New guidance has been published on child sponsorship. The concept of helping a particular child (eg paying for food, water, education and healthcare) or groups of children (as part of wider community projects) through regular donations has been a very effective fundraising model. Charities must be transparent about how such programmes operate and monitor them to ensure ongoing compliance with the Code of Fundraising Practice. The Advertising Standards Authority was involved in the production of this guidance.
The guidance provides overarching principles for the specific challenges such programmes may face. Its purpose is to ensure charities are clear on how donations are used and who benefits, meaning they can continue to attract and retain donors. Otherwise, public trust could be damaged, and support might diminish.
The guidance defines three types of child sponsorship:
- Direct - an exclusive link between a donor or donors' money and a particular child;
- Community – the donor nominally selects a child that benefits from the wider funds collected for the community they're part of (most schemes fall within this type); and
- Hybrid – donor's money is split between the directly sponsored child and the wider community.
The guidance sets out six principles which charities should follow:
- Clarify from the outset who will benefit from the donor's money. If the programme has wider community benefit, this must be set out at the earliest opportunity – either in the headline or subheading of marketing materials.
- For community sponsorship where a particular project is selected – information on how the money will be used must be provided before the donation is made. It must be given before or alongside the 'donate now' link. This isn't required in the case of money donated to a general fund, although the principle nevertheless applies to any donation opportunity which states or implies connection to a child sponsorship programme.
- For direct sponsorship, charities must be able to demonstrate how the donor's money has been used. Charities must keep a record of donations given for restricted purposes to ensure the conditions of the donation are adhered to. The record must show in general terms where money has been spent.
- For direct sponsorship – charities must explain what happens to the donor's money if the directly sponsored child reaches a particular age, leaves the project, charity support is withdrawn or if the child dies. In these circumstances, the donor(s) must be notified that sponsorship of that child has ended. Charities may offer to re-allocate donations to another child. If the donor does not wish to sponsor another child, the charity can no longer collect money from that donor. This information should be detailed in the 'Frequently Asked Questions' ('FAQ') section of the charity's website.
- Charities should have clear, prominent and accessible information on their website about child sponsorship models. A link to an FAQ page or similar should be provided on all materials promoting child sponsorship programmes. It should be visible before the point of donation and not placed at the bottom of a website page.
- Charities should ensure marketing of child sponsorship contains all the information in Principle 1 on any form of media. In particular, which type of child sponsorship model is used.
Charities using a child sponsorship model should review their polices, operations and marketing materials in light of this new guidance.
This piece was co-authored by Rebecca Willis, a trainee solicitor at the time of writing.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
