When you sponsor a child with World Vision, you’re helping to create long-lasting, sustainable change. We’re passionate about equipping children, their families and their communities with the tools to thrive – both now and into the future. Your support can make a lasting difference and help children reach their potential.

When you sponsor a child with World Vision you’re becoming part of something special because of the following reasons.  

• You’re supporting work that changes children’s lives:

The wellbeing of children is at the heart of everything we do. Our vision is life in all its fullness for every child. As a child sponsor, you help make this life-changing work possible – you support projects that help transform the lives of vulnerable children and the communities where they live. You can help a child look forward to a better future.

• Our holistic vision for children’s wellbeing:

More than 50 years of experience has taught us that to change a child’s life, we need to transform their world – their family, community and local area. Your sponsorship helps to address the complex causes of poverty through projects focused on water, health, education, livelihoods and child protection, depending on each community’s needs.

• Our community-driven approach: 

Each community we work with defines its goals and drives its own development. We work with community members every step of the way, developing and carrying out projects to improve children’s wellbeing and forge pathways out of poverty for the next generation. Your sponsorship helps a community achieve its goals.    

• Our focus on long-term, sustainable change: 

Real transformation happens – and lasts – when communities are self-sustaining and empowered to change their own circumstances. As a child sponsor, you’re helping to equip your sponsored child and the people around them with skills and knowledge to continue their own development activities.

• Our Christian identity strengthens partnerships:

As a Christian humanitarian organisation, we work with people of all cultures, faiths and genders to overcome poverty and injustice. Our Christian identity enables us to find common ground and build trust with people of many different faiths, and work closely with them to bring about lasting change in communities. 

• You can connect with your sponsored child:

When you sponsor a child with World Vision you are given a window into their world. You can learn about their life, receive progress updates, exchange letters or even visit them in their community. You’ll also have access to My World Vision, where you can view photos and videos from your sponsored child’s community, manage your details and send eLetters to your sponsored child. 

Still have questions? You can read more about our work and history, chat with us online or call us on 13 32 40.

World Vision is a community development organisation that provides short- and long-term assistance to 100 million people worldwide. The support of generous Australians makes our work possible. 

As a Christian organisation, our mission is to attract and engage supporters to eliminate poverty and its causes amongst the children and communities we serve around the world.

We work with people of all cultures, faiths and genders to achieve transformation. We do this through relief and development, policy advocacy and change, collaboration, education about poverty, and emphasis on personal growth, social justice and spiritual values. 

Our work is project-based. Relief work can be short-term, while rehabilitation and development may be longer-term. We may initiate a project or respond to an invitation. Our work is always dependent on the consent of the communities involved.

You can read more about World Vision’s work and history. 

Your online My World Vision account is a great place to find out how your sponsorship is making an impact for vulnerable children and their families. You’ll find a range of updates including letters, photos, videos and other news about your sponsored child and their community. And you can read about your sponsored child’s everyday life and see how they’re growing up. 

These updates come from those who live and work in each sponsorship community. Our staff and volunteers regularly check and report on children’s health, wellbeing and involvement in education (the exact timing of checks and reports can vary). They also monitor the community’s progress and report back every six months.  

We’re always excited to pass on news about the difference you’re making as a sponsor. We’ll post updates on your account’s Impact page throughout the year. It can take a little time for some updates to be passed on, so don’t forget to check back every now and then. Keep an eye on your inbox, as we’ll let you know when we’ve posted new updates in your account.  
 
Also see “What is My World Vision” above for more information about your account and how to access it. 

When you make a donation, we’ll keep you in the loop about World Vision news and how your contribution is helping to change lives. From time to time, you may hear from us about World Vision’s work in other areas, such as global emergencies.

When you sponsor a child, we’ll send you relevant information including progress reports and easy-to-follow instructions for sending cards and gifts at special times of the year. See “What do I get when I sponsor a child?” on this page for more details.

If you’d like to adjust your mail preferences, please call us on 13 32 40 and we’ll be happy to help.

When you sponsor a child with World Vision you become aligned with a specific child living in poverty. Your $48 a month means life-changing access to clean water, food, health, education and more, helping to address the root causes of poverty and creating transformation and sustainable change in a child's life. Your contributions and those of other child sponsors and donors and grant funds are often combined to support projects and activities that can transform the world where your sponsored child lives.

Child Rescue offers children living in crisis crucial and life-changing support, but it’s also quite specific in its reach. Read more about how Child Rescue helps to protect children from situations of child labour and slavery.

When you sponsor a child, you’re supporting work that builds a better future for the entire community. That’s because over 60 years of experience has taught us that the best way to change a child’s life is to transform the world in which they live – their family, their community and the local area.

When a community is stable and productive its members can provide for children’s long-term wellbeing; the most effective way to improve children’s wellbeing is to strengthen their community.

