Yes! Writing letters and sending cards and photos is a way to build a relationship and offer much-needed encouragement and hope to the child you sponsor. We offer the convenience of writing to the child you sponsor online. You may go to ncm.org/account to access your online account, where you can draft and send letters electronically.

If you would rather send physical correspondence, we ask that you please write in print, not cursive, to make translation easier for the field staff. To ensure proper delivery, all items should have the child’s nine-digit ID number printed on them (example: 123-123456). Correspondence should be mailed to:

Nazarene Compassionate Ministries
Attn: Child Sponsorship
17001 Prairie Star Pkwy
Lenexa, KS 66220

For the safety and protection of both you and the child you sponsor, we keep all personal contact information confidential, and unsupervised communication with the child you sponsor is strictly prohibited. We ask that you not share personal contact information, including your email, phone number, or full name. Please use only your first name (e.g., Mary) or last name (e.g., Mrs. Smith).

Any communication using social media sites or instant messaging systems is strictly prohibited. If the child you sponsor contacts you through prohibited channels, please notify our office immediately. Any violations of this policy could jeopardize the eligibility of the sponsorship.

You may send flat items such as paper bookmarks, stickers, and musical greeting cards to the child you sponsor. However, we are unable to send other gifts. We are also unable to accept monetary gifts outside of your monthly sponsorship contribution. Additional monetary gifts can disrupt the economic structure of the child development center or a child’s home and damage the integrity of the program by creating the appearance that certain children are favored over others.

Although we cannot accept extra funds for special occasions or gifts, your regular contributions include funds set aside for birthday and Christmas gifts for the child you sponsor.

Any monetary donation sent in for a child, outside of the monthly sponsorship amount, will be given to the Unsponsored Children’s Fund.

Sponsored children, with the support of their families and program leaders, commit to meeting the participation requirements of sending their sponsor correspondence (letters, cards, progress reports, newsletters, etc.), along with photo and grade updates each year. At times, however, political, cultural, or environmental conditions compromise the security of children and their families, limiting their ability to send or receive letters. Our office will notify you if this type of situation arises with the child you sponsor.

If the child you sponsor is too young or unable to write, a parent or guardian will write for the child. In some cases, a child will send drawings or other personally created items; in other cases, a photo or newsletter with updates may be sent to a sponsor.

It can take two months or more for a child’s correspondence to reach a sponsor. These important letters travel great distances! First, a child’s family or child development center sends the letter to a child sponsorship coordinator. In some places, parents and center directors must arrange a meeting to pass letters to the coordinator in person. The coordinator then processes the letter, which includes translation into English when needed. The letters are scanned and sent to our office electronically. NCM child sponsorship staff review the letters and upload them to the sponsor’s online account for viewing. If a sponsor doesn’t have an online account, staff and volunteers prepare and mail a copy of the scanned letter to them. Occasionally, sponsorship coordinators mail the original letter or card to our office after it is scanned and uploaded online. If our office receives an original piece of correspondence, we will forward it to the sponsor.

Sponsors commit to giving $30 each month. Contributions may be made monthly, quarterly, or annually by check, online, or automatic withdrawal through a credit/debit card or bank account. Many sponsors prefer the ease of the automatic recurring gift option. Online contributions and recurring gifts can be made online at ncm.org/account.

When we receive and process a contribution, sponsors with a valid email address will receive an electronic receipt. Sponsors with a valid email address may still opt to receive paper receipts and statements by contacting our office. If you prefer not to receive individual receipts for every contribution, you may choose to receive a single annual giving statement at the end of the year.

Occasionally, sponsors may forget to send in a contribution. If the sponsorship account gets behind, we will send a reminder of your sponsorship commitment.

At least 80 percent of all funds received are spent on direct services and developmental interventions that provide the child you sponsor with support and resources to achieve a brighter future. No more than 20 percent of funds are used for program administration or fundraising in our international and regional offices.

Sponsors commit to giving $30 each month. Payments may be made monthly, quarterly, or annually. When we receive and process a contribution, sponsors with a valid email address will receive an electronic receipt and child sponsorship statement. Sponsors may opt to receive paper receipts and statements by contacting our office. We also offer options for automatic withdrawals through a credit/debit card or bank account, and payments can be made online at ncm.org/account.

Occasionally, sponsors may forget to send in a contribution. If the sponsorship account gets behind by two months or more, we will send a letter and personal statement as a reminder of your sponsorship commitment.

There are currently three ways to send a contribution for your sponsorship:

Give over the phone - call NCM toll free at 800-310-6362.

Give online at ncm.org/account.

Mail your contribution to: General Treasurer 17001 Prairie Star Parkway Lenexa, KS, USA 66220

NCM Child Sponsorship uses the accountability structures within the Church of the Nazarene (at the local, regional, and international levels) to ensure that children receive the promised support and participate in a church-led holistic child development program. These programs and the families of participating children also commit to meet certain requirements that provide you with progress updates about the child you sponsor.

