Compassion International, Inc.

I Sponser 22 children with Compassion International and absolutely love it!! I have been sponsoring children for almost 2 years now. Most of my sponser kids are 1 and two year old babies but thats ok, i am ready to commit to them for the long term. I want to get to know each one of my kids and watch them grow and thrive. Some of the kids I sponser are very shy and I hear from them only once in a while, where other children I sponser are very outgoing and write me back whenever they get the chance. You know what? That's okay. I was a shy kid myself so I understand. At the end of the day I am still a stranger to these children. I don't expect anything from them, but when I do hear from my kids its an amazing feeling. I cannot help but feel that maybe this is my purpose, to help children and their families who need it most. I feel very humbled, honored, and blessed to be my children's sponser and consider it a privilege to watch them learn and grow. I keep a scrapbook for each of the children I sponser, I have records of the letters I sent and received from each of my kids. My favorite part of the program is the letter writing, I love to hand make all my kid's cards and personalize each one to my kids likes and interests. Lastly I have sent both family gifts and child gifts + the birthday gift to each of my children every year. I have always received in return a family photo or an image of my child holding whatever they bought with the gift money. I got to tell you, its a great feeling to know that your money is going somewhere good and is helping struggling people make it through. In conclusion, if i could sponser 100 children i would. I highly recommend Compassion International to anyone who is thinking about helping people in need.

I have requested 3 times to cancel my account and have rescinded authorization to use my debit card. They refuse to cancel! I am having to report their fraudulent use of my card to the authorities! I changed my giving to another organization once I saw the exorbitant salaries of leadership in this organization but they will not stop billing me! This organization is a nightmare!!!

We have sponsored children for about 20 years now. I can answer some of the questions asked here. Some pictures are repeats. It's difficult to have many children travel so far for new pictures. Sometimes the children are cranky or they are tierd. Which is also why they aren't always smiling. Communications are difficult. They do not always have wifi avalable in remote villages. We have had some crazy letters come through. Some were not translated. It happens. Sometimes compassion will hire for or sponsored children to work as consumer service help. Most of the time it is not an issue but ocassionally ( as for most customer service anywhere) there can be some difficultly in translating or understanding an accent. Don't sponser with compassion is communication is a huge need for you. I admit it is usually pretty frequent depending on what county your sponsored child is in.
The only issue I have had, is when a child leaves the program ( there are many reasons why) they automatically sign you up for a new child. Then if you wish to not take on the child. You are billed for the sponsership with out permission and then almostes shamed if you chose to cancel an account you never ask for. I understand there is a need to sponsor chikdren but shaming people into it isn't fair.
The adult program for sponsered children has been wonderful. I have enjoyed being a part of watching the sponsored children learn skills and trades.

I have been a supporter of Compassion International for about 25 years. At first I adopted just one girl and we wrote each other from the time she was 5 until the time she turned 18. She saved the extra money I sent her to become an interior decorator. We shared many stories with each other and she loved my little dog dearly (I sent her many pictures). We both shed tears when he died. I loved this girl dearly and was happy and privileged to be her sponsor. Now I am sponsor for three more Compassion children. I always receive letters and photos of them with gifts they have purchased from my donations. I have a relationship with every one of them. They are from different countries and of different age groups but all under 10 years old. It does take a couple months for a letter to get through but they always do.
I am thrilled to be able to help these young people with needs we take for granted and will continue to do what I can for them, and their families. God has given me the means to help others and I feel confident this organization does their best to help these children. If I could adopt 100 more of these children I would.
Please don’t let the negative reviews keep you from adopting a child in need. You will be blessed when you see the difference it makes in their lives and their families. They need to know how loved they are and that they are not forgotten. We can make a difference.

Reading other reviews, I can’t help but wonder what some people expect from a charity. I have been sponsoring a little girl from El Salvador for the past three years. In October 2019 I went on a Compassion trip with other sponsors of children in that area. What an incredible experience! Everything I was told about their work I got to see with my own eye and was blown away by the loving care that they provide. They make the very most of the resources available to them. It was heartwarming to meet “my little girl” as well as her mother and her tutor. I am so pleased with this organization and the work they do. If anyone reading this is considering sponsorship of a child, please do so. You will be blessed on more ways than you can imagine.

I have been sponsoring a child for about five years now. She is 17 now and in Indonesia. I have not heard a WORD from her for 16 months. One.word. I have written many times and reached out to this organization many times to ask what is going on and what they are doing with COVID and they literally send me a copy/paste (the text was different in the email so I could clearly tell it was a copy/paste response, which tells me everything I need to know right there) of what they (claim) they are doing BUT the "development centers are closed" so what exactly are they really doing with my money? For sixteen + months? I had to cancel my sponsorship simply because I had no idea if they were using this for my child, or for beer money. That should NEVER be the case. Communication should have been much better and we feel badly ending our sponsorship and if I knew that the money was indeed going to her then we would have continued. But it does beg the question if the "development centers" are closed , how exactly are they providing education, medical care, food etc?

Became a sponsor in 2020. I didn’t get a single letter from my sponsor child. I donated $140 for her birthday in February of this year and never got any notification that she even received the money. I only got letters from compassion asking for donations.
(Also, there was conflicting information on the website and the welcome packet they gave me. It said she was cared for by her mother only. The packet I received stated she was cared for by her mother and father.)

I had sponsored 7 kids in the past and have a continuing dialogue with one who is now 24 (he found me on the internet when he was a teen). I also communicated with another through Facebook who aged out and loved her Compassion project so much she wanted to work with them as a career.
Compassion as an organization DOES NOT steal or manipulate children. I have visited 2 separate Compassion locations in Ethiopia, and visited one of the children I sponsored. I did this quite by accident (I don't recommend showing up in a village unannounced even for legitimate purposes if you sponsor a child there). The child had all my pictures and letters, and clearly appreciated me, however she was very shy. She showed me what my money purchased her, but she clearly didn't "know" me. Keep this in mind as a sponsor. Not all kids are outgoing toward strangers, even if you write them and buy them stuff.

