Frequently Asked Questions

You can view past and upcoming gifts to your child through your My Compassion account.  If you do not have a gift set up, you can request this through the gift page on My Compassion or you can contact our office directly.

In many countries where Compassion works, letter writing is not a normal part of the culture. Therefore, the letters written by your sponsored child are probably the only ones ever written. Our Compassion centre workers endeavour to teach the children how to express themselves in writing, and will often use the letter-writing days as an educational activity. Many children write what they think their sponsor might want to hear. If your sponsored child is young, please be patient while he or she learns how to write. In some cultures, it is not common to discuss personal things like hopes and dreams, or even what daily life is like. Your sponsored child may need your help to understand that you are interested in the small details. You can help your sponsored child to understand that you want to know him or her better by asking lots of questions in your letters, and telling your sponsored child about your own life. You may consider highlighting the questions you would really like answered.

There are a number of reasons why we ask that you do not communicate directly with your sponsored child. One of the important features of our program is that it enables centre workers to understand the child’s struggles and to provide help and support. Having your sponsored child’s letters processed through Compassion allows the centre staff to become familiar with your child’s needs, and to help them appropriately. Corresponding directly with your sponsored child would prevent the centre staff from knowing what support the child is requesting and may limit their ability to act on any child protection concerns. By limiting all correspondence through Compassion centres, we are also able to protect sponsors from receiving unsolicited or inappropriate requests from members of your child’s community who may otherwise gain access to your personal details. Most sponsored children speak other languages, so by having the correspondence go through Compassion, we are also able to translate the letters, from your child, for you.

Compassion aims to reach as many families as possible. Typically, only one child from a family will attend a project. The parents will choose which child is registered. However, if the family has great needs up to three children may be enrolled. The benefits of the program reach the whole family through interaction with staff, health screening, nutritional advice and supplies, parenting workshops and other church activities. Sponsored children often share what they learn at the Compassion project with siblings and many lead their entire families to Christ. As well as supporting your sponsored child and their family through prayer, as a sponsor you are able to send financial gifts to your sponsored child’s family.

Check out this story!

http://blog.compassion.com/one-child-sponsorship-helps-an-entire-family/

While gifts can be ordered year-round, if you require gift cards for Christmas, we recommend you make your order by December 15th. Digital versions of the cards tied to each gift are available at any time for download through the website. Please allow at least 10 business days for your card to arrive.

You can change your bank account information through the Payment Methods section of your My Compassion account or by calling our office. Thank you for supporting Compassion.

Children don’t necessarily write back to you on the same day that they receive your letter. Instead, they reply on a scheduled day when all the children at the project write to their sponsors. Your sponsored child may have proudly taken your letter home to share with family & friends and may not have it handy to remind them of the questions you answered. Please remember that it can take up to two months for your letter to be translated (if needed) and delivered. Please check the date of your sponsored child’s letter so you can work out whether he or she would have received your answers before they last wrote. Compassion is working on a program to ensure that answers are recorded by project staff, so they can ensure that the children know them. You can help in this process by underlining or highlighting your answers in your letter and making them easy to understand.

Children don’t necessarily write back to you on the same day that they get your stickers. Instead, they reply on a scheduled day when all the children at the project write to their sponsors. They may be writing back some weeks or even a month after they receive your letter, so may not remember whether they have already acknowledged what you have sent them. Please remember that each letter may take up to two months for translation and delivery. Please check the date of your child’s letter to work out whether he or she would have received your stickers before they last wrote back to you. Compassion is working on a process to ensure that every child acknowledges every piece of mail they receive from their sponsor. If you are in doubt whether your sponsored child has received your mail, you are welcome to write and ask.

Though you and your spouse may sponsor together, My Compassion is set up so that each spouse has his or her own account rather than a shared one. This allows each spouse to manage their preferences individually. If you have any comments or suggestions on this feature, please connect with our office.

You can send a child gift online or by calling our office. Child gifts, including birthday gifts, can be between $15 and $125 CAD. Your financial gift to your sponsored child is greatly appreciated as it brings joy and help to ease the struggles of poverty.

Compassion Canada artists and speakers are available for your church/event. For all enquiries relating to having Compassion represented at your event, please visit our Ambassador page.

Funds raised from the Gifts of Compassion catalogue are used to support Compassion’s Response Programs. Should excess funds be raised in a particular area, we will meet other urgent needs as they arise.

Your privacy is important to us, which is why My Compassion is subject to a very high level of security and operates under the same security principles that apply to online banking. My Compassion uses secure and encrypted communications between your web browser and our servers. When using My Compassion, you should see a yellow or green security padlock or a blue tab indicating the name of the site’s security certificate. These indicators are your assurance that My Compassion is running in a secure environment, and may appear differently depending on which web browser you use.

You can read more about our privacy policy here.

No less than eighty percent of your donation will be directed to Compassion’s Response programs. No more than 20 percent is used for fundraising initiatives and administration. Compassion assisted children and their families receive no cash. Benefits are always in the form of goods and services, carefully designed, delivered and purchased according to the children’s individual needs. We encourage you to check out our financial statement for more details.

Yes, we can remove your spouse’s name from the sponsorship but we will require written or verbal permission from your spouse to do so. Please contact our office by phone or by email to get this change process started.

Donations to the Christmas Gift Fund will appear in the “My Giving” section of My Compassion as your contribution is not specifically designated to your sponsored child. We’re considering adding gift descriptions to help you better identify how your gifts were used in future updates to My Compassion.

We understand your concern for your sponsored child. Our staff are working hard to provide us with specific information concerning Compassion children and their families. Communication is difficult as many centres do not have a phone. We are in regular communication with our office and they will let us know which children have been directly affected in time. As we gain specific information that would relate to a particular Compassion child, we will let sponsor’s know by email.

Our Supporter Services team is available to help serve you with these inquiries. They can be reached by phone at 1.800.563.5437 8am-5pm EST, through live chat on our website or at info@compassion.ca

Once you have signed into your My Compassion account, hover over your name in the top right corner. Select “Tax Receipts” from the dropdown menu options. Scroll down to the box that says, “I only want a digital tax receipt”. If you wish to receive a mailed copy of your receipt, please ensure this box is unchecked.

All donations given through Text to Give for Unite to Fight Poverty are receipted separately through the Mobile Giving Foundation of Canada. For more information, please visit their website here. If you did not receive a tax receipt for your Mobile Giving donation, please email us at info@compassion.ca or call us at 1-800-563-5437.