Child Sponsorship: Your Ongoing Support with Save the Children Changes Lives
If you’re wondering “what is child sponsorship?” you’ve come to the right place. Save the Children pioneered child sponsorship in the early 1900s, bringing education, protection and safety to more than 1 billion children.
We’ve witnessed how much the world has changed since then, along with the needs of children, their families, and communities. Factors like climate crisis, conflict and growing inequality pose different issues to them. For over 100 years, we've consistently innovated and adapted our programs to remain a lean and agile global organization, ready to meet them where and when they need us the most.
If you want to sponsor a child in need, we encourage you to become a monthly donor. Save the Children has found that the most effective way to help children now is through a community-led approach, guided by those closest to the challenges they face —and enabling us to find sustainable solutions together.
Our programs are designed to help many children, families and communities wherever the need is greatest. So, you can take comfort in knowing that you’re giving to an organization that addresses children’s needs holistically, collaborating with communities, partner organizations and families to adapt as those needs change.
Top 4 Questions About Child Sponsorship
If you currently sponsor a child or have been wanting to sponsor a child in need, please know that our commitment to the children and the communities we work with is unwavering. Here are the top three questions donors have been asking about Save the Children, sponsor a child:
What is child sponsorship?
Many charities offer the ability to sponsor one child —or multiple children— and the opportunity to keep in touch with them. Supporters’ gifts typically don’t go directly to the child’s family; instead, contributions are combined with the gifts of other supporters to help create greater opportunities for many children, families and entire communities.
Can I become a child sponsor through Save the Children?
As the world changes, so do the needs of children. Save the Children’s pioneering spirit inspires us to continuously innovate and adapt to keep pace with the dynamic environment around us. We’ve found the most effective way to help children in a community is to focus on systemic and sustainable solutions that can benefit all children in that community.
As a monthly supporter of Save the Children, your contributions will enable us to provide both urgent and ongoing support where it's most needed to address the needs of children and the communities. Instead of connecting with an individual child, this approach allows us to deliver consistent funding and high-quality programs while reducing administrative costs. Ultimately, we seek to allocate resources as effectively and efficiently as possible in partnership with supporters like you and the communities we work with in the U.S. and around the world.
I’m currently sponsoring a child – what’s changing?
As our world changes due to factors like the climate crisis, conflict and growing inequality, the needs of the children, families and communities change too. That’s why we consistently transform the way we work, innovating and adapting our programs to ensure the best and most inclusive experience possible for all children in the communities where we operate. Save the Children pioneered child sponsorship in the early 1900s. Over 100 years later, we’re evolving to meet today’s challenges. Our child sponsorship donors can expect to hear directly about program changes from our CEO in the coming months and learn more about how their impact will grow in 2025.
Is Save the Children’s sponsorship program leaving certain countries or communities?
We won’t abandon any children or communities due to this change. Save the Children establishes long-term commitments, and we work collectively to develop and deliver successful programs that achieve lasting results. We’ve always transitioned out of sponsorship communities once we’ve ensured that their members are equipped and empowered to independently continue the progress we have made together for children. This allows us to keep reaching more children while ensuring that what we’ve achieved in partnership with the community is sustainable. The only time we make an exception is when there’ is a significant safety risk for children, communities or staff.
A 12-year old girl smiles while standing in the crop field at her family’s farm in drought-affected East Sumba, Indonesia.
Monthly Giving: An Alternative to Child Sponsorship
One of the most effective ways to support our work and help children today is becoming a recurring donor through Save the Children’s monthly giving program, Team Tomorrow. With your generous, ongoing commitment, we can direct more money towards programs by decreasing administrative costs and providing greater flexibility for funding to reach children most in need. It ensures the sustainability of our programs, and maximizes the impact of your donations. This change will foster a more inclusive, child-centered experience.
Our recurring giving program allows supporters to choose an issue impacting children that matters most to them, such as the climate crisis, conflict, inequality or poverty in the U.S. Supporters receive regular updates on how donations are helping create positive change for —and with— children. You’ll hear from kids, community leaders, teachers, parents, Save the Children staff and partner organizations. We’re also working to provide more opportunities for meaningful connections, including webinars, online program visits, focus groups and advocacy engagements.
Save the Children is proud to be consistently recognized as one of the most highly regarded charities in the world by top charity ratings. If you have questions on the changes happening to child sponsorship, please call us at 1-844-977-6676, from Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST). You can also email us at [email protected].
What is the best way to support a child in need?
If you’re wondering what’s the best way to support children around the world, become a monthly donor with Save the Children. In rural America, 1 in 5 children are living in poverty. Around the world, 468 million kids are living in areas affected by armed conflict. Today’s youth will experience more frequent extreme weather events than any other past generation due to the effects of the climate crisis. And children around the globe are suffering the effects of inequality based on gender, religion, race or simply where they live.
Giving monthly is an effective way to make a difference. When we can count on your monthly gift, we can act quickly when an emergency strikes and provide timely disaster relief. Plus, monthly giving is easy and convenient for you too—just choose the amount one time and your donation will be in place for the future. And don’t forget that your gift is tax-deductible!
You can trust that as a monthly donor, your generosity will help create positive change and give children the future they deserve.
Through our work in 115 countries around the world, Save the Children provides child-friendly spaces to kids and families in shelters and camps; immunizations and a healthy start to newborns; education: safety and protection; and so much more for children, their families and communities.
Here are some examples of how your donation can make a big difference:
- $25 - can provide enough food to keep one child from going hungry for a month
- $35 - can ensure one child participates in our home-based early learning program for a year
- $50 - can supply a home water filter so girls can spend their days in school instead of fetching water
As a monthly donor, you’re part of a passionate and dedicated community of supporters. When you join Save the Children, you’ll receive digital and print communications introducing you to the children and communities you help support. You’ll also get ongoing updates about the issues you care about most, hearing directly from the children and communities we’re working with to build a better tomorrow. Additionally, you’ll have access to an easy-to-use, personalized online account that will be periodically updated with photos, videos and program information —you can also edit your personal details and make changes to your gift there.
Become a monthly donor. Join Team Tomorrow today.