Sponsors often contact us to find out when their children will complete the child sponsorship program. They usually ask: “At what age does compassion sponsorship end?” or “How long do you sponsor a Compassion child?” The question usually comes to us around a child’s 18th birthday. After all, an 18-year-old in the United States is viewed as an adult and is legally released from a parent’s care on that magical birthday. So it’s understandable for sponsors to assume sponsorship ends when their sponsored child turns 18.
What Is Child Sponsorship?
Child sponsorship organizations like Compassion International engage in a holistic approach to aid children in escaping poverty. The question of “When does compassion sponsorship end?” is common among sponsors, particularly as children approach adulthood. Unlike a rigid age-based system, Compassion’s program focuses on achieving specific developmental goals rather than concluding solely based on age. These goals include spiritual growth, economic self-sufficiency, social responsibility, and physical well-being.
Child sponsorship lasts until these objectives are met, typically around the ages of 18 to 22, varying by country. Each child sets personal goals in collaboration with center staff, aiming to develop skills, complete education, and grow in character. The program’s flexible nature allows children to continue their journey with Compassion International until they are ready to step into the world as confident, self-reliant individuals. This model ensures that each child receives tailored support, enabling them to realize their full potential and break free from the cycle of poverty.
So, When Does Compassion Sponsorship End?
Although age is a determining factor in a child’s completion, we do not finalize a completion just for that reason. Our child sponsorship completion guidelines include consideration of our goals for each child and the goals each has personally set.
Compassion Program Goals
Our goals for the children in our program include:
- Continually grow in their knowledge of and relationship with God
- Support themselves and share with others in need as part of their economic training
- Be responsible members of their family, church, community and nation as part of their social training
- Maintain their own physical well-being
To help the children reach these goals, we use “indicators” or guidelines to determine each child’s spiritual, physical, socio-emotional and cognitive development. Some examples are: the child grows in their understanding of scripture, experiences better health, completes a primary education (at a minimum), shows good relational skills, and learns and uses an income-generating skill.
These indicators help the child development center staff identify how to best support children in their development so they can be released from poverty. It also gives all centers unified evaluation criteria so that every child receives the same opportunities.
In some instances, age can prevent a child from completing a goal.
For example, a young Rwandan woman, age 21, decides she would like to learn how to be a seamstress. The center she attends has a vocational course that teaches this skill, but she must complete the course before her 23rd birthday or risk not finishing it. This is because the maximum program participation age for Rwanda is 22 years old.
Empower a Child’s Journey to Adulthood
Child sponsorship with Compassion International is an opportunity to profoundly impact a young life. While the age range of 18 to 22 typically marks the end of sponsorship, our focus is on each child’s holistic development and personal goals. This unique approach ensures that every child is equipped with the necessary skills, education, and values to thrive as responsible, self-sufficient adults. Your support can make a lasting difference in a child’s journey from poverty to empowerment.
Personal Goals for Students
When children in our program turn 12, they create a “My Plan for Tomorrow” folder with the help of the center staff. The child sets yearly goals in this folder. At the end of each year, the children evaluate their achievements with the staff.
Each child’s goals are different, according to what that child wants to accomplish. But remember, these are just goals. There are no repercussions if the child does not reach them. The main purpose of the goal-setting is to help the children dream. And the folder helps give them a plan to achieve their dreams.
The center staff determines a child’s completion date by reviewing the goals set for the child, the goals the child has set for themselves, and the maximum age that the child can stay in the program. The maximum age depends on the country and is typically between the ages of 18 and 22.
A child may continue to participate in our sponsorship program if he or she still needs time to reach a personal or programmatic goal as long as the maximum participation age for the program hasn’t been reached yet.
Although we would love for every child to complete our program, regrettably, some children aren’t able to. The most common cause of this is that their family relocates to an area where we do not have a child development center. (For more information on why children leave our program, please read Why Do Children Leave Our Program?
If you are interested in knowing when the child you sponsor is expected to complete our program, and he or she is older than 13, log in to your account to view information regarding his or her completion.
