Gifts of Compassion

Answer hunger with hope

As the world faces an alarming food crisis, you can provide lifesaving help to children, families and communities experiencing poverty.

Each year, Gifts of Compassion invited people across Canada to give gifts that meet real, urgent needs around the world.

Give now

A mother and two children hold food that came in a food basket and joyfully smile

A mother and daughter work in a garden

A mother and father hug their three teenage children; two sons and a daughter

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What is the Global Food Crisis?

Right now, the world is hungry and in crisis. Tonight, as many as 828 million people will go to bed hungry.

These are unprecedented levels of hunger and as always, children living in poverty are the most vulnerable to exploitation, malnutrition, starvation and even death.

This is your invitation to respond. Join people across Canada to answer hunger with hope.

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How can you help?

Each year, Gifts of Compassion meet critical needs identified by more than 8,000 local church partners that serve over 2 million children experiencing poverty around the world. Getting started is simple:

1

Choose a gift

Every gift meets a real need identified by local church partners around the world.

2

Send a card

New this year!
Send an e-card when you purchase a gift in honour of friends or family.

3

Empower children

Your gift helps children and families break free from poverty.

Give now

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Rated as one of Canada’s best charities for financial integrity

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Stories of impact

How Gifts of Compassion make a difference

Food or a future? An emergency food pack can feed the hungry and fuel hope

Bobita dreams of becoming a teacher in her community. She believes in the power of education to change a life,…

Fruitless to flourishing: How family gardens are transforming Nicaraguan communities

In the desert-like wilderness of Las Mojarras, Nicaragua, where the atmosphere is obscured by the rising walls of dust and…

Mattress maker hems a future free from poverty for her children

When a friend first took Yenny’s second son, Geremy, to the local Compassion centre to be registered in the Survival…

6 High-Impact Gifts of Compassion

Most of us engaged in the work of child advocacy and poverty alleviation can point to a moment when poverty,…

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A photo of Palamanga Ouali, Vice President, Africa Region, Compassion International

“To thrive, children and youth must first have access to the basics of life. There is nothing more basic than food.”

Palamanga Ouali

Vice President, Africa Region, Compassion International

Two photos. One of a little boy looking up at the camera. One of a boy holding a make-shift gardening hoe.

New to Gifts of Compassion?

Read 5 things you need to know about Gifts of Compassion on our blog.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does Gifts of Compassion work?

Each gift in our guide meets a real need of children and families living in poverty, identified by our local church partners around the world. These gifts are designed to allow children and families living in poverty to have the resources, security, health, skills and opportunities they need to overcome poverty and thrive now and into the future.

When you give a gift in honour of a loved one, you can send an e-card to you to show your loved ones how their gift is transforming lives around the world! 

Read more about Gifts of Compassion

What does it mean when my gift goes towards a “fund”?

When you give a gift that goes towards a fund, you are helping to meet some of the most common needs of the children and families we serve as identified by our local church partners. 

Because these needs are so common, your gift could go to any one of our 8,000 local church partners around the world at any given time, depending on the needs. This ensures that your gift is given to the right family at the right time. 

The word “fund” might make it sound like your gifts are sitting in a bucket somewhere, but rest assured it’s quite the opposite: fund gifts meet some of the most urgent needs identified by our local church partners.

Read more about fund gifts

Why do some gifts have a progress bar and others do not?

Gifts that have a progress bar raise funds for a specific need in a specific community as identified by one or a small group of our local church partners. These gifts have a goal that shows exactly how much it will cost to fund the entire project or program.

Once a specific gift is fully funded and the need is met in full, we won’t be raising funds for it anymore. Instead, we’ll add new gifts as our local church partners express the needs of their communities or we’ll invite you to give towards other related gifts. That means not every gift you see in our gift guide will be available forever. So, if you see something you want to give towards, make sure to do it sooner than later!

Read more about specific gifts

Where can I learn about Compassion’s financial integrity?

Financial integrity matters to us. We take your trust seriously and are committed to faithfully stewarding the funds you give.

No less than 80 per cent of funds raised will be used for program activities. No more than 20 per cent will be used for fundraising and administration.

Learn more about our finances

Who is Compassion?

As one of the world's leading child development organizations, Compassion’s mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. Over the last 70 years, Compassion revolutionized the fight against global poverty by partnering with local churches to lift children out of spiritual, economic, social and physical poverty.

Today, Compassion partners with over 8,000 churches in 27 countries to deliver our proven child development program to more than 2 million infants, children and youth. Around the world, children, families and entire communities are being empowered to overcome poverty and thrive both now and into the future. 

Learn more about Compassion