Founded | 1952 |
---|---|
Founder | Everett Swanson |
Type | Christian child sponsorship non-profit organization |
36-2423707 [1] | |
Location |
|
Area served | 27 countries across four continents |
Key people | Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado (president and CEO) |
Revenue | US$ 1,001,200,000 (2020) [2] |
Expenses | Program Services: US$ 813,929,000 (2020) [2] Support Activities: US$ 999,180,000 (2020) [2] |
Website | www |
Compassion International is an American child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, that aims to positively influence the long-term development of children globally who live in poverty.
A 2013 independent research report, in the Journal of Political Economy , concluded that as of that time, Compassion International had large and statistically significant impacts on participants' years of school completion, the probability of later employment, and the quality of that employment, in part as a consequence of improved self-esteem and expectations in participating children.
The Everett Swanson Evangelistic Association was founded in 1952 by the Rev. Everett Swanson (member of Converge) to help children orphaned by war in South Korea. [3] Swanson had traveled there to preach the gospel to the US Army troops, but during his visit he was deeply moved by the plight of the scores of abandoned children he saw. In 1953, he began to raise funds, and the next year he developed sponsorship programs to help support orphans for a few dollars a month. [4] The name of the association changed to Compassion, Inc., in 1963, inspired by Jesus' words "I have compassion on the multitude. I will not send them away hungry" (Matthew 15.32). [5] In 2022, it would be present in 27 countries. [6] For example, see Compassion Suisse and Compassion Espagna
As of November 2019, the board chair of the organization was Judy Golz, and the president and CEO was Santiago Mellado. [7] In 2019, Mellado's annual compensation was $419,184 according to the organization's IRS filings. [8]
Compassion helps those in impoverished areas, using a holistic approach to child development. [9] This approach goes well beyond simply providing food and medical aid, involving education and training to prepare the individuals for contributing back to their communities. [10]
The organization also helps in emergency situations and in the funding of health centers. [11] [12] [13]
Children in the child sponsorship program are provided food and clean water, medical care, education, life-skills training, and spiritual guidance through a direct sponsorship. Sponsored children are selected by the sponsors from lists provided by the ministry, and two-way communication is encouraged between the sponsored child and the sponsor. As of November 2023 [update] the cost to sponsor a child through Compassion was US$43 (£32) [14] per month, and globally there were over two million babies, children, and young adults in its programs. [15]
Sponsors are able to visit their sponsored children through trips planned by Compassion International. Compassion's goal is to provide a trip to each country every other year. Compassion coordinates every aspect of the trip, including travel, meals, tips and gratuities, fees related to the travel, and sightseeing fares. [16]
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: filled with 7-to-15-year-old information, but ratings and their reasons can change every year, as the charities adjust their activities.(October 2023) |
Compassion International is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. [17] As of February 2008 [update] , it held a grade of "A" from CharityWatch. [18] [19] As of January 2012 [update] , it had met the "20 Standards for Charity Accountability" from the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance. [20]
In 2013, a primary research report in the Journal of Political Economy provided evidence in support of the conclusion that child sponsorship via Compassion International resulted in significant positive outcomes for the children in the study set. [21] [22] The research, by Bruce Wydick, Paul Glewwe, and Laine Rutledge, evaluated Compassion efforts in six countries, with 10,144 children studied, reporting "large, statistically significant impacts on years of schooling; primary, secondary, and tertiary school completion; and the probability and quality of employment." They went on to note that the evidence, while early, "suggest[ed] that these impacts are due, in part, to increases in children’s aspirations." [21] [23]
Through 2015, Compassion International had received Charity Navigator's highest rating for 15 consecutive years, thereby receiving special recognition on their "10 Charities with the Most Consecutive 4-Star Ratings" list. [24] However, Charity Navigator changed its rating system in 2016, [25] and Compassion International's 2016 overall rating dropped to three stars out of four, for its accountability and transparency. [26]
The organization has received a 73/100 confidence score (Give with Confidence) and an "C" transparency grade from MinistryWatch, a Christian charity watchdog organization, as of November 22,2024. [27]
In 2016, Compassion was ranked the 15th-largest charity organization in the US by Forbes magazine, with $799 million in private donations received. [28]
Compassion operated in India for 48 years, with $45 million in transfers annually, making it India's largest single foreign donor. [29] Compassion provided services under its Child Sponsor Program to 145,000 Indian children. [29] In 2015, Compassion affiliates' offices were raided by tax investigators seeking evidence on whether it was funding religious conversions. [29] Compassion said that attempts were made to force the ministry to divert funding to non-Christian Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh groups. [29] Compassion refused to do so as it would be a misuse of funds entrusted to them by donors all around the world. After talks back and forth, in 2017 the BJP-led Indian government barred Compassion from transferring funds into India, forcing the group to close its operations in that country. [29] The Ministry of External Affairs later stated that the ban had nothing to do with the ideology of Compassion International. [30]
Since 2019, Compassion stopped releasing a public Form 990 after reclassifying itself as a religious organization, or "an association of churches." [31] [32] Reclassification has been noted by several Christian ministry watchdogs as a growing trend among large Christian ministries. [33] [34] As a result, Compassion's Donor Confidence Score fell from 97 to 73 on MinistryWatch, and the organization is no longer rated on Charity Navigator due to the lack of Accountability & Finance beacon. [35] [36]
Samaritan's Purse is an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organization that provides aid to people in physical need as a key part of its Christian missionary work. The organization's president is Franklin Graham, son of Christian evangelist Billy Graham. The name of the organization is derived from the New Testament Parable of the Good Samaritan. With international headquarters in Boone, North Carolina, the organization also maintains warehouse and aviation facilities in nearby North Wilkesboro and Greensboro, North Carolina.