The real concern / cause is this:
Compassion PARTNERS with LOCAL churches to reach those it works with. That means they use the local church people to conduct the operations. In one case, there was a Compassion office that I was close with for 8 months (I lived with and was friends with some of the administrators, and I attended the church and was close to one of the family's that had a sponsor child). I saw as an insider what happens in a normal Compassion sponsor day.
Due to cultural variances, each church will operate slightly differently, and yes, corrupt local churches could easily steal, manipulate, etc.
Often times what developing nations consider fair game is considered corruption to the western world*
For example, at this facility every kid received a wool blanket for Christmas and some inexpensive cookies. The workers received an expensive cake and sodas-which was paid for by donors. Culturally this was acceptable as the blankets were a local high value item and adults and authority are highly valued as well. (It would have been culturally awkward if the kids got good things while the adults in authority got nothing or less) Another time a dispute broke out between some of the workers and a manager over the purchase of a new briefcase for the manager, etc. He used donor money for the briefcase purchase.
However, the kids were really being cared for and provided for by the church. They were a locally functioning church that had inside methods of dispute resolution. This included Compassion business.
For the kids, Educational and spiritual activities were conducted. Clothes purchased, etc. They were happy.
Humans are not perfect and a human run church will have faults.
Compassion releases their tight grip on overseeing and managing to allow local churches to control how the children should be helped. This is not a bad thing, but when you let go of control there is the potential for problems.

Adults write the kid letters in English if they (the adult) knows English. This is easier than the child writing in a local language and needing translated. Often the kid will be drawing and asking what the kid wants to tell their sponsor generally. In many countries conversation is different (asking how everyone is endlessly and saying thanks to God).
Many kids in developing nations are in primary school as teens. The school systems are different.
Communication in developing nations is not instant and easy like in America. The mail is slow, phone service unreliable, and Internet often non existant.
A child who has never fathomed a foreigner may be shy and not have a lot to say to a stranger in a letter. They are "required" to write letters, so do not be surprised if sometimes they have little to say.
Sometimes when civil, political, or other unrest occurs, Compassion projects must close. It is sad, but if it is not safe for the local church to operate, they must close. For example, FARC moved into the village a child I sponsored lived. They threatened church activity and the project closed. Not Compassion's fault.

Most child sponsorship organizations have about the same overhead vs actual aid spending. It is an organization and uses business tools to operate, including big firms. So be it. They offer a service- western people a way to connect to and support a single child to make an impact without moving across the world and learning a new culture and language.

I hope this lengthy review of a past and current sponsor with inside knowledge of local Compassion offices helps those considering Compassion Sponsorship, and answers some questions.

After working with/giving to other charities for many years, I'm so grateful and encouraged by the health of Compassion. They value quality over quantity and doing things right. They have been honest with me about their shortfalls and areas they are working to improve (such as IT challenges with letter-writing, etc.) and really are sincere in being a Christ-based, church-centered, child-focused organization always aiming to grow and get better. So thankful to support children struggling through them.

I have always been a big fan of Compassion International! Things have changed—let me explain.
We became Compassion International sponsors in 1997, sponsoring a young boy named John from India. It was joy to write and receive letters, as our kids were about the same age. We sponsored him until Compassion had to pull out of India, and our sponsorship was transferred to Nuttapong in Thailand. In 2002 our sponsorship again was transferred, this time to a young girl, Nelly, from Bolivia. Nelly was a joy to sponsor, and when my wife left me in 2008, Compassion was very helpful in how I should inform her via letters. I was actually able to sponsor her from age 5 until she had to leave the program at 18 years old, in 2015.
Compassion gave me the choice to replace my sponsorship with another little girl named Jhuliana, again from Boliva. I have been enjoying sponsoring her, supporting her monetarily, and writing and receiving letters.
However, all things changed two weeks ago, when I received a letter from Rick Management of Compassion International (I don’t know what his position is there), informing me that my sponsorship of Jhuliana had been cancelled due to “updated child protection policies,” which includes (from their website: “We immediately terminate the child sponsorship of anyone found on a sex offender registry. We also terminate the sponsorships of anyone living at the same address as a registered sex offender.”
My story is this: about 10 years ago, I was approached by a person I used to work with, who explained his son had gotten into trouble, and needed a place to live. I immediately thought of the Bible,
Matthew 25: ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, "I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ I offered him a room at my house (please note that this same passage is the reason that I acted on to sponsor children from Compassion International!).
I personally don’t understand how the fact that I have a sexual offender living at my address, affects my relationship with Jhuliana in Bolivia.
I am curious what Compassion will be telling Jhuliana about why her sponsor is not in her life anymore. They would not answer that question, when I asked.

I have sponsored my child for 5 years. She lives in Bangladesh. I rarely get letters from her and when I do, I think the translation is incorrect as the letter usually do not make sense. My child is 16 years old but in the 5 grade, no one tells me why this is. I was told when I joined that I would be getting a monthly report of how my child was faring, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I never hear anything and the letters from my child never say much. I always get emails saying that there is unrest in that country and they have to stop sending funds and letters. So that doesn't assure me, it only makes me wonder more how my child is faring. And if she is getting my assistance still. I give regularly and above and beyond to help my child and her family and I will continue doing so as long as I am financially blessed. I only pray that all my funds are going for what I intended it for. I wish I knew how my child was faring and growing. But once she is of age, I will most definitely stop dealing with Compassion. I also do not encourage anyone to get involved with Compassion.

