My Nonprofit Reviews

We sponsor 6 children with World Vision and I have visited three of them in three different countries. What I have seen of World Vision's work firsthand has FAR exceeded any expectations! World Vision's model helps the individual child and family but also transforms the whole community! Their goal is to make the community self-sustaining within 15-20 years and it really works!!! I've seen a community that was only one month away from "graduating" from World Vision's help and the pride, empowerment, and joy that I witnessed there was incredible!

One thing that is important to note about communication with sponsored children is that World Vision uses a "letter for letter" approach. That means that for every letter you write, you will receive a letter. So if people are not hearing from their child, it may be that they are not writing themselves. Another thing to keep in mind is that many of these children live in extremely remote locations and it can take many months for them to receive a letter and then have their letter sent out in reply.

Additionally, donations given to birthday celebrations for the whole community are generally not responded to individually as it's a collective gift for the whole community. You can usually read about what they did for the community birthday celebration in the annual report. If someone wants to receive a personal letter in reply, then it's best to give a special gift of money specifically to your sponsored child and their family. Then you will receive a letter, photo, and itemized list of what was purchased. It's so rewarding to see how $100 can go for your child and their family!!! My little boy in Uganda received a goat, mattress, sheet, solar panel, light, and batteries - all for $100! My kids, husband and I are so happy about that!

As I've had the opportunity to see World Vision staff's work in the field with children and families, I've only grown more impressed and happy to support them. God is literally changing lives through this ministry and it's an honor to be part of it through sponsorship!