Christian Children's Fund
Encyclopedia
ChildFund, formerly known as Christian Children's Fund and China's Children Fund, is an international child sponsorship
group based in Richmond, Virginia
, United States
. It provides assistance to deprived, excluded and vulnerable children in 30 developing countries, including the United States.
The organization is known for its TV commercials on major networks in the United States. The commercials include photographs and videos of impoverished children in developing countries, and often feature actor Alan Sader
. A previous long-running series of advertisements had featured actress Sally Struthers
as spokeswoman, and its print ads around that time also had All in the Family
co-star Rob Reiner
.
. As the mission expanded to other countries, the name was changed on to Christian Children's Fund.
On , Christian Children's Fund changed its name to ChildFund International.
In June 2002, ChildFund International and 11 other international child sponsorship
organizations founded a worldwide network, ChildFund Alliance.The ChildFund Alliance comprises twelve organizations that partner to improve the lives of children and their families in 55 countries. Alliance members meet organizational standards of governance, fundraising and fiscal responsibility. The partnership fosters opportunities for pooled resources and collaborative activities to reach more children in need. The ChildFund Alliance includes the following members:
They also provide trainings to women and teachers so as to give them a proper understanding of the right way to take care and to educate children. This is extremely important because they both play a very crucial role in influencing child’s decision to receive education. There are also child protection policies which helped to prevent children from discrimination, exploitation, prostitution, sex trafficking, abuse and neglect. These factors are highly relevant to child labour as they affect the inducement of children to work at young ages. The most recent campaign brought up by the ChildFund International would be the "Children First" programme which was launched in April 2007 and aimed to further equipped the children in Sri Lanka with better protection and rights. Better protection is one of the effective ways to curb child labour. All these are done to educate the children of other the better alternatives to child labour and how they can protect themselves from further exploitation.
gives ChildFund a rating of two out of four stars. For 2009, ChildFund allocated its $217,412,844 in revenue as follows:
Charity Navigator lists ChildFund having $50,478,141 in assets. ChildFund's President, Anne Lynam Goddard, received $255,824 in compensation in 2009.
." A spokesperson for the group said that the organization does not proselytize any person to a faith, rather its name is derived from its founder, a Presbyterian minister who believed in "Christian principles," such as "love thy neighbor as thyself."
In 2008, CCF was reported to have turned down a $17,398 donation from GenCon Live Game Auction, which took place in August at Gen Con
, a role-playing and board games convention. The donation was made in honor of Gary Gygax
, who died in 2008, and who was a frequent donor to CCF. Some individuals within the gaming community expressed disappointment about the decision; prominent author and game designer Rich Burlew
, for example, called it "insulting," and the response by gamers led both the CCF and Gen Con to issue official statements explaining what had happened. When questioned, the CCF replied that reasons for the rejection included "the possible misinterpretation of CCF’s role in regard to the event." ... "The information presented to us gave the appearance that CCF (the organization) was an endorser or supporter of the event instead of a beneficiary." A later statement issued by a representative of Gen Con explained that Gen Con had contacted CCF before the convention was held in August, and asked permission to use CCF promotional materials, which they believed CCF declined to provide because of Gen Con's association with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons
; after that, according to the statement, Gen Con chose to support a different charity in 2008 before becoming clear of the charity's actual position; at which point it was too late to change.
Child sponsorship
Child sponsorship allows an individual, typically in a developed country, to sponsor, or fund a child in a developing country until the child becomes self-sufficient. This could mean financially supporting the education, health or security of the sponsored child, or in some cases all of these...
group based in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It provides assistance to deprived, excluded and vulnerable children in 30 developing countries, including the United States.
Mission
ChildFund's mission is centered on its belief that the well-being of all children leads to the well-being of the world. The organization works to empower children to thrive throughout all stages of life and become leaders of enduring change. ChildFund provides services to children, most funded by individual contributors, in the form of monthly child sponsorships. In addition, ChildFund says it receives grants and donations that support vocational training, literacy training, food distribution, educational programs, early childhood development, health and immunization programs, nutritional programs, water and sanitation development, and emergency relief in both man-made and natural disasters.The organization is known for its TV commercials on major networks in the United States. The commercials include photographs and videos of impoverished children in developing countries, and often feature actor Alan Sader
Alan Sader
Alan Sader is an American film and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for being the television spokesperson for ChildFund International , an international child sponsorship charity. He has been the spokesman for the charity since 1992...
. A previous long-running series of advertisements had featured actress Sally Struthers
Sally Struthers
Sally Ann Struthers is an American actress and spokeswoman, best-known for her roles as Gloria Stivic on All in the Family, for which she won two Emmy awards, and as Babette on Gilmore Girls.-Personal life:...
as spokeswoman, and its print ads around that time also had All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...
co-star Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner
Robert "Rob" Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, writer, and political activist.As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence as Archie and Edith Bunker's son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic, on All in the Family. That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s...
.
History
ChildFund was founded on as China's Children Fund by Presbyterian minister Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke to aid Chinese children displaced by the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. As the mission expanded to other countries, the name was changed on to Christian Children's Fund.
On , Christian Children's Fund changed its name to ChildFund International.
