FAQs

Child sponsorship allows a donor to support an individual child by means of monthly subsidy payments. Our current monthly rate is $28. Sponsorship is NOT adoption. Sponsorship pays for basic necessities that a child would not otherwise receive. It typically covers such expenses as school supplies and fees, food, clothing, and access to medical care. In addition to regular monthly donations, we encourage sponsors to make supplementary gifts for special occasions like a child?s birthday or graduation.

We also welcome and encourage you to send letters to your sponsored child. Many of our children are orphans or spend little time with their parents. 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. Friendships between children and their sponsors often become quite profound.

Many of the children in our programs live with parents or guardians who are unable to fully meet their children?s needs. Other children live in under-funded orphanages or group homes.

Absolutely! You may sponsor as many children as you wish.

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 drop out for a different reason, such as an 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.

Again, we prefer that you sponsor your child until he or she leaves our program. However, sponsorship is not a binding agreement, and you may cancel at any time. Should you choose to cancel your sponsorship, we simply ask that you notify us of your decision so that we may find a new sponsor for your child.

We try to find another sponsor for the child as quickly as possible.

No. Some are orphans, but most are not. Some are abandoned. Some have one parent. Some have two parents who, because of illness or misfortune, cannot support their families.

Yes. We will send you updated information on your sponsored child every two years. The typical progress report includes information on the child?s schoolwork, health, hobbies, and interests. It also addresses the child?s living conditions and immediate needs.

Of each $28 monthly donation:

• $18.50 goes directly to your child?s project. Of this amount $16 is sent to your child as monthly assistance, $2 goes into an emergency fund (for help with fires, illness, etc.), and $.50 goes into a holiday fund.
• $3.50 is applied to administrative costs,
• $3.16 is used for advertising, and
• $2.84 is used for organizational development.

We do not send you a bill or statement for monthly contributions. Instead, when you make a contribution, you will receive a receipt with an attached donation coupon and an envelope that may be used for your next contribution. If you choose to make quarterly, semi-annual, or annual contributions, a reminder will be sent to you when your next sponsorship donation is due. 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. Children, Incorporated has been a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization since 1964. All gifts and donations made to Children, Incorporated are U.S. tax deductible.

Additional money gifts (Designated Funds) may be made via check, money order, or credit card. To avoid having your gift lost or stolen, please send it to our Richmond, VA headquarters. Please do not send gifts directly to your child?s project site. We will process your contribution and forward one hundred percent of your gift to your child.

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 a designated money gift to your child, please make sure the gift arrives in our Richmond, VA office NO LATER THAN:

• Christmas: October 10th.
• Graduation or summer vacation: March 10th
• Birthdays: two months prior to the child?s birthday

You may want to consider our ?Trust and Education Fund? (which we refer to as the T&E Fund). This is a means of setting aside money for your child?s future use, especially higher education, special training, graduation, and/or personal expenses upon leaving the project. The money in this account is transferred if your present child leaves our program and you accept the sponsorship of another child.

You may also want to consider our planned giving options which can assist the children on our rolls while at the same time providing you and your family with various tax benefits.

To discuss either of these options, please contact our office at (800)538-5381 or at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

Yes, but please adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Please send all packages to your sponsored child?s project address.

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

3. Please enclose a ?packing list? itemizing and showing the cost of items included. This will assist our project volunteers, and it will also provide an accurate record of the cost of your gift for income tax purposes.

4. If you wish to send a Christmas gift, please mail it to your child?s school address no later than mid-November.

5. 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.

No. Due to high customs duties and the likelihood of loss, please do not send any packages. There is absolutely no guarantee that your sponsored child will receive such packages. Likewise, we ask that you not send money directly to your sponsored child, as money sent directly is in danger of being stolen or lost. Please send any money through our Richmond, VA office. We will forward the funds, in their full amount, to the volunteer project coordinator to provide for your sponsored child?s needs, according to your instructions, and issue you a receipt that may be used for tax purposes.