You already have! Birthday and Christmas gifts are included in your monthly sponsorship amount. Each month a small portion of your donation is set aside for these special times of year. If you would like to send the child you sponsor a personalized gift, feel free to send them items such as paper bookmarks, small stickers, coloring sheets (not books), postcards, pictures and musical greeting cards. These items should fit in a regular-sized envelope. Items beyond the given categories are discouraged for logistical reasons. Unfortunately, we cannot send items beyond what had been listed because it can cause packages to be opened in transit or have high customs costs attached to them.

Since it is already included in your monthly sponsorship amount, all monetary donations sent for birthday and Christmas gifts for the child you sponsor will be applied to the Unsponsored Children’s Fund.

A sponsor is an individual, family, group, or congregation committed to providing monthly support for a child enrolled in an NCM-supported child development center (CDC), which is set up and run by a local congregation. A sponsor may also choose to support the child of a pastor living in poverty as a way to assist the family in meeting their child’s needs. Your monthly investment helps children grow through a holistic child development model.

Because sponsorship is based on a one-to-one relationship, we encourage sponsors to pray for and write to the child they sponsor regularly. The encouragement provided through correspondence is invaluable in reminding children of their value, building their self-confidence, and challenging them to succeed. Sponsorship is not limited only to members of the Church of the Nazarene.

NCM’s holistic child development model seeks to simultaneously address key aspects of a child’s life through learning opportunities and age-appropriate interventions. Children gain skills and opportunities to interrupt the cycle of poverty, dream about their futures, and grow into the people God created them to be. This model helps children in five key ways:

• Spiritual: Local churches seek to help children understand that God loves them, they are valued, and they can experience salvation through a personal relationship with Jesus. Churches walk alongside children, providing support, encouragement, and opportunities to grow and mature into faithful disciples.
• Intellectual: Gaining an education helps children develop their minds and provides opportunities for future employment and well-being that will benefit children throughout their lives.
• Physical: To ensure healthy development, children need support such as supplemental nutrition, hygiene education, health care, and safe spaces.
• Emotional: Many children live with the scars of emotional trauma as the result of poverty, war, abuse, or natural disasters. Connections with caring sponsors, counselors, and local church families offer a path toward healing and growth.
• Social: Learning to work and play with other children, along with discovering wisdom through committed sponsors and local staff and volunteers, enables children to build strong, healthy relationships and to love and serve God and others.

The goal of NCM Child Sponsorship is to help children receive the assistance they need to grow, learn, and mature into healthy young adults. In light of this goal, many sponsors prefer to sponsor through the end of a child’s secondary education (usually high school) in order to offer support from childhood through young adulthood. The age of graduation varies by country. Family situations, disasters, civil unrest, and other situations can delay a child’s educational progress. Occasionally, a child is not able to complete his or her program for various reasons. In those situations, we will inform you and help you find another child to sponsor.

Although we encourage sponsors to create lasting relationships and support children through graduation, you may discontinue your sponsorship anytime by contacting our office.

If you need to cancel your sponsorship before the child you sponsor completes his or her secondary education, please be assured that you have provided an invaluable gift to a child regardless of the length of your sponsorship. If you need to discontinue your sponsorship for any reason, please contact our office. The child you sponsored will continue to be supported through our Unsponsored Children’s Fund until another sponsor is found. We will do everything we can to find a new sponsor within the month you discontinue your support.

You will receive a notification if your child leaves or graduates from the program. If your child experiences any significant life change or event, we will contact you by phone or email.

If the child you sponsor graduates or leaves the program, we will tentatively assign you an available child. We try to stay consistent with any preferences you previously specified. However, if you desire to sponsor a child different from the one we assign, we will work with you to find another child in need of your sponsorship. We encourage you to send a final goodbye letter to the child you sponsored if he or she has left or graduated.

Prayer is a vital part of the mission and ministry of Nazarene Compassionate Ministries. There are many ways you can prayerfully support the child you sponsor and other children in the child sponsorship program. Know that the child you sponsor very likely prays for you, too! Pray for the healthy spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, and social development of the child you sponsor. Pray for their family, community, and community leaders. Pray for the holistic child development program your sponsored child attends and for the workers who care for the children. Pray for children who are still waiting for the loving support of a sponsor. Pray for child sponsorship staff at the local, regional, and international levels.

Go to ncm.org to learn more about the work of the Church of the Nazarene through Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and how you can participate.

To subscribe to NCM email updates, visit ncm.org/connect.

Stay connected through social media @nazcompassion.

Sign up for a free subscription to NCM Magazine on our website.

Advocate for sponsorship at your church by ordering and sharing an advocacy kit featuring profiles of children waiting to be sponsored.

Yes! We currently work with children in various ways through local congregations. A main way we fund this work is through our Unsponsored Children’s Fund. This fund has no monthly commitment. To learn more about this fund, click here.

Yes. Every sponsor has access to their account online at ncm.org/account. You can manage things like your contact information, recurring gifts, and saved payments. Your online account is also where you can access information about the child you sponsor, such as their photo, information about their interests and family, as well as all correspondence exchanged between the two of you.

The first time you access your account online, begin by clicking “create an account” and complete the online form. The system will automatically match you with your existing account and sponsorship.