I have 2 children. One in Haiti, one in the Philippines. I visited my sponsored child in Haiti. It was a wonderful trip. We did stay in a 5 star hotel, which was wonderful. However we visited 3 school projects. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget.
I've been reading the comments and some negative ones are hard to believe, especially the one from the former employee. I have nothing but praise for this company. Compassion is not perfect, however they do care for their children. A lot of the junk mail is junk, but when I get a message from child , I am so delighted. My child in Haiti now has a Facebook account and I can talk to him that way. He asked me for a drum set and I sent the money to Compassion and they bought him one. In turn, he sent me a photo of himself playing the drums. I was so overcome with joy.
Many Compassion employees came with us to Haiti. I did not hear one negative word about the company the whole time I was there. It was an amazing trip I will never forget and I will continue to support my sponsored children through Compassion.

I have been sponsoring a child for several years .And I planned one day to visit him.recently I got a letter and call saying he had moved to another village and couldnt be contacted.i was asked if I wanted to sponsor another child and I said not right now.today I received a letter from my child different handwriting in English and French as if nothing had happened or changed.this was veryred flag.pdisturbing abc raised a red flag.i look forward to speaking with the office during regular business hours..

Great charity that supports children and families in third world countries, providing education, support and the good news of the gospel. We sponsor a child and are encouraged by the relationship and impressed with Compassion's system for helping us communicate.

I have sponsored a child in Kenya for about 7 years through compassion. I felt the need to review after reading some negative reviews. Here goes!
1) the 'form letter' correspondence. I too questioned the letters I received from Kioji the first few years, but now that he is more proficient in English (he is about 11 now) I receive letters written by him. Of course the letters sound guided before the child can write in English, because they are :)
2) the questions about slow corredpondce time and request for bday and Christmas gifts months in advance. The coordination to organize and buy millions of children gifts needs to be performed way in advance. I usually send 100 for kiojis bday and (months later) I always get a thank you note and photos of Kioji with what was purchased. His family is now breeding goats, has a metal roof, chairs, etc from our gifts over the years. Now that he writes on his own I hear even more about the 'gifts' and how happy his whole family is when he gets one.
3) HQ and salary- the president makes less than many other charity heads. 300,00 isn't outrageous. And they obviously need a nice HQ considering how large their group is- I think I read 500 mil a year. The organization, translation. Outreach, etc is monumental and I am comfortable with 84% of my monthly donation going to Kioji.
It has been wonderful to support this child through the years. Regardless of our finances in the future, we will always support this family. We are responsible for them now!

I have 5 children--the correspondence is so sweet. I love that they set up trips where you can go to visit the children and see exactly what your money is going to. I have volunteered for several of their events and they are well run with great training. I have met the nicest people at the events. I love that I can write online and even upload pictures. They send me information about the region in which my children reside and I even get letters from the Pastors that oversee my children. I have been very pleased and hope to adopt several more soon.

Despite some initial hesitations based on some negative reviews about donors receiving form-type letters from sponsored children, I decided to go ahead with sponsoring a child because of the predominantly positive reviews about Compassion.

Unfortunately, I now understand the disappointment and frustration felt by various Compassion donors who were receiving form-type letters, as I received one in the name of my sponsored child. The adult-level language, almost exclusively focused on the Bible, and the handwriting were clearly too perfect to have been written by a child.

My complaints to Compassion changed nothing.

I believe that Compassion downplays its very stong religious orientation until the moment that you are actually engaged as a donor. I now understand that this is a very born-again Christian-type of organization.

Compassion may be helping kids and their families, but they should be honest upfront with donors that they are a hard-core religious outfit. Also very importantly, the group lacks a commitment to allowing kids to have their own true communications with their sponsors. Once my sponsored child reaches 18 years, I will stop my involvement with this group.

I truly love supporting the fine efforts Compassion International is doing in Haiti. My sponsored child, Paul Ando-Paul is thriving under the guidance and support of Compassion International. I would love to work for them. What a blessing they are to the world!

Doug Johnson
Dallas, Texas

I am a missionary Kid in India, Sponsored by Compassion for my studies. Without compassion I would not been able to have studied.
I am thankful for compassion to have contributed in my life and many more downtrodden and also focusing on Spiritual aspect unlike any-other non-profit organisation.

I have been a sponsor through Compassion since 2003. It has been amazing to see my sponsor child in India grow and learn under the wonderful mission of Compassion. We correspond through letters and I hope to be able to go visit him one day. This is a wonderful mission that has a direct impact on children's lives around the globe. I have recommended Compassion to many people and love how active they are in reaching areas that need so much.

I have been a sponsor with Compassion International since January 2012. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know our sponsored children and seeing them grow. I love this organization and volunteer whenever I can with them.

Many Blessings I am so blessed by sponsoring children through Compassion! I am excited to be able to write to my children and receive their warm and touching letters. Also, being able to make their Christmas, birthday and family life special and blessed brings great joy to my heart. I truly believe that being Christ centered and involving the local church makes this sponsorship program so successful and unique. Being a sponsor is the best Christmas present I have ever received.

The one-to-one relationship with your sponsored child is truly a blessing from God. This relationship is further enhanced and developed through prayers and regular correspondence between you (either the sponsor or the correspondent sponsor) and the child. I have fond memories of receiving my first child letter, being able to pray for my child and respond back to the child letter. I have grown to appreciate the well-controlled and high-quality driven process that Compassion has implemented to ensure that all letters are translated and delivered. Although at times it seems like the process is slow and cumbersome, the end result is very rewarding; the delivery of the child letter to the sponsor. Not exactly knowing when a letter is going to be delivered is like a special holiday gift from God. So remember to be patient and pray for and write to your child on a regular basis. Prayers and Letters have a huge impact!