Corresponding with your sponsored child is a delightful experience. Please remember, though, that our organization is not designed to be a ?pen pal? program. 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 is handicapped, 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. It can take up to 6 weeks (for U.S. children) and 12 weeks (for Foreign and Latin American children) to complete the letter exchange for overseas projects.

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, but the first letter must be written by the sponsor, as some sponsors prefer not to carry on a correspondence. Please let us know if you prefer not to receive correspondence.

If you have questions or concerns about your sponsored child, it is best that you contact our Richmond headquarters. We are happy to work with you.

Most of our United States projects are based in public schools. All of our project coordinators are volunteers, and most are full-time teachers. Because our volunteers are working during business hours, we prefer that you not call any school directly. If you must do so, please keep your conversation brief.

Many of our projects in our Foreign and Latin American divisions are in remote, rural areas. Some do not have phones and even fewer have internet access. However, you are very welcome to write to the volunteer who manages your child?s project. The mailing address may be found in the brochure that accompanied your child?s sponsorship packet. You are also free to contact our Richmond office.

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 our Richmond. The Division Director who oversees your child?s project will assist you in making arrangements with the project, parents, and program volunteer. There are also visitation forms to be filed.

We strongly discouraged sponsors from showing up unannounced at any project site. Our United States schools are particularly likely to insist on stringent security due to concerns about school violence, child kidnappings, and terrorism. Therefore, unexpected guests will not be allowed to visit their sponsored children.

Please remember that your 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. Understanding your child?s history should make your visit an uplifting experience for both of you.

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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 has been in continuous operation since 1964, when it was founded by Ms. Jeanne Clarke Wood of Richmond, Virginia.

Our administrative offices are located in Richmond, Virginia. We maintain project sites in 12 states and 24 foreign countries.

Our mailing address is

Children, Incorporated 4205 Dover Road Richmond, VA 23221

You may also reach us by phone at (800) 538-5381 or by email at sponsorship@children-inc.org.

There are currently more than 17,000 children on our rolls. We have served more than 250,000 children since 1964.

Only if you meet the federal poverty guidelines and your child attends a school or community center that has been designated as a Children, Incorporated project site. We do not donate directly to families.

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.

No. All of our funds come from private donations.

Children, Incorporated employs 30 paid staff members at our Richmond, Virginia office. We also employ one regional coordinator in Bolivia 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 impoverished 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. When we open a new project site, it is almost always because a teacher or social worker has asked to become involved with Children, Incorporated. Once we have established a new project, the volunteer sends us detailed information on impoverished children in his/her care, and we strive to meet the needs of those children.

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 an annual report verifying that he/she has appropriately managed the Children, Incorporated funds. These reports include receipts and other documentation. All project reports are carefully audited at our Richmond, Virginia office. Additionally, our division directors routinely visit project sites to ensure that every volunteer is correctly implementing our program.

Again, all of our volunteers work with impoverished children in a professional capacity on a daily basis. They 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.

We facilitate child sponsorships in the United States and 24 other countries. Our programs are divided among five divisions:

• American Indian Division
• Appalachian Division
• Inner City Division
• Foreign Division
• Latin American Division

• Through our Annual Fund, we construct facilities like schools, orphanages, clinics, and playgrounds. The Annual Fund also helps offset our operating expenses and allows us to assist children and their families during natural disasters.
• Our Warm Clothing Fund provides coats, undergarments, and other winter items to children throughout the United States.
• Our Back-to-School Fund provides school supplies and clothing to children in urban areas and Appalachia.
• Our Haven Fund assists our neediest unsponsored children who are waiting to be sponsored.

Of course! None of our special giving funds involve sponsorship or any other long-term commitment. These funds support impoverished children throughout all five of our divisions. 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 lsauer@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. For example, volunteers help us with our annual back-to-school shopping trip each August. Please call our office at (800) 538-5381 for more information.