The wellbeing of a child is dependent on their families and community and in order to thrive, children need to grow up in an environment that provides the essentials for today together with hope and opportunity for the future.

Ideally, World Vision Child Sponsorship is a long-term commitment for the duration of work in a particular community, which typically lasts for 10-15 years.

But the length of child sponsorship can be different for each sponsor. Some sponsors join us at the beginning of our work in their sponsored child’s community and others join us towards the end.

Sponsorship can end for a number of reasons. These include:

• our work in a community is completed and it’s self-sustaining;
• your sponsored child finishes school or begins to earn an income; and
• your sponsored child’s family moves away from the community where World Vision is working.

In many cases, children remain sponsored until they reach adulthood, or become independent. Other life changes and events can also cause a child to stop participating in a sponsorship program.

Whatever the reason, we’ll notify you when your sponsorship comes to an end. We’ll automatically introduce you to a new sponsored child and your support as a sponsor will continue. If you’d prefer to choose a different child to sponsor, would like to make changes or cancel your support, please be sure to contact us on 13 32 40.

Regardless of when your sponsorship ends, you’ll have already helped equip your sponsored child and their community for a brighter future. For most of our child sponsors, the end of one sponsorship journey becomes the start of another rewarding one.

When a sponsorship program ends, it’s an exciting time because the community has reached a point where its members can continue the development work we began together on their own. In most cases, committees made up of local people are set up to monitor progress and oversee ongoing development work.

In the final years of working with your sponsored child’s community, we help to prepare and equip them to continue with their own development activities into the future, without World Vision’s assistance.

By the time we’re ready to leave your sponsored child’s area, our aim is that all the children and families who live there are healthier; better able to meet their own needs and ready to continue the process of change that you’ve helped to start.

The ultimate goal of child sponsorship is self-sufficiency. When this has been achieved, World Vision moves on to help another community in need.

Through our sponsorship programs, children and adults gain knowledge and skills which stay with them long after World Vision has gone, and for generations to come.

We’ll notify you when work in your sponsored child’s community nears completion. We’ll also automatically introduce you to a new child to sponsor and your support will continue. If you’d prefer to choose a different child to sponsor, make changes or cancel your support, please call us on 13 32 40.

While we’re motivated by our Christian values and faith, at World Vision we recognise that many people in the world do not share our beliefs. It’s not our goal to convert anyone through our work, and we never seek to do so.

Our Christian faith is the foundation for all we do and we strive to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. We’re committed to the poor because we’re Christian. We seek to express our Christian beliefs in an inclusive and non-judgmental manner and we’re committed to working with people of all cultures, faiths and genders to achieve transformation.

World Vision is a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) and adheres to the ACFID Code of Conduct. The code is underpinned by the values of integrity, accountability, transparency, respect, effectiveness, equity and cooperation.

The primary focus of our work is addressing the immediate and long-term development needs of communities, particularly the most vulnerable. We respond to these needs regardless of the religion or beliefs of a community or of individual community members.

As we do work in partnership with communities, depending on specific circumstances we may partner with local faith-based groups and encourage their participation in the development process.

Read more about World Vision's Christian identity.

Child sponsorship is a very special journey that develops over time. That’s why we encourage you to view sponsorship as a long-term partnership. Sponsors tell us how much they enjoy watching their sponsored child grow up, as their support makes a real difference from year to year.

But we understand that your circumstances may change, and that’s why you can cancel your sponsorship at any time, for any reason. If that happens, we’ll continue to care for the child you’ve sponsored through our work in the community and may give them the opportunity of connecting with a new sponsor.

If you don’t wish to cancel your sponsorship, but would like to adjust your donations, we have flexible options to help you continue your support in a way that suits you.

You may also like to consider sharing the cost of child sponsorship with others. Some sponsors team up with a friend, family member, or a group of people. It's also possible to transfer your existing child sponsorship to someone else if you'd like.

Simply get in touch with us on 13 32 40 if you’d like to discuss your options or cancel your sponsorship.

When you become a sponsor, you’ll have the joy of choosing the child whose life you’re going to help change. You can choose a child to sponsor on this page.

It’s a special decision, and that’s why you can read information about each child who’s waiting for sponsorship; including their age, birthday, country and community – to help you find that special little person you’ll connect with.  If you’re still not sure where to begin, here are some tips to help you decide.

Five ways to choose a child to sponsor

1. Choose a child living in a country that interests you

Which county do you feel a connection to? Maybe you’ve been following events in the news or have travelled to that part of the world yourself. Or you may even consider sponsoring in a country you plan to travel to in future, so that you can visit your sponsored child. You can find countries where children are waiting for sponsorship on this page. 

2. Choose a child born on a special date 
When you choose a child to sponsor, you can search by their date of birth. Why not choose a day of the year that’s special to you? It might be your birthday, your child’s birthday or another day that is significant for you. What better way to commemorate an important date, than by reaching out to a child in need?

