a waiting list and we try to find another sponsor for the child as quickly as possible.

Yes. We will send you updated information on your sponsored child every year. The typical progress report includes information on the child's schoolwork, health, hobbies, and interests. It also addresses the child's living conditions and family situation.

Sponsorship can be paid by check, credit card, money order or ACH transfer. You can mail check or money order. Credit cards are accepted online or over the phone and ACH transfers can be done online. Reminders are sent to those sponsors who pay by check or credit card. Sponsorship is $28/month or $336 for an entire year. Payments can be made monthly, quarterly, bi-annually or annually.

You may also opt to have us automatically charge your contribution to your American Express, Visa, MasterCard, or Discover card. Please contact our office at (800) 538-5381 or email sponsorship@children-inc.org for more information about this plan.

Yes, your sponsorship contributions are fully tax-deductible. Children, Incorporated has been a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization since 1964.

Yes! Additional monetary gifts sent for your sponsored child will be pooled with gifts from other sponsors who are supporting children in the same project, unless otherwise indicated. We ask that additional monetary gifts be a minimum of $25. Should you wish to give a gift specifically designated for your sponsored child,, we ask that the gift be between $25 and $50. Please note that gifts designated for a specific child are not tax-deductible.

Children, Incorporated will designate 10% of your contribution to cover our administrative and processing costs; this means your sponsored child will benefit from 90% of the total you send as a designated gift.

Yes. It takes time to process a gift and send it to your sponsored child particularly if your child lives in a foreign country. To send additional monetary gifts to your child, please make sure the gift arrives in our Richmond, VA office 60 days in advance of the date you would like it to be received by your child.

Yes, sending a gift can be a way of helping your sponsored child at certain times of the year or letting the child know you are thinking of him/her. We ask that you adhere to the following guidelines:

1. A gift valued between $25 and $50 is most appropriate. Our coordinators are not able to process checks or cash so we ask that you purchase the items you wish to give and send them in a package.

2. If possible, please use UPS (United Parcel Service) or FedEx for the best tracking service.

3. If you wish to send a Christmas gift, please mail it to your child's school address no later than mid-November so the coordinator can distribute the gifts in advance of the school's winter holiday.

4. For summer gifts, please mail your packages no later than April 15th as most schools close by mid-May. This will allow the project coordinators time to sort and deliver all packages.

5. Please send all packages to your sponsored child's project address.

No. Due to high customs duties and the likelihood of loss, please do not send any packages to programs outside of the United States. Children, Incorporated cannot guarantee that your sponsored child will receive such packages.

Corresponding with your sponsored child is a delightful experience. Within the brochure about your sponsored child is your child's correspondence address. Our project volunteers will translate your letters, if necessary, and deliver them to your sponsored child. When your sponsored child writes to you, his or her letters will be translated (if necessary) at our Richmond office and forwarded on to you. If your child is too young to write, or has a disability either a project coordinator or a parent will write or assist with the letter. Please note that mail service in remote areas can be very slow so letters may take some time to get back and forth.

The children enjoy learning about the lives of their sponsors. Talking about your own children, grandchildren, sisters, and brothers is always a good place to start. The children also like to learn about your part of the world, what you do for a living, your hobbies and interests, and any pets you may have.

Yes! We do ask that the sponsor write the first letter and that the sponsor have patience in waiting for a return letter. Depending on the timing of the letter, children may not be available to respond quickly. We ask each child to write a friendly letter each year. You will also get information from you sponsored child through progress reports and updates on the projects we visit each year.

If you have questions or concerns about your sponsored child, contact us at (800) 538-5381 or email sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Yes! All of our projects, including those in foreign countries, welcome visits by sponsors who want to see their sponsored child(ren) in person.

If you wish to visit your sponsored child, please contact us at least 45 days prior to your planned visit. The Sponsorship Manager who oversees your child's project will assist you in making arrangements with the program, parents, and program volunteer. Children, Incorporated has forms to request the visit and a child protection policy in place that we ask sponsors to follow. This includes a background check at the sponsor’s expense.

You may wish to read about the area where your sponsored child lives, learn some of the history and customs. Your sponsored child may have customs and traditions that are different from your own. We simply ask that you respect your child's culture and way of life to make your visit an uplifting experience for both of you.

Click Here to go to our financial section

Click Here to go to our financial section

Click Here to go to our financial section

We facilitate child sponsorships in the United States and 23 other countries. We also maintain a variety of special funds which support our efforts to meet the needs of children around the world:

• The Seeds of Hope Annual Fund supports administrative costs and will ensure that Children, Incorporated can maximize the impact of support we provide to the children we serve. Contributions will also help us improve existing services to the children and make advancements that enable our organization to more efficiently send dollars to the children who need them.
• The Shared Hope Fund provides for children awaiting sponsorship. Contributions of all amounts will be pooled and distributed to children in need.
• The Hope in Action Fund supports grass roots, community-led programming in the areas of health, education and livelihood. Gifts to the Hope in Action Fund enable us to work alongside communities in support of long-term improvements.
• Additionally, we welcome and encourage planned gifts.

Of course! Our special giving support children throughout all of our projects. Your donation is most welcome.

There are many ways to include Children, Incorporated in your estate plans, including bequests, IRA/401(k) designations, annuities, and charitable remainder trusts. For more information, please contact the development office at (800) 538-5381 or rcorrigan@children-inc.org. We will work with you to create the plan that best meets your needs.

Yes, and we greatly appreciate corporate matching gifts! Please contact your human resources department to find out whether your company participates in such a plan. As soon as we are notified of your matching gift, we will process the forms to double your support through your company's matching gift program.

At this time, our only regular volunteers are the on-site program volunteers who manage our project sites around the world.

Sometimes there are volunteer opportunities at our Richmond, Virginia headquarters. Please call our office at (800) 538-5381 for more information.