How Child Sponsorship Donations Are Used
If you have not asked how child sponsorship donations are used when you give money to an organization, you should! We love answering that question. We would like to be transparent in all our dealings, including our finances. Helping Hands Unlimited is committed to that. We are also committed to several key things; first, everything we do has to have the opportunity to share God’s love with the people we are serving. Second, we intend to use the funds our donors provide effectively. Those are two things we will not waver from.
One of our key principles in accepting donations is that Helping Hands Unlimited will ensure that designated gifts are used for the designated purposes. If we cannot do that, we will return the donor's gift and explain why we cannot honor their request. We will provide them with some other good opportunities.
Another key principle is that Helping Hands Unlimited will make sure that at least 90 percent of each gift goes directly to its intended purpose. We are committed to keeping our overhead expenses as low as possible and ensuring as much money as possible goes toward its intended purpose. In some cases, when we receive larger gifts, we do pass along more than 90 percent of them.
Our child sponsorship program is a little different, and we want to be clear about how child sponsorship donations are used within this framework. We charge $31 per month to sponsor a child in a Christian school in the Dominican Republic. Of that $31, $28 goes directly to the school where that child is enrolled. $3 of it stays here to cover administrative expenses. We limit the number of sponsors a child may have to 1. Sponsors can sponsor more than one child through multiple sponsorships.
We go one step further. We also monitor the finances of the organizations and schools that receive these funds. Where we have a long-term relationship, we require those ministries to provide monthly financial reports showing their income and expenses for the month. We review the reports and ask questions about any abnormalities or concerns we may see. This is our way of monitoring and ensuring the money we provide is used for its intended purpose.
You’re probably wondering how we can operate with such low overhead. The answer is: we can’t. We rely on other gifts to our general fund and designated support giving to help pay our staff.
We also manage our organization by monitoring our income and expenses. We have a very small office staff. HHU owns the building where our office is located. We effectively use donated and purchased software. We seek in-kind donations to help us keep our overhead low. All this is part of our commitment to send as much of your gift as possible to your designated project or program.
God has given us many opportunities for ministry and evangelism, and He continually opens more doors. When you designate your gift “Use Where Most Needed”, you make it available for any ministry-related needs, including logistical and administrative support necessary for Helping Hands Unlimited to carry out the work God has set before us.
If you are interested in more details, you can see our most recent annual financial report or our IRS Form 990 filing on our Nuts and Bolts page. If you would like more detailed financial information, we will be happy to provide it upon request. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. It is our desire that you are comfortable with Helping Hands Unlimited, the ministries we represent, the programs and projects we present, and the way we serve everyone we come in contact with.
This is our commitment to you and to those we serve!