Child Sponsorship

Child sponsorship software helps nonprofits make larger impacts

Child sponsorship software can help nonprofits expand their efforts to assist young people who are in need of financial and emotional care throughout the world. Kids fight myriad battles every day depending on their unique situation. They often rely on outside sources to help improve their situation and ultimately, give them a better life.

Determining the best approach to sponsorship
According to a study conducted by the United Kingdom’s University of Hertfordshire, all 1,137 Palestinian children surveyed had experienced at least three traumatic incidents growing up in war-stricken Gaza. Some of the most common events included humiliation, either of themselves or witnessing it in others; hearing explosions or bombing; attending a funeral for someone killed during warfare; and gunfire. A more recent study found that Palestinian children in the West Bank city of Hebron showed moderate to severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. These children of Gaza receive the brunt of the crises occurring in their country; they are deprived of fresh drinking water and sanitary living conditions.

The response from many people looking to offer aid and funding is to sponsor a single child in a war-stricken place. However, a book written by Brad Watson, a senior lecturer at the School of Humanities and Creative Arts at the Avondale School of Higher Education, dissects the unique challenges presented by child sponsorship. In “Child Sponsorship: Exploring Pathways to a Brighter Future,” Watson re-iterated that the most important thing nonprofits can do for kids in need is support their communities, families and the institutions around their neighborhoods. Becoming more involved in the development of sustainable and productive communities is a much more effective step in the journey toward ending global poverty.

Outstanding community example
In Dubai, the Al Noor Training Center for Children with Special Needs has found a unique method of providing funding for dozens of children who cannot afford attendance. The Gulf News reported that although tuition is subsidized, the facility cannot pay for all the children whose families are unable to cover costs. The children attending Al Noor exhibit a range of qualifying physical and cognitive afflictions.

The training center developed the Al Noor Child Sponsorship Programme in response to the lagging funds. Corporations and community members choose a child in need to sponsor and then donate an amount that will help them either pay an entire year’s tuition, fees only or subsidy expenses only. Though this does not directly follow the model that Watson suggests works best in his book, it incorporates a larger sense of community into the fundraising process. When people come together to help children, the results are more impactful.

Nonprofits looking to have a greater effect on the troubling conditions children face around the world on a daily basis should invest in child sponsorship software. A program that can assist with event set-up, missionary work and volunteer management is important. Plus, a seamless integration into a nonprofit’s website is essential to make the process as simple as possible for donors to get involved.