FAQ: Giving Gifts: Child, Family and Student Gifts

• You can give online by credit card or an automatic debit of your bank account.
• You can give your credit card information to a sponsor relations representative by calling (800) 336-7676.
• You can give by check.   

If you choose to send a check, please make it out to Compassion International and mail it to:

Compassion International
Colorado Springs, CO 80997
USA

Please remember to include your sponsor number on the check. Additional information, such as the child's number and the purpose of the gift (i.e., birthday, Christmas, graduation, etc.), should be included on an attached note to ensure proper handling.

You can give up to $50 a year to your sponsored child — a $25 birthday gift and a $25 general gift — and an additional $300 to the family. You can also give a graduation gift of up to $300 in the child's final year of sponsorship. 

Is there a minimum amount I can give?

We request that child gifts, including the graduation gift, be at least $10. Gifts of less than $10 will be donated to the Christmas Gift Program. 

See what $10 can purchase in your child's country. 

Family gifts should be at least $25, and student gifts should be at least $10. 

How much may I give?

One hundred percent of your gift will be used on behalf of your child and his or her family.

Our church partners and field staff will work with the family and child to determine the best use for the money and will purchase the most appropriate item. Your suggestions and recommendations are welcome and will be followed as long as they do not conflict with the best interests of the child and family. 

See what $25 can purchase in your child's country.

You may give a gift at any time. Birthdays and Christmas are frequent gift-giving occasions, but you may also give family or child gifts on other occasions. A graduation gift may be given during the child's final year of sponsorship.

Compassion will accept only monetary gifts on behalf of your child and family. Monetary gifts are used to make purchases in country in the local economy.

Delivery and customs systems prohibit us from delivering packages to your sponsored child. Items that are not flat, not made of paper, or are larger than 8" x 11" and 1/8" thick can be delayed in customs for weeks.  Further, the risk of theft or loss of a package en route is high, and the duty charged by foreign governments often exceeds the value of the package.

Giving a gift to your child's family helps provide income-generating opportunities the family can use to help support themselves and ultimately be released from poverty.  

Family gifts can be used to purchase livestock and household equipment or to establish a small business. 

See what $100 can purchase in your child's country.

No, you do not have to give gifts to your child or his family. A gift is truly that — a gift. But if you choose to do so, it will be:

• a memorable experience for the child and his or her family
• a tangible expression of your love
• a way to strengthen your relationship with the child
• and a way to meet a need in the family's life

Many of the children and families Compassion works with live on less than U.S.$2 a day. We restrict the size of monetary gifts to avoid creating opportunities for dependence, and to avoid fostering jealousy within the community, which could place a child and his or her family at risk. 

Our goal is to stop the cycle of poverty that stalks families from one generation to the next, and we do this by equipping children with the skills they need to be successful in their own right. Gifts are individual expressions of love and encouragement, which complement the core lessons taught by our church partners.

The Compassion country staff and church partners will attempt to deliver any gift they receive, even if the child no longer attends the center. If the child or family cannot be located, or the center itself cannot use the gift, it will be transferred into the Christmas Gift Program, unless you request the money to be returned or applied to another fund.

No. Each student gift should be at least $10, but the maximum annual gift is $500.  

You may also give a graduation gift — between $10 and $1,500 — during the student's final year in the program.

If you have additional questions about giving gifts, please contact one of our Sponsor Relations Representatives at (800) 336-7676 (toll free in the continental United States), Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT.