Christian Children's Fund (CCF) is an international child-sponsorship group based in Richmond, Virginia that provides assistance to communities in many developing countries. CCF was conceived in 1938 by a Presbyterian minister, Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke, to aide Chinese orphans in 1939 during the Sino-Japanese War. CCF provides services to children, most funded by individual contributors, in the form of monthly child sponsorships. In addition, CCF 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 notable for its television commercials on major networks in the United States. The commercials include photographs & video of impoverished children in developing countries.
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Sponsorship Model
In Christian Children's Fund's current sponsorship model, individual donors contribute funds on a regular basis which are combined with those of other sponsors and applied to an entire community. [1] Christian Children's Fund encourages sponsors to correspond with children in the sponsored community.
Efficiency and Financials
Charity Navigator[2] gives CCF an overall rating of three out of a possible four stars. For 2006, CCF allocated it's $206,105,391 in revenue as follows:
- Programs - 80.6%
- Fund raising - 8.1%
- Administration - 11.2%
Charity Navigator lists CCF having $45,446,931 in assets. CCF's President, John F. Shultz, received $274,276 in compensation in 2006. [3]
Publications
CCF 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 two to three months via e-mail.
Issues
In May of 2004, 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.[4] 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 Gospel." 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."
References
- ^ Christian Children's Fund FAQ - How does Christian Children's Fund use the $24.00 that I send for my sponsored child?. christianchildrensfund.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- ^ Christian Children's Fund. charitynavigator.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- ^ Christian Children's Fund. charitynavigator.org. Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- ^ The Use of the Word 'Christian' by Christian Children's Fund is Misleading. ministrywatch.org (a program of Wall Watchers) (May 2004). Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- A Book About Children: Christian Children's Fund 1938-1991, Larry Tise, 1983, Hartland Publishing.