ChildFund, also known an ChildFund International, and formerly known as Christian Children's Fund, is a child-focused international development organization that provides assistance to children facing poverty and other challenges in 24 countries, including the United States. ChildFund's headquarters are located in Richmond, Virginia, United States.
Children International is a global nonprofit humanitarian organization that helps children break the cycle of poverty. It addresses children’s critical needs through early intervention and regular interaction in community centers. The goal is to help children overcome the effects of poverty, support their education, and prepare youth to contribute to society.
CharityWatch, known until 2012 as the American Institute of Philanthropy, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency, accountability, governance, and fundraising.
Charity Navigator is a charity assessment organization that evaluates hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations based in the United States, operating as a free 501(c)(3) organization. It provides insights into a nonprofit's financial stability, adherence to best practices for both accountability and transparency, and results reporting. It is the largest and most-utilized evaluator of charities in the United States. It does not accept any advertising or donations from the organizations it evaluates.
Child sponsorship is a type of fundraising in which a charitable organization associates a donor sponsor with a particular child beneficiary. The sponsor receives updates from the child, typically including photos and translated letters, which help create the feeling of a personal relationship with the child. The donated funds are often not spent specifically on the sponsored child, but pooled with other contributions to fund a variety of education, health, security, infrastructure, or other projects in the child's community or country. One estimate is that over 9 million children are given over US $5 billion by child sponsorship programs. Other sources state the amount of child sponsorship funding is closer to US $3 billion per year.
Food For The Poor, Inc. (FFP) is an ecumenical Christian nonprofit organization based in Coconut Creek, Florida, United States that provides food, medicine, and shelter, among other services, to the poor in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Feed the Children, established in 1979 and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization focused on alleviating childhood hunger. Its mission is "providing hope and resources for those without life's essentials." The organization provides food, essentials, education supplies and disaster relief to those in need across the United States and in eight countries around the world. Domestically, Feed the Children operates five distribution centers located in Oklahoma, Indiana, California, Tennessee and Pennsylvania.
Cambodian Children's Fund (CCF) is a non-profit organisation, founded in 2004 by Scott Neeson to help children in Steung Meanchey, one of the poorest areas in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh. Initially established to support 45 children in need, CCF now educates over 2,000 children. In addition, it serves 12,000 people in the communities where it works through a range of community outreach, healthcare, childcare and vocational training programs.
Room to Read is a global non-profit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California. The organization focuses on working in collaboration with local communities, partner organizations and governments to improve literacy and gender equality in education.
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization whose mission is to boldly engage the world’s greatest crises in partnership with the church. The organization was founded in the aftermath of World War II to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of war-torn Europe.
Breast Cancer Coalition (NBCC) is a grassroots advocacy organization that combines the power of advocacy, education, policy, and research to unite around the goal of ending breast cancer.
Food for the Hungry is a Christian international relief, development, and advocacy organization. Food for the Hungry was founded in 1971 by Larry Ward. Food for the Hungry's stated mission for long-term development is to graduate communities of extreme poverty within 10–15 years. The organization also works in disaster relief and humanitarian response, including working with the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
Zakat Foundation of America is a Chicago-based NGO providing emergency relief, post-disaster rehabilitation, sustainable development, education, healthcare, orphan sponsorship, and seasonal programs such as Ramadan iftars and Udhiya/Qurbani. Zakat Foundation of America is registered under 501(c)(3) as a non-profit charity organization.
Children's Hunger Fund (CHF) is a Christian non-profit organization that resources and empowers local churches in the United States and around the world to meet the needs of their impoverished community members. CHF's mission is to "deliver hope to suffering children by equipping local churches for gospel-centered mercy ministry".
Blessing the Children International (BCI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 2001, that engages in Christian missionary work in Ethiopia, Africa. According to the Urban Institute, BCI is classified as an "International Relief" organization.
VisionTrust is an international, non-denominational non-profit organization that assists orphaned and vulnerable children around the world. The organization works alongside local Christians to help children gain an education, nutritional support, medical assistance, and spiritual discipleship. VisionTrust works in schools, Transitional Homes (orphanages), and Learning Centers. They offer child sponsorships, short-term mission trips, and assist churches with educational materials to promote participation in this effort. VisionTrust is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Unbound, formerly Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, is a nonprofit international development organization headquartered in Kansas City, Kansas. Unbound was founded by lay Catholics acting on the Gospel call to serve the poor. Its sponsorship program provides direct cash transfers to sponsored members who determine how to use their cash benefits to meet their goals. Beyond basic necessities such as food, housing, clothing and access to medical care, sponsored members frequently utilize their benefits to pay for education costs or to start or expand small business ventures. Unbound sponsors support more than 260,000 children, youth and elders in 17 countries.
HOPE International is a Christian faith-based nonprofit organization based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania that equips individuals living in poverty with savings and microfinance services. HOPE International now operates in over 20 underserved countries and has assisted over 3 million people with small loans and savings services since it began operations in 1997.
The Purple Heart Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Annandale, Virginia. Its declared purpose is "to enhance the quality of life of Purple Heart recipients and other honorably discharged veterans and their families."
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)