Financials.

FAQs

• How is my money used at Compassion?

  Children and families who are assisted by Compassion rarely receive cash. Benefits are almost always in the form of goods and services, carefully designed, delivered or purchased according to their needs.

  Sponsoring a child helps them to access medical attention and treatment, good nutrition, education, a safe place to play and learn, the opportunity to know how much God loves them, and much more.

  Local staff from their community are responsible for managing this process and delivering the program, under the oversight of staff from Compassion's national office in that developing country.

  Approximately 80 per cent of donations to Compassion are used for:

  • Developing, delivering and supervising the Child Sponsorship Program
  • Purchasing goods and services for the direct benefit of the children in our programs
  • Informing and updating sponsors and facilitating their personal relationship with their sponsored child
  • Educating the community in Australia

  Approximately 20 per cent are allocated to cover all administration and fundraising costs in Australia. By using a portion of donations for fundraising costs, we are able to assist even more people with a much wider range of development activities. Direct mail appeals and conference presentations are part of our fundraising costs, and they generate financial responses.

  For every dollar spent on fundraising, we receive more than seven times that in return.

  One hundred per cent of family, child development centre, graduation, and child gifts (including birthday gifts) are sent through Compassion to the child development centre, where staff members assist the children and/or families to purchase goods that are appropriate and meet their specific needs. Because of the scale of the gift distribution process at Christmas, 90 per cent of funds donated to the Christmas Appeal are pooled to purchase a Christmas gift for each Compassion assisted child and 10 per cent is used for administration and fundraising costs.

  We do not use child sponsorship funds for community development activities; these are funded through other initiatives such as Critical Needs.

  And your donations to Compassion are tax-deductible (excluding donations to the Bible Fund). Compassion Australia has Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status for its Overseas Aid and Development Fund, as listed on the Australian Business Register under our ABN 67 001 692 566.

  For more information, please contact us.

  You can:

  • Sponsor a Child
  • Give a gift
  • Give to Critical Needs
• If I give to the End of Financial Year Appeal, where will my money go?

  During our annual End of Financial Year Appeal, funds are raised for needs that cannot be met by sponsorship alone. All donations go towards supporting Critical Needs, with a different focus each year. For instance, past appeals have raised money for the Disaster Relief Critical Need, the Infrastructure Critical Need and the Global Food Crisis.

  Learn more:

  • Can my donation be directed to my sponsored child?
• How much money does Compassion spend on advertising?

  Compassion Australia advertises with selected media to help raise awareness for children living in poverty and to engage with both current and potential sponsors. Approximately 20 per cent of funds raised is allocated to administration and fundraising, and approximately 80 per cent is used for the direct benefit of children in our programs. Advertising costs come under the 20 per cent for administration and fundraising.

• How do I know I can trust you with my money?

  We are committed to earning, and keeping, the trust and confidence of our donors and sponsors through complete transparency. Integrity is not only a commitment; it is a value that drives our whole organisation.

  As an organisational partner of the Fundraising Institute of Australia, we comply with the standards of Missions Interlink and we are independently audited annually by Bentleys Brisbane (Audit) Pty Ltd.

  In addition, we have a global internal audit function that routinely monitors financial and operational integrity at child development centres and field offices across the globe. Through these internal audits of project partners, we endeavour to ensure that all programs are meeting minimum standards of financial accountability and programmatic integrity. Any concerns are documented and brought to the attention of staff and management for consideration, action and follow up.

  If you have any questions about how funds are used at Compassion, please contact us.

  You can:

  • Learn more about how funds are used at Compassion
  • Read our annual reports
  • Sponsor a child
  • Make a donation
• Why is Compassion Australia not listed with the Australian Council for International Development?

  Compassion Australia is not a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) because of the church-based nature of our child development programs.

  Relying on private funding rather than government grants allows for a primarily church-to-church model of development. We do place a priority on governance, accountability, stewardship and transparency and, as a result, consider the best fit for our organisation are Christian Ministry Association accreditation, Missions Interlink membership, and Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission financial reporting requirements.

  However, this does not mean Compassion Australia could not obtain ACFID accreditation, which we would do if pursuing government grants.