We have been supporting a Compassion child in the Dominican Republic for about 10 years and have had the blessing of meeting him two times. I can assure you your sponsorship means more to this child than you can ever know. It also means so much to his family as well. Our child's father is out of the picture. His mother is Haitian and in the DR Haitians are not always looked at with favor. Our child writes us regularly. Compassion worked very hard to make our visits possible. I think we must be careful to judge the CEO's salaries. I think it more important to look at their life and who they are. If you have ever heard Wes Stafford speak, the Spirit is evident in his life. We don't know what their salary includes. Perhaps, it is also their health insurance etc... I know that when we give extra money we ask what they used it for. We usually send $400. every year in March. When we visited we also asked to meet our child's mom. She wept and wept and prayed in Spanish for five minutes as we hugged. All six of our children got to meet him and play in the ocean with him. It was like he was their brother. It was an unforgettable experience, giving us a taste of heaven, with every tribe and nation. If you can go meet your child, do it. We also talked at length with the translator that was provided. She was now a working for Compassion, but was once a Compassion sponsored child. She talked at length about the blessing of being sponsored...and how it is through Compassion that she learned English. She is now in college to be a doctor, and she is only 17! She explained that much of the problem with poverty is not just the funds, it is the hope that comes. Much of poverty is a mental poverty. When a child is sponsored they are first prayed for often, they are usually given vitamins and parasite medicine, they often receive Bible stories and training, and their connection with their sponsor gives them HOPE and encouragement. Our child receives a snack. Money that we send goes 100% to him if it is a gift. His mom told us how they were able to put in a bathroom with the money we sent. Many of the everyday expenses that must be accounted for are all the people that help set up trips, that help and respond to your questions etc. Compassion is an amazing organization that provides us here in spoiled America with a way to care for the least of these. I give it all the thumbs up you can!

In response to how much the CEO makes. He is lower paid than the other six leading child organization CEO's such as Child Fund, World Vision, etc. This is easy to check out. I have sponsored five children, one of which has graduated. I have also sponsored two children at ChildFund. Without saying unkind things about another orgaization, I will say that I prefer Compassion. It is important to me that children are fed spiritually. If all we do is provide food, water, shelter without the word of God, we are very short sighted.

This is an Awesome Ministry, just talked with a Compassion Representive, she was very helpful and very friendly too, even told me about my previous child that I sponsored but had to stop. I highly reccomend this Ministry!!!

We've just returned from a sponsor tour to Tanzania. I was so impressed with all the staff and volunteers we met---both nationals and those from the US. I came away with more respect for the organization and the individuals involved; they all seemed very Christ-centered and caring. We visited several centers, the national headquarters, and met our sponsored child. We saw how they supported and trained single moms, met health, educational, spiritual, and social needs of the children, and contributed to the overall well-being of the communities. I liked how they partnered with local churches to influence whole communities for the kingdom of God. Our trip was well planned and gave us a good overview of how compassion functions there. I highly recommend the sponsor tours and definitely feel that our money is well spent.

I have sponsored four children through Compassion International's child sponsorship program and one university student through Compassion's Leadership Development program. I sponsored for the first time in 2005 and have traveled to meet two of my sponsored children in person. Compassion's work far exceeds what I thought was possible for only $38/month.

The child I sponsor have received healthcare (one even had life-saving open heart surgery!), proper nutrition (one at only twice each week before entering Compassion's program), education (one has graduated from university with a degree in medical technology), improvements to shelter, vocational training and two of them have become Christians.

I'm amazed at how well my children are doing in Compassion's program. I've seen their work in person. This is the real deal. The children I sponsor are no longer impoverished but have the skills and health and dreams necessary to escape poverty. Their children will certainly be better off than they are.

I wholeheartedly recommend Compassion International every chance I get.

I have been sponsoring a child for a couple of years and have concerns about them being more about the $ than the children. Then when I saw their HQ is in Colorado Springs, it was a red flag - for other reasons. Their CEO makes $300K+/yr! Where's his heart at?

I wonder why I get a notice of his birthday 4 months in advance - why should they care how much I give him for his birthday? Is it all going to him? Is any of it going to him? Why are they so anxious for me to give to him? Christmas has to be in by early October. Where is that going? When I go online to make my payment, there's so many requests on the page to give more ... and more. I want to believe they're trying to do more, but there's just a bad feeling I have that my $ isn't helping my child as I hoped it would. I get letters, but they are written by a boy - they are very formal and I wonder how truthful the letters are. What am I going to do? If I stop giving, the boy suffers. They know that I'm thinking that.

How can I know unless I visit. Has anyone visited their child? Mine is in India and I've been there and seen the poverty - I would be ready for the shock I may see - it would be the only thing to put my mind at ease. I know many organizations, like the Red Cross are not ethical at the top, so they cannot be doing good, especially with the money. Haiti donations were used to bring their books to balance for other causes and never went to Haiti. It's like selling donuts in the front of the store and drugs in the back. How can we know?

I see the good financial reviews, but how legit is that? Really. I do think a different model for helping these families would help. They help the child, but not the family. If they help the community, the family will also benefit. It could be so much more effective.

I have sponsored 1 child that graduated from Compassion's program, and I currently sponsor 5 other children in Compassin's program. I have met two of those children. I have seen first hand how my donations directly benefits the children. One child pointed to a hill and said that beyond that hill is the garbage dump where he used to scavage for food for himself and his family. He is now thankful to God that I am in his life and help provide for his basic needs. He carries my photo around with him everywhere he goes. I came back from my trip to Haiti and signed up to sponsor three more children. I wish I could do more. I am thankful that God has provided a way for me to help others in dire need.

I have sponsored children for over 30 years - but what I can add to this is that I worked for COmpassion for 4 years in the country of Haiti' I was hired as an education specialist and trained teachers in active methods that helped the children learn to read faster. I can also confirm that the money got to and benefited the children with food and education. I believed in what they do (educate and care for children) that I volunteer for them now. How many of you volunteer for your former employer?

We have been donors for many years and appreciate the opportunity to sponsor several children during this time. We are impressed with this organization and its programs.

We have been sponsoring several children through them. Now we have financial difficulty that we cannot sponsor these children any longer. I kept one child who lost her mother. The rest of them all have parents. I called in. I feel the woman who answered the call lacks compassion and understanding on our situation. She is like any other sales person who try to keep your business. Don't feel very Christian. Most of the children they have all have parents. I just had a newborn. I feel like that those parents should take care of their own kids. Plus, they pay their CEO too much money.

