Sponsorship Programs

After being started over 100 years ago, Sponsorship is still reaching millions of children each year. Sponsorship programs contribute to Save the Children’s vision of a world in which every child attains the right to survival, protection, development, and participation. Founded upon an ecological model, Sponsorship programs aim to improve outcomes not only at the child but also at the family, community, institution, and policy levels. Sponsorship funds and programs benefit all children in an impact area, from birth through adolescence, creating a ripple of change for children that lasts for generations. The programs also aim to help communities build on their own strengths to become strong and self-sufficient, so community members can give their children the tools and support they need to create these changes. Currently, there are Save the Children sponsorship programs in 22 countries (including the US) across 33 impact areas.

Each phase of the 13.5 years spent in an impact area represents a different focus on the sponsorship journey. In the “Building Up Programs Phase,” we work closely with communities to find out what they need, create an action plan for moving forward in improving the lives of children and start implementing this plan. In the second phase, “Quality Implementation”, implementation continues and communities are further equipped with the tools they need to create change. In phase three, “Ownership Transition”, we carefully transfer ownership of our programs to local community members, but not before we have proof of self-sufficiency and sustainability. Throughout each phase, we are monitoring results to ensure our programs are doing what they should for children. We celebrate as the community becomes self-sustaining and able to help their children thrive before we move on to help children in other communities.

Sponsorship promotes continuous learning through research, evaluation, and innovation over the course of the years in an impact area. The documents uploaded to this library represent our most important or flagship publications, capturing key program results as well as best practices used within our programs.