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Hi. What are the security and other risks of writing and keeping in contact with a child once the program has ended? Also, I have not been able to locate the end of sponsorship age on my oldest child, Kulwa’s file. What is it?
Hi Cassandra,
We have a couple documents with information on the risks of contact with your graduate here: https://www.compassion.com/post-departure.htm. Please check that out and let us know if you have any questions! I also see that Kulwa is expected to graduate in May 2023. ? Let us know if we can do anything else for you! You are welcome to email us at socialmedia@compassion.
I’m looking for people who can help me with my studies. Can i be your sponsor child. Thank you in advance…
Hi Veronica! Can you please email our team at [email protected] so that we can talk more about options Compassion may have to help you. Thank you so much!
I love that Compassion will allow the sponsors to support students through college/vocational training. I have two girls that I sponsor that are 22 and 21. Hearing about their post secondary school journey reminds me of how great my college experience was! I know one is graduating the program soon or has graduated. I would like to continue supporting at least 1 older girl who is pursing vocational/college training when Yulianna and Immaculate graduate. Is there a way to know which girls are planning to further their education and support them or should I just keep checking back on the website for “children” who are in the 18-22 age range?
Shayla, it is difficult to tell from their profile which girls are planning to pursue further education. That said, as the kids get older, the adolescent will either share with you or you are welcome to ask if they are planning to or currently attending university or vocational training. I think looking for older kids is a great idea if you have a heart for that! Bless you!
I can’t see the “Child Information” tab, is the information now under “View Profile”?
(Ref: ME9270126)
Hi Peter! I’m so sorry to hear that you’re having trouble locating your child’s information on your My Account :(. The “Child Information” is still available online by selecting “My Sponsorships” and then scrolling down below your child’s picture. If you have more than one child, you will need to select one of your children first. If you’re still unable to see your child’s information, I’d be happy to help you further; however, I was not able to locate your account using your email address or the child number you provided. Will you please provide your sponsor number or the email address associated with your account? If you don’t feel comfortable sharing your information on this public blog, then you may email us at [email protected] for further assistance :).
Hi I have a question that hopefully someone can answer for me but I wanted to sponsor a child and I according to the day I have to send my information through mail I missed the deadline can I still send it and be able to still sponsor the child or would it be too late?
Marian, thanks for your heart to support a child! Please call our office at (800) 336-7676 and we can see if this child already has another sponsor or if they’re still available for you. You can also email us the child’s ID number to [email protected] and we can help you :).
Hello! I did have a question along the lines of the duration of my sponsorship. He just turned 22, and I was wondering when this particular support ceased (hopefully our communication with one another will not!)…
Hi Cathy! Yusef should complete within 60 days of when his anticipated completion date. Please let us know if you have not heard from us that he completed by the end of May. Regrettably, once he officially completes the program, communication through Compassion needs to cease. We can help you connect with him directly once he completes the program if you would like. This option is discouraged by Compassion because it poses a security risk for you as a sponsor and translation services would no longer be provided. If you are interested in this option, we can give you some more information once he completes. We would also ask you to sign our waiver of liability before giving your personal contact information to Yusef.
I too was interested in learning if it was possible to still communicate with our sponsored children once they’ve finished the program. My friend has sponsored a girl thru extended learning and she will finish in May. Previously I was told you can send a last letter and then everything ends. Seems sad to know you sponsor them for so many years and then it would all be finished. I’m hoping in the years ahead after my sponsored kids are finished we can continue to at least return letters – maybe translation will be easier somehow by then. Curious to hear if anyone is still in contact with their kiddos after completion. Thanks!
Mona, we do allow sponsors the option to possibly continue the relationship with the child once the child has graduated from the program, but we don’t recommend it. If you and your friend are interested in continuing the correspondence with a child, please let us know after the child has graduated. We’d be happy to send the waiver to you, which will outline the opportunity and the risks involved with doing so. If you return the signed waiver to us, we will send your email address to your child. It will be his or her responsibility to make contact with you at that point. I agree so much with you that it is incredibly difficult to write that last letter, knowing that it is probably the last time you will communicate with a child, especially when you’ve invested in the child’s life for a number of years.