3. Choose a child similar in age to a member of your family
Many sponsors love to help a child who is close in age to their son, daughter or other children in their life. This can also be a wonderful way for your children to connect with your sponsored child as they grow up. 

4. Choose a child you feel a connection with
Spend some time viewing the photos and information of the many children who are waiting for a sponsor like you. Many new sponsors find that as they do this, they feel a connection to a particular child’s photo, their name or even their hobbies.   

5. Choose a child chosen for you
There are so many wonderful children waiting for a sponsor that sometimes it’s just too hard to decide! That’s why we can select a child for you. Please click here if you’d like us to choose a child for you  – we'll share with you the name and photo of a child you can sponsor.  

Whoever you choose to sponsor, you’ll be making a great choice! But if you’d like some more information or help to decide, we’d love to hear from you. You can chat live or call us on 13 32 40. 

You can sign up for child sponsorship with World Vision either online or by contacting us.

Online

Meet the children who are waiting for sponsors now and sign up through our website. You can find children based on their country or birthday and read about their community.

1. You can select to sponsor a child by country, age, gender or even birthdate, your choice is a personalised one.
2. Shortly after you will receive your personalised welcome pack from World Vision Australia. This is full of all the information you’ll need about your child sponsorship and the impact of your support.
3. With your newly created My World Vision account you can experience the real impact sponsoring a child makes. See the difference child sponsorship creates, see changes in the community, receive updates about your child and communications made just for you.

Chat with us

Chat with us online and we’ll be happy to help you sign up for child sponsorship.

Over the phone

Call us on 13 32 40. We’ll answer your questions and get you set up.

You may also see us at shopping centres from time to time, or hear about child sponsorship opportunities at community and church events.  

Yes, you can! Many people enjoy the experience of sponsoring more than one child.

In some cases, it’s possible to sponsor more than one child from the same community. Or, you may like to sponsor children from different countries – and enjoy learning about a variety of experiences and cultures.

If you have any questions, or would like some help with making this decision, please call us on 13 32 40 or chat with us online.

Supporters often tell us that the best part of sponsoring children is seeing the real difference they are making in a child's life. And the best place to see this change unfold is in your My World Vision online account – your personal window into your sponsored child’s world.

Writing to your sponsored child is also a great way to learn more about them and the difference you are helping to make in their community. Most sponsored children love to receive letters and cards from their sponsors. It can be a great source of encouragement for them to know that someone far away cares about them and their future.

There are three ways to correspond and build a connection with your sponsored child:

1. Send a greeting card or letter supplied by World Vision. To make it easy to keep in touch, at special times during the year, you’ll be given the opportunity to send them a card or letter – including at Christmas and for their birthday.

2. Send an eLetter to your sponsored child from your My World Vision account. It’s a quick and easy way to write to your sponsored child. Simply type your message, attach photos if you wish, then hit “Send". 

Your eLetter will be sent to the World Vision office in your sponsored child’s country. It will be printed, translated and passed on to your sponsored child. You can expect your sponsored child’s reply to arrive in your My World Vision account, usually within 1-3 months. 

3. Write a letter or card and post it to your sponsored child. Many sponsors send a letter, card or postcard directly to their sponsored child's country. You can do this any time. If you send a letter in the post, your sponsored child’s reply will usually also arrive in the mail (and may also appear in your online My World Vision account). Please allow 2-5 months for your reply to arrive.

Delivery timeframes can vary due to postal delays or other circumstances beyond our control. If you have any questions about your correspondence, please call us on 13 32 40. You may also find Australia Post’s estimates of international delivery times helpful. 

Information and guidelines on writing to your sponsored child can be viewed here. Or, for more ideas about what to write, you can read sponsors’ stories and suggestions about letter writing. 

It can be a wonderful experience sharing letters with your sponsored child. What you write is up to you, but we do ask that you follow our guidelines.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Ask about your sponsored child’s family and talk about your own family.
• Talk about real things in your life such as work, sports, the weather and the seasons.
• Describe your neighbourhood and what you see when you look out the window or walk down the street.
• Your garden or Australian plants may be of interest to your sponsored child, as they often live in rural areas.
• If you have children, you might like to involve them in writing the letter or include their drawings.
• Tell your sponsored child that you are thinking of them. It’s encouraging for children to know that their sponsor cares about them.

For more ideas, you can view sample letters and read sponsors' suggestions about what to write. 

Being a sponsor doesn’t mean you have to write. That’s entirely up to you. For many people, just knowing they’re making a difference is enough.

Our free eLetter service lets you quickly and easily get in touch with your sponsored child.  You can send eLetters by logging in to My World Vision – you’ll also find helpful suggestions and guidelines for what to write.

