Frequently Asked Questions
How does Gifts of Compassion work?
Every gift meets a real need identified by a local church partner who knows their community and the children and families they serve. These gifts provide the support, resources, skills and opportunities children and families need to overcome poverty and thrive now and into the future.
When you give a gift in honour of a loved one, you can download or send an e-card to let them know how their gift is helping children and families around the world.
Read more about Gifts of Compassion
What are the different types of gifts? Why do some gifts have thermometers and others do not?
Gifts of Compassion includes three types of gifts, each offering a different level of specificity: Cause Gifts, Focused Need Gifts and Specific Gifts.
Cause gifts help fund needs within a particular cause, with donations directed to the most pressing needs identified by our local church partners.
Focused Need gifts allow you to support a specific type of need within a particular cause. When you give a Focused Need gift, you are helping to meet some of the common needs of 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 9,000 local church partners around the world, depending on where the need exists. This helps ensure your gift is given to the right family at the right time.
Specific gifts 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 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 rather than later!
Read more about the types of 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 has advanced 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 9,000 churches in 29 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 equipped to overcome poverty and thrive now and into the future.
Learn more about Compassion