In the contact center, we talk to a lot of sponsors about their contributions — changing credit card expiration dates, updating their bank account information, processing donations, etc.
A few weeks ago, I spoke with Larry from Georgia. Larry was so passionate about his sponsored child and our ministry. He explained how he was led to sponsor his child out of a desire to fight injustice and poverty — especially for the most vulnerable — children.
During our conversation, he asked if he could donate extra money to cover the processing fee we incur when we charge his credit card — a question I was surprised by.
Regrettably, we’re unable to accept that kind of contribution. However, there is a way that the spirit of the question can still be met, a way that helps us send more funds to our children and church partners.
Make your contributions and monthly sponsorship payments via a direct payment plan.
When you set up a regularly occurring and automatic direct payment plan (e.g., Automated Clearing House (ACH), bill pay or credit/debit card), you save us at least $1 on each transaction. It’s a significant amount when you consider that many of the children’s families we serve survive on less than $1 a day.
The most efficient payment method for us to handle is ACH. Our processing and labor costs are typically less than 10 cents, compared to credit card and bill pay (over $1) and check (over $2).
Bill pay is when you tell the bank to send us money. The bank does the work, and they charge you and us for it. ACH is when you tell us to get the money from your bank.
Also, when you sign up for a direct payment plan, we not only save on labor costs, but also on mailing costs. We won’t send monthly confirmation statements for your payments — just one statement each year for tax purposes.
After I explained this to Larry, he asked us to automatically debit his checking account each month (i.e., ACH). As he stated, every little bit helps.
If you would like to set up a direct payment plan for your sponsored child’s monthly support, please log in to your account on compassion.com and click “Direct Payment Plan.” You can also call us here in the contact center at (800) 336-7676. We’d be happy to help!