Simply type up your eLetter, attach photos if you wish and then hit “Send”. Your eLetter then arrives in your sponsored child’s country right away. World Vision staff will review, translate and print your message before it’s delivered. 

Your sponsored child enjoys reading your letter and writes a reply, with a little help from an adult if they need it. Their reply to your eLetter usually arrives in your My World Vision account within 1-3 months, though delivery timeframes can vary depending on circumstances in each community.

Sometimes things can happen out of our control that could delay you hearing from your sponsored child. If you have any questions about your correspondence,  please call us on 13 32 40 and we’ll be happy to help.  

Prefer to put pen to paper? You can also send a letter in the mail. You’ll find handy tips for letter writing in My World Vision or see “What should I write to my sponsored child about?” on this page.  

When you send a letter in the post, your sponsored child’s reply will usually also arrive in the mail. Depending on the arrangements in your sponsored child’s community, you may also receive a copy of the reply in digital form, in your My World Vision account. Please allow 2-5 months for your reply to arrive. 

When you become a sponsor, you’ll receive an introductory letter from your sponsored child within the first three months. But after that, it’s up to you if you’d like to keep the conversation going by writing a letter or eLetter. Sometimes an adult will help your sponsored child write their reply – this can be for a range of reasons including language barriers and literacy levels.

If you send an eLetter, you can expect your sponsored child’s reply to arrive in your My World Vision account, usually within 1-3 months. If you send a letter in the post, your reply will also arrive in the mail (and may also appear in your online account, depending on the arrangements in each community). Replies to posted mail usually take 2-5 months to arrive.  

Please be aware that delivery timeframes can vary. It can take a little time for World Vision staff to translate and deliver your correspondence. And internet and postal services can be less reliable in developing countries. 

Sometimes things can happen out of our control that could delay you hearing from your sponsored child. If you haven’t received a reply within a reasonable amount of time please call us on 13 32 40 and we’ll be happy to help. 

It can be exciting sharing your child sponsorship with friends and loved ones, and we encourage you to spread the word! But it’s important to follow some guidelines to keep sponsored children safe and protect their privacy.

The best thing you can do before sharing your sponsorship news is check how to safely share your sponsored child’s information online . It’s a short read that explains what can and can’t be shared online, with simple steps to follow. In most cases, you’re welcome to share updates, photos and videos of your sponsored child and their community via social media. 

Some sponsored children live in a country with special rules, meaning their photos can’t be shared online at all – to protect children’s interests and wellbeing. But you can still share updates about their community. If your sponsored child lives in one of these restricted areas, it’ll be noted under their photo on your My World Vision page. If you’re not sure which rules apply to you, please check with us.

What can be shared online (if your sponsored child’s country doesn’t have restrictions):

• photos and videos of your sponsored child and their community provided to you by World Vision (special rules apply for photos you collect during sponsorship visits);
• excerpts of letters and cards from your sponsored child (without last names and addresses);
• your sponsored child’s first name, age, country, language, hobbies, chores and grade level at school; and
• your sponsored child’s general health status (excluding sensitive details).

What can’t be shared online:

• your sponsored child’s surname and sponsorship ID number;
• your sponsored child’s parents’ first names, surnames and occupations
• your sponsored child’s address, school name and address and community name;
• your sponsored child’s height, weight, and specific medical conditions or disabilities;
• your sponsored child’s religion; and
• images that are geotagged to your sponsored child’s location.

This information reveals too much about your sponsored child’s identity and can put them at risk.

If you have any questions about sharing information about your sponsored child, please don’t hesitate to call us on 13 32 40 or chat with us online.

It can be exciting to get in touch with your sponsored child. That’s why we make it quick and easy for you to send a card or letter, either digitally or in the mail.

Please don’t contact your sponsored child via social networking sites such as Facebook because it can pose problems that may put your sponsored child’s safety and wellbeing at risk:

• It can put you and your sponsored child in a difficult position – people may pressure your sponsored child to ask for gifts, money or other favours.
• Others might access your sponsored child’s social media account, which means that your correspondence and details may not be kept private.
• There can be misunderstandings because of differences in language and culture.
• A lack of safeguards on social media can lead to inappropriate communication.

We encourage you to connect with your sponsored child through World Vision’s letter and card services. You can write your sponsored child a letter (they love hearing from their sponsors in this way) or send an eLetter quickly and easily through your My World Vision account.

You’ll also benefit from World Vision’s translation of your correspondence, and we’ll take steps to keep your personal details private. We’ve put together some helpful guidelines about how to write to your sponsored child.

If your sponsored child or their family contact you through social media, please don’t respond. Instead, call us on 13 32 40 and we can follow up with the sponsored child and community, educating them about the risks of communicating this way and why we use channels such as letters and eLetters instead.

Many sponsors enjoy sending a gift to their sponsored child. You’re welcome to send inexpensive gifts that fit into a business (DL) envelope. You might like to send paper-based gifts such as drawings or photos. Small items such as bookmarks, postcards and stickers are also great options. 