I gave to this organization for years. When my wife was gone it was horrible for me. This organization is absolutely uncaring! I asked four times to remove her from my mailing address and they always agreed. They never removed her and I am constantly remembered on the memories. I hope you do not loose anyone close to you, because I know they only care about your money.

I have been sponsoring a young man in the Dominican Republic since he was six. He is now 19. I have had nothing but a positive experience with Compassion. The letters from him are not always full of exciting news, but he's a kid. Mine weren't exciting either when I was a kid. I have been humbled by the thank you notes I get from him though to thank me for my sponsorship and extra gifts. Most often he buys a new outfit with his birthday gifts from me. One year I received a bonus at my job and decided to share part of it with him and his family. They purchased beds for the first time. As a spoiled American, I was humbled deeply.

The customer service staff at Compassion are terrific and go above and beyond to serve. I can't say enough good things about them! On one occasion, I called them to change my address as my husband and I separted. The woman on the phone offered to pray for our marriage with the other staff. I felt those prayers and was truly grateful. Another time I called and a staff member suggested I write to a child that has a sponsor that doesn't write to him/her.

I took on the challenge and it has been a total blessing to me. When the child was young, he drew me beautiful pictures of his village in the mountains of Bolivia. Now he is 14 and writes me letters about his struggles. We share our individual struggles with each other now and pray for each other. I am able to share Scripture with him and encourage his heart.

I can't say enough good things about Compassion International. They have changed my life and my outlook on today's world. There is such a need to help these small ones and in Jesus' name, we are.

I find it interesting that several of those writing reviews have talked about the wonderful letters they receive from their sponsored children. I have not had that experience. The letters I receive are never personal, more or less form letters, wanting to know how I am, hope I am well, praying for me everyday, and on and on. I have sponsored one child from Haiti for seven years, so she is now 12, have been informed that she makes average progress in school, and yet her mother has written every letter I have ever received, except the last one, and her aunt wrote that one for her. My other child is in Uganda, and I have sponsored her for six years, and she is now 12. Her letters started out being very personable, but lately have also been very formulaic. So, while I will continue to sponsor these children because I do want their basic needs to be provided, I want to say that the personal relationship that Compassion promotes so passionately does not exist for me with either child. I have quit corresponding and just sponsor financially.

I have sponsered 4 children since 1996 and have been very pleased with this organization.

I have sponsored a child with this organization since the early 1970s and have also been to Africa to meet the children I now sponsor with them. I also donate to a Child Survival Program through Compassion in Haiti as well as one in Africa. Having seen first hand the differences this organization makes in the lives of children, their families and communities, and over the years seeing the integrity of this organization financially,walking out their mission statement, I continually recommend them to any and everyone!

I have been sponsoring a child in El Salvador for a year now and I am very pleased with this charity. I have received four letters so far; the child does not not know how to write so the letters ask questions and the translator fills out his answers. He does draw pictures for me that show what he does (he loves to play soccer). I was very happy to see that when I gave a family donation they used it to buy extra food. I haven't had any issues with the customer support and in fact, when I hit hard times myself and was unable to donate, they worked with me to ensure I didn't lose the sponsorship until I could get caught up. I would definitely recommend this charity to anyone looking to sponsor a child.

I have been sponsoring a child through Compassion international for years and could not be happier. This is a wonderful organization that is transparent and makes the most out of my monthly donation. I will continue giving to them as long as I can.

I think Compassion is a wonderful organization doing tremendous work. We've sponsored a young man from India for almost 6 years now and we have really developed a meaningful connection with him. I feel very certain our money is being used well and we hear from him frequently (we write to him frequently as well). This has been a wonderful blessing to our family. It's beautiful to see yearly photos of how this young man has grown. I did not know at the time we sponsored him in 2007 how Compassion worked. I have since learned that Compassion requires my child to come to a church based center in order to receive services that my sponsorship dollars help provide. I am a Christian and believe spiritual care is very important in helping children thrive. But I prefer World Vision's model of community development. World Vision is a Christian aid agency that helps build sustainable communities and sponsorship dollars fund entire communities.

Protection of the children they help is Compassion's top priority. For the person who gave a negative review they should check into this. Unfortunately in today's world with child trafficking Compassion must review all information going to these children in poor countries. My Mother has visited her children both through Compassion sponsored trips and when she visited countries on her own. When she went on her own Compassion did everything they could to help her meet her children. She did have to have a supervised visit but only for the child's protection. Would any parent in the US want any less for our own children if they were meeting some person from another country.

Twenty-six years ago our first son was born. That same year we decided to support another child through Compassion. Our first sponsored son has since moved out of the program and we have sponsored other children during those years...and are currently sponsoring 2. Why? Because this is a wonderful organization. It works through the local churches (so it is personal to the child) and it not only provides physical nourishment but educational "nourishment," spiritual "nourishment" and help with clothing and other needed items. The impact is not just on the child but the family and the community. Our sponsored children send letters to us and we are able to write back and get to know them better. Compassion also makes available trips to see the children...Our church is linked to one of the churches over in Nairobi, Kenya and we are building a relationship Church to Church. What a wonderful opportunity to watch God work around the world. I am thankful for Compassion...those running it are dedicated to see the lives of impoverished children, families communities see the light of hope. One of the best gifts I ever got was a picture of one of our sponsored "sons" and in the picture of this young man was a smile that "glowed"....He had hope....and that was a definite change from all his other pictures! It was beautiful and wonderful to know that we could have the privilege of helping change the life of someone across the world. God bless Compassion International!

I have been involved with Compassion as a sponsor for 7 years, and recently began work as a volunteer. Compassion is really an impressive organization. It is very focused on its service role, and works hard to serve children around the world. Everything I have seen suggests a very well-run and committed organization.

