A guide to giving

Making financial contributions

Contributions to Compassion’s work can be made by direct debit, credit card, cheque or money order.

Automatic contributions are safe, easy, convenient and cost effective for you and Compassion. You can arrange for us to direct debit your bank, building society or credit card account (Bankcard, MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Club) at a frequency that suits you, such as monthly, quarterly, biannually or yearly. This is our preferred method for sponsorship contributions, as it can save us a significant amount of money in fees and administration costs each year. If you prefer to give your financial contribution by cheque or by money order, please make them payable to the Compassion Overseas Aid and Development Fund and consider donating three, six, or even 12 months at a time, as this will help us reduce administration costs. You can also make one-off or regular contributions to any of Compassion’s funds or appeals, or give your child a financial gift.

Managing financial difficulties

Your relationship with your sponsored child is very valuable. Not only do they receive the financial assistance that they so desperately need, but they also receive ongoing emotional support through your letters and prayers, which is vital to their ongoing, holistic development. Therefore, Compassion will do everything we can to help you continue your sponsorship, even when you are experiencing financial difficulties.

Because we understand that sometimes personal or financial circumstances can make your monthly financial commitment very difficult, we have various financial assistance options that can be customised according to your individual needs and circumstances.

If you are experiencing financial difficulties that affect your current sponsorship commitment, or feel you might benefit from one of our options for sponsorship assistance, please contact us directly by calling 1300 22 44 53 or email us at compassion@compassion.com.au

Compassion’s tax-deductibility

All contributions of $2 or more to the Compassion Overseas Aid and Development Fund are tax-deductible. Your Annual contribution statement for automatic contributions is issued in July in order to minimise administration and postage costs. Receipts for once-only contributions will be sent out two weeks after the end of that payment month.

Please make sure you keep these receipts for tax purposes.

Because of Australian taxation laws, Compassion is unable to offer tax-deductibility for donations to the Leadership Development Program and Bibles.

Compassion’s financial integrity

For every dollar of donations that Compassion receives, approximately 80 cents is used for:

The development, delivery and supervision of child development programs
The purchase of goods and services for the direct benefit of the children in our programs
To inform and update sponsors and facilitate their personal relationship with their sponsored child.

Approximately 20 cents is allocated to cover all administration and fundraising costs in Australia.

One hundred per cent of child, family and project gifts are sent through Compassion to the child development centre, where staff members assist the children and their families to purchase appropriate goods.

Financial and organisational integrity is at the very core of Compassion’s ministry, and we are committed to making ourselves transparent and accountable to our supporters. Therefore, Compassion Australia is an organisational partner with the Fundraising Institute of Australia and complies with the standards of Missions Interlink. We are governed by a Board of Directors and each year, we are independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers and produce an annual report, which provides details of our operations and financial performance. This reporting process is submitted to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to enable us to maintain our tax deductibility status. Copies of Compassion Australia's financial statements are available on request.

Compassion Australia is also a covenant member of Compassion International, which regularly receives top ratings from Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy, and monitors Compassion Australia to ensure we comply with the highest standards. Independent and internal audits of our work in the field are conducted to ensure support contributions are being used efficiently and with integrity.

Thank you

Thank you for your feedback. One of our team will respond to you within 2 working days. Thank you for your patience and for partnering with Compassion to release children from poverty in Jesus name.