We understand that you may want to send your sponsored child something special.  But we ask you not to send parcels or large gifts because it can have negative effects:

• World Vision’s office in your sponsored child’s country can’t pay the customs or delivery costs. 
• Gifts can cause tension amongst family and community members. 
• No matter how well meant, the gift may be inappropriate, culturally or otherwise. 
• The item could easily be stolen in the mail.

If you have any questions about what can be sent to your sponsored child, please call us on 13 32 40.

While we understand some sponsors would love to give more, we ask that you don’t send money directly to your sponsored child because it can have negative effects:

• Sending money to an individual child and/or their family doesn’t contribute to the long-term development goals of the sponsorship program.
• Our field offices are not equipped to handle funds sent to them directly from sponsors.
• As with gifts, sending money may cause tension amongst family and community members.
• In some countries it’s against the law to receive and send foreign currency.

By sponsoring a child, you're already doing the best thing for a community.

Instead, you might consider sending your child a letter or eLetter to let them know you care.  

Yes. Many sponsors add visiting their sponsored child to their overseas trip plans and find it’s an exciting and life-changing experience!

Nothing equals seeing firsthand the difference you’re making in your sponsored child’s life through visiting their community.

“I’ve realised how lucky I am. Every time we took a drink of water, we just took it for granted. Every time we snuggled up under our warm, cosy bed we took it for granted. It’s changed me forever.” - 11-year-old Anna Plaistowe speaks about the amazing experience of visiting her family’s sponsored child in Cambodia.

World Vision is committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of children, families and communities with whom we work. So there are some important details you’ll need to be aware of before planning your visit and booking your travel dates.

Please call us on 13 32 40 or email us at least three months before your intended visit date, so we can discuss the possibility of a visit with you.

If this sounds like something you’d like to do, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide to visiting your sponsored child to help you with your planning.

No. Many sponsors love the idea of spending time with their sponsored child. But World Vision doesn’t facilitate bringing sponsored children to Australia for visits, as it's not in their best interests.

The focus of child sponsorship is improving the lives of children as the community around them is strengthened. For sponsored children, leaving home and travelling overseas could be very costly and disruptive to their family life and education, and put their wellbeing at risk.

But we do encourage you to make the journey yourself. When you take up the exciting opportunity to visit your sponsored child you can see firsthand how your support is making a difference for them and their community. Many sponsors have described their visit as an experience they'll never forget!

You can also share your life with your sponsored child in other meaningful ways – through letters, cards and photos. That’s part of the joy of child sponsorship.

No. We appreciate sponsors’ generous attitude towards helping their sponsored children. But World Vision doesn’t organise adoptions, nor are sponsored children available through other parties.

Your child sponsorship can make a great difference for a child right where they live. That’s because when you sponsor a child with World Vision, your donations help to transform their community, while they continue to benefit from the love and care of their own family and friends.

When sponsored children stay in their communities they can also grow up to become champions of change – as they’re empowered to help themselves and others overcome poverty into the future. 

Your child sponsorship can make a great difference for a child right where they live. That's because when you sponsor a child with World Vision, your donations help to transform their community, while they continue to benefit from the love and care of their own family and friends. If any of your details change please chat live or call us on 13 32 40.

Sponsored children and their families can decide to move out of the sponsorship area for a range of different reasons that can benefit the child, such as to reunite with family members, or pursue work and other opportunities. Generally, families make this decision with a great deal of care and consideration.

If your sponsored child leaves the community, we’ll notify you as soon as possible. If your sponsorship comes to an end, we’ll automatically introduce you to a new child to sponsor and your support will continue. If you’d prefer to choose a different child to sponsor, please be sure to contact us on 13 32 40. We’re also here to help if you’d like to make changes to your sponsorship or cancel your support.

We’d really encourage you to involve your younger family members in child sponsorship. In fact, many sponsors tell us that sharing child sponsorship with children is a fun and educational experience. 

Children can connect with sponsored children in a special way, through sending letters and pictures. Children can read progress updates and news about World Vision’s global work, helping them to discover different cultures and ways of life. They can also learn the value of giving to others in need, and gain a greater appreciation for the good things in their own lives.

If you’d like to register for child sponsorship in a child’s name, we can arrange that. Please call us on 13 32 40 and we’ll be happy to help. We can arrange for an adult to also be listed on the sponsorship for payment purposes – so that you receive an annual tax statement.

No, it’s not possible to sponsor an Australian child with World Vision. You can help to make a lasting difference for children and families in Australia by supporting our Australia First Nations Program.

Through this program, World Vision works with many First Nations Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia, partnering with them and supporting them to lead their own development and build on their strengths. We do this at the national level by engaging with government, and at a local level by partnering with communities in metropolitan, regional and remote parts of the country. The focus of this work includes early childhood development, middle childhood, youth development, leadership and governance, and community responses to family and domestic violence.