We have and do sponsor several children for the past 15 years or so. I love the letters from the children, especially as they grow up and communication grows deeper. A small gift from us can go so far in a third world country. I plan on visiting one or more of our girls in Thailand in a couple years or less hopefully. I also love that I can give a birthday or Christmas gift and all the money goes for special gift just for them bought by a person at the center who knows just what she/he needs. I love to receive the thank you notes and here what they got. As for the person who gave a poor review and said gift had to be sent thru Compassion, I am sure Compassion is protecting the child for many reasons. I have spoken to them via phone about this and they are very good to explain in detail if you would like to know. And the person that wrote the review was incorrect in that if each party agrees to disclose their address they can send gifts directly. We had a girl grow out of the program and got her permission for Compassion to give us her address so we were able to send her a gift directly, so that can be done if both parties are agreeable.

I love Compassion. My sister and I have both visited different Compassion projects in Africa and have been impressed with the care and support they offer in tough & challenging conditions. Have a great amount of respect for the work they do.

Compassion international discourages any outside contact with a child sponsored through their program. As an American living in Ecuador for a number of years, I was curious when a poor family disclosed to me that they had children in the program. They had a family sponsor that wanted to send some things directly to the family but was told they should send everything through Compassion. I was also told they weren't receiving some things, Shoes, clothing, medical supplies that the organization had received from the sponsor. They don't want anything shared between the sponsor and the child unless they are the go between. I understand sometimes poor people will ask donor sponsors to send money directly to the families and it doesn't reach the child, but I think Compassion goes too farwith the restriction.

I have been sponsoring a child for over 10 years and taken her from child to adult and I know that she has come to know our lord, Jesus Christ. She has a beautiful spirit and this has been an enriching experience. Sorry for all of the other negative experiences, but when you have an organization as large as this one, there is bound to be some problems. We are only HUMAN, after all. God Bless you all!

Don't do it unless you plan on sponsoring forever!! After 10 years sponsoring a child through Compassion I have to say we will not do it again. Our child was set to graduate the program in June and we got notice that he "graduated" then notice that he "left the program" and finally notice that his family was not meeting the expectations of the program. I was going to let this misinformation slide and let my son choose a child to sponsor for his upcoming birthday but then I got a letter in the mail with the following sentence: Please note that if we do not hear from you within 14 days, we will go ahead and begin your sponsorship of this child. Years ago we gave them our bank info since they said ACH saved them money and we wanted to help as much go to the children as we could and now that was coming back to bite us. In the past we had chosen to join with them to help children and now they were making that choice for us. When I called they said it was standard practice - ridiculous.

I have sponsored dozens of kids from different groups since 1970. I loved them all, but when I found Compassion several years ago, I knew it was the group for our family. I love their approach with kids, families and communities, their conscientious stewardship and the attention given to me as a sponsor. Not only would I recommend Compassion, I already have and it worked! Now I have friends who have sponsored children because of my great expreience. Thanks be to God for Compassion’s ministry to these precious children and for the chance to invest in their future.

My husband and I have sponsored children through Compassion since 2009, and we could not be happier. We had the opportunity to go meet one of the kids, and see for ourselves how Compassion children development programs work. Wonderful!!!! We are thrilled to be part of something bigger than ourselves. An organization that not only releases children from poverty, but, most importantly leads them to the only one who can release them from eternal death: Jesus Christ.

My wife have sponsored children for over 35 years and have been impressed with their organization and their integrity. We have sponsored two children for many years, write to each one frequently, and Compassion always keeps us alert to their activities. Wesley Stafford has been to our church (which sponsors over 500 children) and he is certainly above approach. It is difficult to find an organization with a higher rating. Praise the Lord for their Christian emphasis, the most important aspect of Compassion International! Ken Snavely

Both my wife and I have been sponsoring since the early 90s and I have seen this organization slip over the past few years, especially when it comes to their accounting department. We are sponsoring one child and I noticed a duplicate charge on my credit card. I spoke with their support team and they assured me that the matter was fixed but I have yet to see any resolution. While the person on the phone was polite, It's still unresolved, so I will be canceling my account.

I rarely post reviews of organizations, but I feel compelled to share my experience with Compassion. Since 2007, I have been donating my time and money to this organization as my sister first introduced me to their outreach program in Africa. From day one, there was way too much pressure to donate "in the name of God" and I did not like that religion was drilled in their letters and emails.

I have been sponsoring a child through Compassion for six months now, and it has been a wonderful experience so far. Whenever I get new information in the mail about my child, it makes my day, and I like that Compassion keeps in contact with you regularly so that you can feel confident that your money is going to the right place. I am actually not religious at all, but Compassion was recommended to me by a friend and after researching every child sponsorship organization I could find, Compassion seemed like the best one. Donations of this kind are so much more meaningful than just contributing to a general charity where your $38 a month is going into a huge fund -- it's amazing to actually feel like you are making a difference.

I have sponsored children through Compassion International since I was in my mid-twenties. I am 50 yrs. old now. I believe that this organization does what they say they will do. Help deliver children from poverty in Jesus' name. The children and I have established relationships through the letters we exchange. I know that my financial support is making a difference in that child by his/her receiving medical care, nutrition, education, and, most importantly, an opportunity to hear about how to have a relationship with Jesus. I feel such support for the work that they do that I decided to become an Advocate, or volunteer who will tell others about Compassion. The support and friendships my wife and I have made through the Advocate Network is so rewarding. I am very thankful that Compassion exists to allow me to use my passion to help the poor.

My wife and I have been sponsoring children through Compassion for over 40 years. This has been a wonderful experience. We have written back and forth with the children we sponsor several times a year. When we noticed in one of the letters we received that a child was having problems at home with an abusive father, we contacted Compassion about this. They took action and notified us personally of what was done. We have the highest respect for what Compassion does and how they go about accomplishing their mission. It is amazing that they can direct so much of our giving directly to the field instead of to administration and fund raising.

