Christian Children's Fund

Christian Children's Fund (CCF) is an international child sponsorship group based in Richmond, Virginia that provides assistance to communities in many developing countries.

CCF was conceived in 1938 by a Presbyterian minister, Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke, to aid Chinese orphans in 1939 during the Sino-Japanese War. Fact|date=November 2007 [http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/uploadedFiles/Public_Site/news/Newsroom/Quick%20Facts%201107.pd -- states "Founded ... as China’s Children Fund [and the] name Christian Children’s Fund was adapted in 1951."] CCF provides services to children, most funded by individual contributors, in the form of monthly child sponsorships. In addition, CCF says it receives grants and donations that support vocational training, literacy training, food distribution, educational programs, early childhood development, health and immunization programs, nutritional programs, water and sanitation development, and emergency relief in both man-made and natural disasters.

The organization is notable for its television commercials on major networks in the United States. The commercials include photographs and videos of impoverished children in developing countries.

ponsorship model

In Christian Children's Fund's current sponsorship model, individual donors contribute funds on a regular basis which are combined with those of other sponsors and applied to an entire community. [cite web |url=http://christianchildrensfund.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/christianchildrensfund.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=89&p_created=1125507533&p_sid=bcQvkwJi&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfcm93X2NudD0zNCZwX3Byb2RzPSZwX2NhdHM9JnBfcHY9JnBfY3Y9JnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1 |title=Christian Children's Fund FAQ - How does Christian Children's Fund use the $24.00 that I send for my sponsored child? |publisher=christianchildrensfund.org |accessdate=2007-08-19] Christian Children's Fund encourages sponsors to correspond with children in the sponsored community.

Efficiency and financials

Charity Navigator [cite web |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/3499.htm |title=Christian Children's Fund |publisher=charitynavigator.org |accessdate=2007-08-19] gives CCF an overall rating of three out of a possible four stars. For 2006, CCF allocated its $206,105,391 in revenue as follows:
*Programs - 80.6%
*Fund raising - 8.1%
*Administration - 11.2%

Charity Navigator lists CCF having $45,446,931 in assets. CCF's former President, John F. Schultz, received $274,276 in compensation in 2006. [cite web |url=http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/3499.htm |title=Christian Children's Fund |publisher=charitynavigator.org |accessdate=2007-08-19]

Publications

CCF releases a number of publications every quarter to six months. It has three: "ChildWorld" magazine, ChildWire e-newsletter, and an annual report. The newsletter is sent to subscribers every two to three months via e-mail.

Issues

In May 2004, CCF became the subject of some contention when Christian charity watchdog group Wall Watchers sent a "donor alert" via e-mail to about 2,500 subscribers, informing them that the name of the charity -- Christian Children's Fund -- was designed to intentionally mislead its donors into thinking it was a faith-based missionary group. [cite web |url=http://www.ministrywatch.org/mw2.1/pdf/MWDA_042704_CCF.pdf |title=The Use of the Word 'Christian' by Christian Children's Fund is Misleading |publisher= ministrywatch.org (a program of Wall Watchers) |month=May | year=2004 |accessdate=2007-08-19|format=PDF] Howard Leonard, a chief executive of Wall Watchers, was quoted by a magazine as saying, "It isn't Christian in the way we look at it. If you're going to be bringing help to these children, you should be bringing the Gospel."

A spokesperson for the group said that the organization does not proselytize any person to a faith, rather its name is derived from its founder, a Presbyterian minister who believed in "Christian principles," such as "love thy neighbor as thyself."

References

*"A Book About Children: Christian Children's Fund 1938-1991", Larry Tise, 1983, Hartland Publishing. Verify credibility|date=November 2007

External links

* [http://www.christianchildrensfund.org/ Christian Children's Fund]
* [http://www.ccf.org.ua/ Christian Children's Fund (CCF) Ukraine]
* [http://www.childfundinternational.org/ Childfund International]
* [http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/3499.htm Charity Navigator's Rating of the Christian Children's Fund]
* [http://charityreports.give.org/Public/Report.aspx?CharityID=2338 The Better Business Bureau's Charity Review]