You can read more about the Australia First Nations Program and how you can get involved as a supporter.

World Vision Child Sponsorship is your opportunity to help change a child’s world. When you sponsor a child with World Vision you become aligned with a specific child living in poverty.

Using your donations, we identify the causes of children’s vulnerability and work with their communities to carry out development projects designed to address them. Your $48 a month means life-changing access to clean water, food, health, education and more, helping to address the root causes of poverty and creating transformation and sustainable change in a child’s life.

Your regular sponsorship donations are pooled with those of other sponsors around the world for maximum impact and efficiency.

Because of this community-focused solution, for every child you help, four more children benefit. As your sponsored child gets better access to the things they need to thrive - their friends, family and community do too.

All of this happens while you have the opportunity to build a relationship with a child through letters, photos and updates about them and their community.

We’ll send you updates about the exciting changes you’re supporting in your sponsored child’s life and community. You can also exchange letters with your sponsored child if you wish. Many sponsors tell us it’s the highlight of their sponsorship!

You’ll find more information on this page or read more about how child sponsorship works and what you can expect.

When you sponsor a child, you can help to change their world. World Vision’s Child Sponsorship Program helps children living in disadvantaged regions to escape poverty.

Experience has taught us that the best way to change a child’s life is to transform the world they live in – their family, their community and the local area.

As a child sponsor, you partner with us as we work with families, community groups and governments to break the cycle of poverty and create long-term change. Using your donations, we identify the causes of the child’s poverty and vulnerability, and create development projects designed to address them.

Our goal is that all children in sponsorship communities will benefit from our work, which can include improved healthcare, education, water, sanitation and food. There are so many beautiful stories of sponsored children who’ve grown up healthy and happy – thanks to generous people like you.

Depending on child and community needs, sponsorship projects may focus on:

We’ll call you to answer any questions you may have.

Your sponsored child will send you a letter (within 12 weeks). We’ll give you tips and hints for writing back.

You can access your My World Vision account. It's set up just for you, with regular updates about the impact of your giving. You can also write to your sponsored child, update your details and view your tax statements.

During your sponsorship

• We'll post regular news, videos and photo updates to your My World Vision account. Read about your sponsored child’s activities, health and education. And see the progress you’re supporting in their community.  
• Quickly and easily connect with your sponsored child. You can post a letter, or send an eLetter straight from your My World Vision account.   
• Consider visiting your sponsored child – it can be a life-changing experience!
• You’ll be kept in the loop with emails about child sponsorship and other World Vision news.
• On special occasions, including birthdays and Christmas, we’ll make it easy for you to send a card. (Sponsored children love to hear from their sponsors!)
• Your sponsored child will send you a message at Christmas.
• You’ll receive annual progress reports about your sponsored child’s health and education, and community achievements you’ve supported.
• And we’ll send you an annual tax statement in July detailing your donations in the past financial year.

Every community is different – what you receive and its timing may vary depending on your sponsored child’s unique context. If you write to your sponsored child, we recommend you allow at least three months between letters for delivery and response.

Yes! Our experience shows World Vision Child Sponsorship is effective – it really does change the lives of vulnerable children and their families. Because of our community-focused solutions, for every child you help, four more children benefit, too.*

World Vision recently evaluated eight of its child sponsorship programs around the world. The findings showed notable improvements in children’s wellbeing in all of the programs. This included positive changes in the areas of education, health, clean water access and child protection.

There are many stories of former sponsored children who’ve been lifted out of poverty, thanks to sponsors’ generosity towards them and their community.

When you sponsor a child, you’ll receive updates about their progress and the changes you’re supporting in their community. You also have the option of exchanging letters with your sponsored child – a great way to encourage them and learn more about their life.

Many sponsors enjoy visiting their sponsored child to see firsthand the difference they’re making. See “Can I visit my sponsored child?” on this page for more information.

We’re passionate about our work to lift vulnerable children out of poverty – you can help to make it possible. If you’d like to know more about how child sponsorship works, find more information on this page, chat live or call us on 13 32 40. 

*Based on 1,000 development programs in 50 countries across all seven of World Vision’s regions. The data is based on averages of the number of sponsored and registered children plus the number of additional children who directly benefited from World Vision’s programming and are tracked using World Vision’s monitoring system.

You can sponsor a child for $48 per month. When you sponsor a child, you can help break the cycle of poverty. $48 a month means life-changing access to food, water, health and education, helping to bring lasting change to children and their families.

You can choose to make your donations monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly.

You can also choose a payment option that suits you – for more details see “How do I make sponsorship payments?” 

You can choose from a range of flexible payment options. Many sponsors choose automatic credit card or bank account deductions, since they’re easy and reliable options. We’re not able to accept BPay payments. But you can pay by cheque or money order if you’d prefer.