In June 2002, ChildFund International and 11 other international child sponsorship
Child sponsorship
Child sponsorship allows an individual, typically in a developed country, to sponsor, or fund a child in a developing country until the child becomes self-sufficient. This could mean financially supporting the education, health or security of the sponsored child, or in some cases all of these...
organizations founded a worldwide network, ChildFund Alliance.The ChildFund Alliance comprises twelve organizations that partner to improve the lives of children and their families in 55 countries. Alliance members meet organizational standards of governance, fundraising and fiscal responsibility. The partnership fosters opportunities for pooled resources and collaborative activities to reach more children in need. The ChildFund Alliance includes the following members:
- Barnfonden (Sweden)
- BØRNEfonden (Denmark)
- ChildFund Australia
- ChildFund Ireland
- ChildFund Japan
- ChildFund New Zealand
- ChildFund International
- Christian Children's Fund of Canada
- ChildFund Deutschland
- ChildFund Korea
- Taiwan Fund for Children and Families
- Un Enfant Par La Main (France)
Sponsorship model
Individual sponsors contribute funds on a monthly basis. Sponsor funds are combined to benefit an entire community. ChildFund encourages sponsors to correspond with children in the sponsored community through letters and photographs.ChildFund International in Sri Lanka
Since 1985, ChildFund International has been providing child-sponsorship in Sri Lanka. Despite its primary focus which is targeted on children, it has also provided much assistance in many other areas such as providing safe water storage containers for more than 3000 families after the tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka. Child Centered Spaces (CCS) were built and located in tsunami areas and area with much conflicts and instability so as to provide an avenue for children to turn to and to provide them with a formal education system. In addition, they have reached out to more than a thousand children, providing them with many opportunities in areas such as education, sports, health and nutrition.They also provide trainings to women and teachers so as to give them a proper understanding of the right way to take care and to educate children. This is extremely important because they both play a very crucial role in influencing child’s decision to receive education. There are also child protection policies which helped to prevent children from discrimination, exploitation, prostitution, sex trafficking, abuse and neglect. These factors are highly relevant to child labour as they affect the inducement of children to work at young ages. The most recent campaign brought up by the ChildFund International would be the "Children First" programme which was launched in April 2007 and aimed to further equipped the children in Sri Lanka with better protection and rights. Better protection is one of the effective ways to curb child labour. All these are done to educate the children of other the better alternatives to child labour and how they can protect themselves from further exploitation.
Efficiency and financials
Charity NavigatorCharity Navigator
Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...
gives ChildFund a rating of two out of four stars. For 2009, ChildFund allocated its $217,412,844 in revenue as follows:
- Program Expenses 81.0%
- Administrative Expenses 8.2%
- Fundraising Expenses 10.6%
Charity Navigator lists ChildFund having $50,478,141 in assets. ChildFund's President, Anne Lynam Goddard, received $255,824 in compensation in 2009.
Publications
ChildFund releases a number of publications every quarter to six months. It has three: ChildWorld magazine, ChildWire e-newsletter, and an annual report. The newsletter is sent to subscribers every month via e-mail.Issues
In May 2004, ChildFund (then known as Christian Children's Fund, or CCF) became the subject of some contention when Christian charity watchdog group Wall Watchers sent a "donor alert" via e-mail to about 2,500 subscribers, informing them that the name of the charity—Christian Children's Fund—was designed to intentionally mislead its donors into thinking it was a faith-based missionary group. Howard Leonard, a chief executive of Wall Watchers, was quoted by a magazine as saying, "It isn't Christian in the way we look at it. If you're going to be bringing help to these children, you should be bringing the GospelGospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
." A spokesperson for the group said that the organization does not proselytize any person to a faith, rather its name is derived from its founder, a Presbyterian minister who believed in "Christian principles," such as "love thy neighbor as thyself."
In 2008, CCF was reported to have turned down a $17,398 donation from GenCon Live Game Auction, which took place in August at Gen Con
Gen Con
Gen Con is one of the largest and most prominent annual gaming conventions in North America. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card-style games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, board games, live action role-playing games, collectible card games, non-collectible...
, a role-playing and board games convention. The donation was made in honor of Gary Gygax
Gary Gygax
Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....
, who died in 2008, and who was a frequent donor to CCF. Some individuals within the gaming community expressed disappointment about the decision; prominent author and game designer Rich Burlew
Rich Burlew
Rich Burlew is an author, game designer, and graphic designer best known for The Order of the Stick webcomic. He has written several works for Wizards of the Coast's game Dungeons and Dragons...
, for example, called it "insulting," and the response by gamers led both the CCF and Gen Con to issue official statements explaining what had happened. When questioned, the CCF replied that reasons for the rejection included "the possible misinterpretation of CCF’s role in regard to the event." ... "The information presented to us gave the appearance that CCF (the organization) was an endorser or supporter of the event instead of a beneficiary." A later statement issued by a representative of Gen Con explained that Gen Con had contacted CCF before the convention was held in August, and asked permission to use CCF promotional materials, which they believed CCF declined to provide because of Gen Con's association with the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
; after that, according to the statement, Gen Con chose to support a different charity in 2008 before becoming clear of the charity's actual position; at which point it was too late to change.