1) How can I provide my $35 or $40 monthly sponsorship?
2) Does the $35 or $40 go directly to my sponsored child?
3) Can I get an update on my sponsored child?
4) Can I adopt a child through ICA?
5) Can I send a letter or card to my sponsored child?
6) Can I send a gift to my sponsored child?
7) Can I go visit my sponsored child?
1) How can I provide my $35 or $40 monthly sponsorship?
If you would prefer to send your monthly sponsorship
donation by mail, please send your check or money order to:
International Crisis Aid
c/o Child Sponsorship: Child's Name
P.O. Box 510167
St. Louis, MO 63151-0167
If you would prefer to use your debit or credit card, you can make a secure
donation online at www.crisisaid.org/donate
or over the phone at 1-888-740-7779. You can also set up a direct payment
withdrawal from your checking account.
You can make 12 monthly contributions of $35 or $40 each or a one-time full-year
sponsorship contribution of $420. You are
also welcome to pay a few months at a time.
In any case above, please make sure you identify the donation is for Child
Sponsorship and please provide the name
of the child you are sponsoring. This will ensure the funds are properly
designated and distributed.
2) Does the $35 or $40 go directly to my sponsored child?
ICA is a member of the Evangelical
Council for Financial Accountability.
In fiscal year 2007, ICA spent 93% of donations on programs & services
and 7% on administration &
fundraising. We are committed to keeping costs minimal in order to provide
more for the children and families in need.
Your $35 or $40 monthly sponsorship is combined with other sponsors' contributions
to provide services and programs for all
of the children attending and/or living at the orphanage, school, community
project, etc. By combining the monthly gifts
from each sponsor, we are able to pool the resources in order to provide the
best services to the children. In some
situations, ICA provides funds to the families caring for the child to assist
with paying rent and other resources.
3) Can I get an update on my sponsored child?
We value your interest in the development of your sponsored child. Due to
the amount of time it takes to obtain
information from field offices, sponsorship sites and families,
Child Sponsorship updates are prepared and sent one
time a year. This includes an updated photo and an overview of the
development of your child.
Due to the small number of office staff, we are not able to answer
specific questions you have regarding your
sponsored child throughout the year. ICA staff are there to meet the
needs of the children rather than providing
updates to sponsors. However, should more information become available
throughout the year, we will provide that
information at that time. Thank you for understanding.
4) Can I adopt a child through ICA?
International Crisis Aid is a humanitarian relief and development
organization helping thousands of children around the
world by providing much-needed food, medicine, education and other
necessities. ICA does not currently have an
adoption program. However, we would recommend you consider contacting
Children's Hope International at:
(314)890-0086 or www.childrenshope.net
for international adoption
opportunities they provide.
5) Can I send a letter or card to my sponsored child?
Thank you for your desire to
correspond with your sponsored child. Due to the small number of staff, ICA currently
allows sponsors to send 2 letters or cards per year.
If you would like to correspond with your child, please make sure your letter is in
a flat envelope, no bigger than 6"x9".
Please do not put anything too bulky in the package. Your letter/card should be mailed
directly to ICA at P.O. Box
510167, St. Louis, MO 63151-0167. ICA staff will review the letter for content. The
sponsors' letters will then be kept
in headquarters until a staff/board member travels to the sponsorship country for
delivery. The country staff will
translate your letter/card into the appropriate language for the child to understand
and then distribute it to the child.
At that time, if there are any letters from the children to their sponsor, they will
be picked-up from the country office,
reviewed at U.S. headquarters and then mailed to the sponsor.
Thank you for your patience and understanding of the time involved in
this process.
6) Can I send a gift to my sponsored child?
Thank you for your desire to provide extra gifts to
your sponsored child. We appreciate your generosity, compassion
and concern. However, ICA does not currently allow gift exchange
between our sponsors and children. There are
several reasons, including:
1. The cost to ship internationally is very high.
2. It is difficult to get packages through customs.
3. Some of the children in the sponsorship program live at orphanages.
Therefore, it would not be fair to the
other children if one or two children receive gifts and the others do not.
You are welcome to send a letter or card (see above for instructions).
If you would like to make an additional financial contribution, it can be
designated for Child Sponsorship, but not for a
specific child. Thank you again for your continual support
of your sponsored child.
7) Can I go visit my sponsored child?
Visiting your sponsored child can be a rewarding experience and
opportunity of a lifetime. However, the ability to
accommodate your request is dependant upon your sponsored child's
orphanage, school, community and/or family.
All sponsorship sites and/or families are not open to receiving
visitors for various reasons.
If you are planning a personal trip to your child's country and wish
to visit your child, we will do everything we can to
make this option available to you. However, there is extensive
planning required to ensure the needs of the child, staff
and you have been considered. Because the visit process often takes
many weeks to coordinate between the U.S.
and country offices, International Crisis Aid requires three months
notice prior to the visit date in order to coordinate the
visit.
To begin the planning process, please provide the following information:
1. Sponsors full name
2. Sponsored Child's full name and country
3. Dates of travel to the sponsored child's country
4. Preferred date and amount of time for sponsor/child visit
Upon receipt of this information, International Crisis Aid will contact the
country office and sponsorship site to
determine if the visit can be arranged. If they can accommodate the request,
we will then provide a full application you
will need to submit for further consideration.
If you have any further questions, please contact:
International Crisis Aid at info@crisisaid.org or 1-888-740-7779.
...love has no boundaries.