You can also decide if you’d like to contribute monthly, quarterly, or annually – whatever works best for you.

If you have a query about your child sponsorship payments or arrangements, please call us on 13 32 40 and we’d be happy to help.

Sponsors often ask us if they can give more to help their sponsored child – we appreciate this generosity that can help make life-changing work possible.

There is a fixed donation amount of $48 per month for each individual child sponsorship (paid monthly, quarterly or annually). But many sponsors choose to round up their donations by contributing an additional amount – either by sponsoring another child or giving to other programs that support children and families. 

Here are some options to consider if you’d also like to give an extra amount:

• You may like to sponsor an additional child. In some cases, you can sponsor more than one child from the same community. Or, you may prefer to sponsor a child from another country altogether. If you’d like help with this, please chat with us online or call us on 13 32 40.

• You can contribute to our Child Rescue program. Your donation can help provide support to children living in dangerous situations of child labour and exploitation through prevention, protection and rehabilitation.

• You can help save lives and relieve the suffering of children and families affected by conflict or natural disaster by donating to support our work in emergencies. With your support, our teams around the world can help to protect lives, restore dignity and renew hope in communities affected by emergencies.

• You might choose to support a specific area of community development work you’re passionate about. You can choose to contribute to work focused on education, health, water or livelihoods. 

• You can contribute to our Australia Program. In Australia, we work in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and communities, as they lead their own development and build on their strengths. Our focus is education for life, supporting early-years development for pre-schoolers, strengthening parenting skills, building youth resilience and developing community leadership initiatives that support meaningful and lasting change.

• You can give a donation to where it’s most needed – and contribute to a broad range of work including disaster relief and support for areas not suited to child sponsorship. This is a great way for you to help bring about long-term, sustainable change for communities around the world. 

If you’d like to add one of these donations to your child sponsorship payments, please call us on 13 32 40 or chat with us online and we’ll help you set up the contribution and amount of your choice – either as a regular or one-off payment. 

When you sponsor a child, your financial support can make a lasting difference, as it helps both them and other children by transforming the world around them. Communities are empowered to lift themselves out of poverty, so children grow up happy and healthy.   
   
Your giving supports long-term projects that focus on achieving the sustained wellbeing of children, especially the most vulnerable. Your regular donations will help your sponsored child and their community and may also support other vulnerable children in our sponsorship communities worldwide.  

Your regular sponsorship donations are combined with those of other sponsors and donors, for maximum impact and efficiency. This helps to ensure consistent support for your sponsored child and their community, as well as other sponsorship communities around the world. This means your donations go much further. Based on the needs identified, your donations provide stable funding for long-term projects that benefit whole communities.  

Collectively, child sponsors’ support enables World Vision to provide communities with benefits such as quality education, healthcare, nutritious food and clean water. This life-changing work happens through Area Programs – each area is usually home to around 20,000 people or more.   
   
When you sponsor a child, we’ll send you updates about the exciting changes you’re helping to make possible in their life and community. 

Our work is made possible by the support of generous Australians.

We work hard to make sure all resources are used as efficiently and effectively as possible to bring maximum impact to children in need.

84% of total operating expenses go to field programs and advocacy work – helping families and communities.

We take financial accountability very seriously. Our financial statements are externally audited (in the same way and to the same standards which apply to Australian companies) and our annual reports are prepared to internationally acknowledged standards of transparency for not-for-profits.

For detailed information, you can read where the funds go or check out our annual reports.

 

Yes. Your sponsorship donations support projects and initiatives that help your sponsored child and their community cope with the challenges of COVID-19. In each community where we work, World Vision staff and volunteers are closely monitoring the coronavirus situation and adjusting programs to respond to changing needs. 

Now more than ever, vulnerable communities need support to help protect children and their families from COVID-19 and the social and economic hardship it can create. With ongoing support from child sponsors, we have been on the ground helping communities prepare for and stop the spread of the virus from the very first days. 

In the immediate term, our project work is focused specifically on providing essentials like clean water, to enable effective handwashing; nutritious food, to help parents provide for their families while they’re unable to work in lockdown; healthcare and supplies; educational opportunities, even when schools are closed; and so much more.

In due course, we will refocus on other critical areas of need, specific to each community, to continue helping the most vulnerable children thrive – both now and into the future.

No. When you sponsor a child, you’re not entering into a contract but making a voluntary ongoing contribution. 

As a child sponsor, you can enter an agreement to set up regular, automatic payments if that works best for you. We’ll give you more information about your options and how this works.  

We encourage you to view child sponsorship as a long-term partnership. But if your circumstances change we can help you adjust or cancel your sponsorship donations at any time, for any reason. For more information see “What if I need to cancel?” or call us on 13 32 40.

Your sponsorship payments may be tax deductible, depending on your personal tax position.