Compassion International is an amazing organization. What I like most is that you have a one on one relationship with your child. You can see exactely how your donation is being spent. I sent my child a birthday gift and he wrote me to let me know he was so excited when they called his name! He bought a suit and a goat. I like knowing that if I wanted to, I am encouraged to go visit my child. I can call anyone at Compassion and they will work with me if I wanted to buy my child something or I had concerns about anything! It is great knowing through Compassion i am giving a child hope.

I have had the opportunity to see the work of Compassion International twice. From what I observed it is definitely making a huge impact in the lives of many Peruvian children in Lima, Peru. People should be aware that the organization is heavily Christian in nature and consider this before donating/deciding to sponsor a child(after all-their tagline is 'Releasing Children From Poverty In Jesus' Name' and their statement of faith is similar to the National Christian Evangelical Society's statement of faith). Compassion grassroots level is centered around local churches located in impoverished areas- most children in Compassion's program therefore are Christian to a degree and receive regular biblical training (in addition to meals, medicine, and school fees). The Compassion children I've met have all been well-cared for and every dollar Compassion receives has been well-spent. The organization uses complete transparency with their donors... and continually ranks in the top 1-5% of charities in the United States. They also really seem to take into account the concerns/requests of their donors(i.e. they recently overhauled their letter-writing system recently after receiving so much feedback from sponsors on what could be done to improve it). If you're Christian and you want to make a difference in the life of a child/make a meaningful donation then, definitely consider entrusting Compassion with your money.... whatever you give- you can donate with full confidence that to Compassion it will be money well spent!

My family and I are on our third child and I have nothing but good things to say about Compassion. When our first child stopped coming to the Compassion center I was notified as soon as it was confirmed the family had moved on. I was offered my last donation back or the option to continue with another child. The second child graduated out of the program and we received a wonderful parting letter. Now we are on our third child who is young enough to only send pictures and some basic writing. Every organization has problems from time to time, but I have always received prompted responses to my questions and requested followup information. Given the choice of paying my taxes and or contributing to Compassion, I couldn't answer Compassion fast enough.

."We will not forward materials or communications that advocate another religious worldview." I have supported a child for about 10 years or more (I think) and all along had concerns that there is a bit too much emphasis, perhaps almost arm twisting, for a child to accept the world view of this organization if he wishes to continue to receive benefits of support. We did receive letters more than once per year, but it was obvious that the child was not to be allowed to send us a letter that was not obviously edited, perhaps even dictated by the organization. I do not believe that the letters as worded would have been the true words of the child's own thoughts, wishes, inclinations, dreams... and frankly, I didn't need all that many through Jesus' in one letter from a small child whose writings did not reflect a child having a normal life with his normal needs, hopes, wishes, etc. I would love to help a child again, but I believe this boy was being blackmailed to fit into one very conscripted mold or be told he might loose his funding... and I suspect that IF he were to have decided that the fundamentalist Jesus was not his style... he would never let anyone known his real needs and beliefs, for fear of loosing his funding. To me that is suspicious of way too much pressure to accept the promoted religion. Sorry, but that is blackmail... or at least suspicious behaviour on the part of the charity.

Our family has sponsored a child for several years. Through the years we've received handwritten letters (with a translation) and pictures periodically. It's been a blessing to watch this little boy grow up into a young man of 15 now. He was 7 when we began.

The child is wonderful and this organization seems to really care about him. I can even arrange to meet him, if I were financially able to travel there.

I feel certain that our child is being cared for and his quality of life is being improved by our sponsorship.

This is not an organization where folk care enough about the sponsored humans to follow up on individual concerns.

I have sponsored children with Compassion International since 1990. But now I would say do not use them.
I cancelled because this organization does not care to follow-up on child concerns. My sponsored child's letter was 20 lines long, the translation was 5 lines. This happened twice, i phoned Compassion, whose first response was "it is the language they use" ( the language changed all of a sudden from previous letters?). Next they asked me to send them copies of the letters which I did.
Then I had a letter where the child told me he had a bad leg - although photos in the last ten years gave no indication. My email to Compassion via their website got no response.

Get this: when I called them, it was as if I had not sent the copies of the letters to them "not received", nor obviously did they care to follow-up with me the fact they did not have the letters so they could investigate..
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As for my "email" that is a separate department who should have responded.
Compassion was "sorry I was cancelling and would find another sponsor for my child" in response to me saying how can I trust and organization that does not respond or follow-up on concerns?
I should have stopped when the first child I sponsored reach age 18y and Compassion told me that was it, they cannot do any more for her.

i sponsor two children through Compassion and can attest that their work is long-term, Christ-centered, and far-reaching. I have met my child who lives in Bolivia. While there we met several members of a family who learned about Jesus through the child's interaction with the local church center and the sponsor's letters. Compassion works through local churches who know and understand the families and their needs. The children get food, education, health care, and Christian teaching through a meaningful one-on-one sponsorship. As most Compassion children do, my child had all of her letters and cards that I had sent over the years. I also get frequent updates and letters from her. While in Bolivia, the country office took us to their headquarters and opened up all the finanancial files for us to examine. They maintain attendance records, costs, and all receipts for individual gifts. They are transparent in everything they do and are an incredible organization!

I was first introduced to Compassion while watching a video of the band MercyMe talking about the children they themselves have sponsored and great of a program Compassion was. I was curious about the program and decided to do more research about them. I was pleased with their mission and the way they divide the funds. I decided to sponsor three children and I could not be happier with the program. It's easy to make payments and write letters to your kids online. I highly recommend Compassion!

I have wanted to get involved in some missionary work for several years and when a cousin came to visit she told me her grand daughter was working overseas with Compassion. I asked her to help me get connected. My second cousin sent me all the necessary papers to fill out and soon I had a darling little 5 year old girl assigned to me. That was 3 years ago. Abigail sends me pictures she has colored and I write her letters and send her small enclosures with the letters for her to color , etc. An interpreter transcribes our letters for each of us so it does take a couple of month. God bless Compassion. J.L.A. Ohio

We've sponsored kids for over 15 years. I highly recommend Compassion. Their long term commitment and partnership with local churches at the projects are wonderful. Their other programs such as Child Survival are great too. The one on one contact with the kids to share and learn about their culture and daily lives is great. Sharing prayer concerns and praises is a wonderful thing. Watching them grow and mature is very special as well. This ministry and my Compassion kids have been a great blessing to me.