As a sponsor, you’ll receive an annual tax statement detailing all your donations in the past financial year. To save costs we don’t issue receipts for individual payments unless requested.

As a sponsor, you’ll also have access to a My World Vision online account, which allows you to quickly and easily access your tax statements and update your personal details.

We encourage children and teenagers to get involved in child sponsorship, with their parents' or guardians’ support. But please note these important points for younger supporters.

If you’re aged 16 or under you’ll need your parent or guardian’s consent for World Vision Australia to collect and use your personal information for child sponsorship (as per our Privacy Policy). Your parent or guardian will need to sign up for the sponsorship first, agree to all terms and authorise the payment themselves. They can then call us on 13 32 40 and transfer the sponsorship into your name. (Please see the note for parents and guardians below for more details.)

If you’re aged over 16 (but under 18) and hold a debit card in your own name, you can sign up to sponsor a child using that card. But if you don’t have your own debit card, your parent or guardian will need to sign up and pay for the sponsorship in their name. They can then call us on 13 32 40 and ask us to put the sponsorship in your name instead.

Parents and guardians, if you’d like to set up a sponsorship in your child's name, please call us on 13 32 40 and we can organise that for you. In this situation, please note the parent or guardian is solely responsible for payment and the child's participation in sponsorship. We encourage parents and guardians to have an ongoing conversation with their child(ren) about safe internet use, including the sharing of photos and personal information during the sponsorship journey.

Yes, we’d be happy to help you do this. But there are some steps you’ll need to take first. Please see ‘I’m under 18. Can I sponsor a child?’ above for more information. Or call us on 13 32 40 and we can help.  

The selection of children for sponsorship is a respectful process that happens in partnership with their community.

We work with community representatives to identify the local areas where the needs are greatest and the community then chooses children from those areas for sponsorship. Sponsored children are chosen from the most vulnerable families and being sponsored often gives them increased visibility and importance in the community.

Participation in all World Vision programs is voluntary, and sponsored children and their families choose to be a part of the program. We always respect the rights of families to make decisions about this.

Your sponsored child, along with other children in their community, benefits from the changes made possible by your donations. 

Your sponsored child and their family are part of a World Vision program that takes place in a defined area – usually home to around 20,000 people or more. We call this an Area Program.

To start an Area Program, first an area is identified where children and families are suffering because of poverty. We work with community representatives to identify local areas that have the greatest need.

Afterwards, the decision to commence a sponsorship program is made with the community. An assessment is carried out by local World Vision staff alongside community representatives, local authorities and other non-government organisations in the area.

Before we commence a sponsorship program, the following things must be in place:
• community understanding and commitment to the program; and
• a basic level of security and stability in the community, access to remote parts of the community and basic communications so that we can regularly visit and monitor children’s wellbeing.

We work with the local people to help them develop and carry out projects to improve children’s wellbeing in the long term. That’s where your support as a child sponsor can make such a difference – supporting projects and activities that can transform the world where your sponsored child lives.

Yes. When you sponsor a child, you become a special part of their life journey – World Vision assigns only one sponsor per sponsored child.

Should your sponsorship end for any reason then your sponsored child may be given the opportunity to connect with a new sponsor.

World Vision works in some of the poorest countries in the world where the need for help is greatest.

World Vision Australia is part of the World Vision International Partnership that works in four regions: Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

The Partnership operates in more than 90 countries and, as a whole, is one of the world’s largest non-governmental, humanitarian and development agencies. You can read more about the Partnership’s work in our Annual Report.

Here’s some information about World Vision's work and history.

Your support of this work can help change lives. Children in many countries are waiting for a sponsor now – find a child to sponsor here.

Or you can call us on 13 32 40 if you’d like to discuss your options for child sponsorship.

World Vision Australia also works in partnership with Indigenous communities in Australia, through supporting early childhood development, youth leadership and governance programs.

 There are many ways your business or organisation can partner with World Vision Australia to tackle poverty and contribute to the wellbeing of children and families around the world. 

Your options for involvement in child sponsorship include:

• corporate child sponsorship – your business or organisation may choose to sponsor one or more children. You’ll receive information about each sponsored child and, like individual sponsors, have the opportunity to visit them in their community.

• a Workplace Giving Program that can deliver benefits both for employers and their staff. Employees can opt in to make a regular pre-tax donation from their pay (supporting child sponsorship or other programs), providing an immediate tax benefit. Employers may also choose to match employees’ donations or make one-off corporate charity donations.   

There are also other ways your organisation can support the work of World Vision including:

• making a one-off or regular donation to support life-changing work in a range of areas including health, water, education, livelihoods and emergencies. 

• donating products to help children, families and communities in need around the world. Taking action in this way can benefit both the developing world and your business. 

To find out about opportunities for your organisation or business to get involved please email us at corporate.enquiry@worldvision.com.au.