Our family has sponsored several students through Compassion for more than a year now. I live in the same town as Compassion's headquarters, and have toured their offices and met many Compassion employees. I mentor a Compassion program graduate in Uganda who is a social worker.

We have been consistently impressed with Compassion's commitment to integrity and financial stewardship. Friends ask me if the money really goes to help the children, and I can say, "Yes I know that it does." The organization lives up to its mission and vision, and children and families are released from poverty.

We receive several letters a year from our sponsored kids. We can see their progress in school and personal growth, as well as better health. Sponsors can visit their children and projects and see for themselves what Compassion does.

When we give a financial gift to a child (which is a donation in addition to the monthly sponsorship fee), we receive a letter and photo that details how the money was spent on behalf of the child and the family. For example, we gave a family gift to our youngest girl in rural Kenya, and later received a photo of Hannah and her family with the large water cistern and a heifer that was purchased with the gift. The funds from family gifts are used to help improve the income-producing capabilities of the family.

I heard about Compassion International in May of 2009 and did extensive online research about the organization for a couple of weeks before I approached my husband about sponsoring a child. As someone who can be skeptical about charities, I expected to find some "dirt" that would send up red flags. I didn't. We started sponsoring our first CI child in June of 2009.

In the last two years, I have learned so much more about the organization and we have brought eight more Compassion children into our family. I have also had the opportunity to meet 2 young men who were sponsored through Compassion as boys. When the young man from Kenya was asked how he envisioned his life had he not been in Compassion, without missing a beat he told us, "I would be dead."

He mentioned that there were other aid organizations working in the slum where he lived, but Compassion stood out as the one that really worked.

In my experience, I believe that Compassion works.

Compassion is committed to integrity ~ financial or otherwise. When I started researching, I found that it was EASY to find out all sorts of financial information about Compassion while I really had to dig to fine the bottom line numbers for many of the other organizations. Compassion uses their money well and the programs are well thought out and executed.

I adore the communication we have with our Compassion children. The letters we send and receive are a joy and they help us to form a connection with these children around the world. I have heard nay-sayers suggest that the whole thing is a fraud and the children aren't real. To that I say, Compassion would have to put a TON of work into faking something like this. In the letters we receive, our children thank us for the photos and stickers we've sent. When we send a Family Gift (100% of which goes to buy supplies for the family) we sometimes receive photos of the family with the gift.

Yes, the children are real and with our help, Compassion International is make a REAL impact in their lives. I would be foolish not to mention how these children have also made a REAL impact in our lives as well.

I am so thankful that we came to know about this fantastic organization!

My parents have sponsored several children through Compassion since I was a small child. As soon as I left home and got a job, I began sponsoring as well and fell even more in love with this fantastic organization. Our money truly does go to an amazing cause -- one child! We have developed lasting relationships with our sponsored children and plan on acquiring more as our finances allow. We cannot say enough good about Compassion!

We’ve been sponsoring children through Compassion International for approximately eight years, and they have far exceeded our expectations. For decades, this organization has been working to fulfill the spiritual, physical, economic, social…needs of children in many countries throughout the world. By utilizing the local church in these countries, they serve over one million children, along with their family members. By using a holistic approach to stopping poverty, they become more than an aid organization that focuses mainly on the physical needs of a person. Compassion works with children throughout their life, providing them with structure and opportunity that is necessary to break the hopeless cycle of poverty, allowing them to have the tools necessary to succeed throughout their lifetime.

My wife and I are blessed to be child sponsors, and to be a part of so many families. Depending on the child and the country they live in, we are called father/mother, aunt/uncle, godfather/godmother, or friend, and we love it. Knowing that our relatively small contribution in their lives (i.e. prayer, letter writing, money, etc.) can have such a tremendous impact is unbelievable. A week doesn’t go by when we don’t hear from one of our children. They write to tell us about their successes, their struggles, their sickness, their fears, their hopes, dreams, desires, goals...the weather. Being a part of so many lives is simply awesome.

Throughout the past eight years, we have visited Compassion International’s headquarters in Colorado Springs, CO. many times to see their operations and ask questions (everyone is welcome during the week when they give tours), and we’ve call them many times with additional questions. We also have friends who are former employees and current child sponsors with Compassion, and they love it. We’ve traveled to Haiti to meet one of our children, which Compassion graciously assisted us with, and after doing all this research, we have concluded that they are doing a great job at fulfilling their mission and working to expand so they can continue to serve more and more children. They are the blue ribbon winner in my book, and I look forward to being a part of this organization for the rest of my life. Please visit www.compassion.com , and learn how you can start the amazing journey my wife and I started so many years ago. Thank you.

I worked at Compassion but I am also a Compassion sponsor. Here's what distinguishes Compassion from every other NGO/relief group out there - Compassion is in it to win it for the long-term. They have been in Haiti for decades and have deep roots in the community because Compassion works through established churches. Their approach is holistic, appropriated and child-focused. They work with children from cradle to college giving them the best opportunity to grow and learn and develop into fulfilled adults. There's no ambiguity and more importantly no confusion about purpose. Fort Knox couldn't take better care of your money.

I have sponsored children through Compassion for more than 25 years and can wholeheartedly endorse their efforts. Their help in areas they serve is long-term and fully integrated with people working/living in that area. My first child was in Haiti; today I sponsor a boy in Tanzania. Compassion kids go to school, are fed, clothed and taught basic human values in a Christian context working with a wide variety of local denominational churches. Entire families and communities benefit from the support given a single child. Kids that grow up in this program are able to support themselves as adults.