I’m curious as to why my child’s completion date isn’t listed? He is nearly 14 now and the information was last updated after he turned 13.
Without reviewing his file, I can’t give specific information. However, if you would like to call (800-336-7676) or email ([email protected])us, we’d be happy to review it with you.
Can you still write to your child after they are finished with compassion?
Compassion does allow sponsors to continue writing their child once the child has left our program. If you still wish to correspond with your sponsored child after they leave the program, we will send you a waiver form and more detailed information about this process. The waiver releases Compassion from all liability, and we will no longer be involved in the letter or gift process.
If you sign and return the waiver, we will then send your contact information to our office in your child’s country, and the staff will give the information to the child if they are able to locate them. If the child is able to write to you, the correspondence will continue directly between the two of you. Because the correspondence is no longer through Compassion, any translation needed will be your responsibility.
My first child just ”’graduated” from Compassion in June, after sponsoring her for 10 years. I would like to know if it is too late to know what she is doing for further education, etc. I am starting again with another child, but she is only 12 so it is too early to know where she will go and the plans for her.
We would be happy to provide all of the details we have about your child’s completion from the program. Please contact us at (800) 336-7676.
Great information, Shaina. “My Plan for Tomorrow” is one of the most helpful resources the program offers. The other day I got to see the book that belongs to a teenager from Honduras. You can read a bit more about it here: http://bit.ly/bjdmMv
Wow!!! I am really, really impressed!!! I would love to see my little girl’s file…. But then again? She deserves some privacy!! lol I would love to know her grades though,…..
I was wondering: The form for the gifts. Is it just for the cash gifts we send? Or do they mark down every little thing we send through the mail like coloring books and bookmarks? Does Compassion keep track of what the sponsors send anywhere? Or just the dates when correspondence goes out?
This folder just exemplifies that the program DOES use the money we send wisely and keeps track of our children. Gotta love Compassion…. 🙂
The folder normally only contains information on monetary gifts. Some projects keep track of other (paper) gifts you send, and some don’t. It really depends on the country and project.
It’s a bittersweet thought to think of my children finishing the program. I want to see them accomplish this great achievement, but I don’t want to think of a time when I won’t be sponsoring them. I have a while to prepare myself, though – my oldest is 13.
I have been sponsoring my child who is in El Salvador for about 3 years. I can’t seem to get him to talk about anything but his family, his favorite sport and other things that he keeps repeating over and over again in each letter. How can I get him to talk about other things or at least answer some of the questions I ask.
My child Musabende Violette turned 18 last May. She does write to me, but the information I have gotten is scant. I would like to know what are her plans and if she is continuing with the Compassion program to learn a trade or What? She mentioned that she was taking exams to go to the level of S3. I have no idea of what this is and would like to find out as I am considering no longer sending money for support unless Musabende is continuing to go to classes. How can I learn what is going on?
I’m not sure which country Musabende is from but most of these countries have a school system where you don’t graduate at 18. Many of their school systems don’t start until 7 or 8, and many of the CI children can’t afford school tuition until they become CI children so they might have gotten a late start. It sounds to me like S3 would be their next level of schooling. You could also try and look up that country’s school system online. But if you want more details I would call the Compassion office or email a request for more info to them.
The best way to find out the answer to your questions is to ask in your next letter to her. Seperate your questions from the body of your letter; number, and highlight them so they stick out to her and the project workers. Also, write her every time you receive a letter from her. This helps your “conversations” flow. I believe you will see a improvement in correspondence with these tips.
“Watch with caution — it is very shaky and not made for the easily queasy.”
Well come on now, it wasn’t THAT bad of a video was it?
I would LOVE to see my sponsor kids “Plan for Tomorrow” info!! What a perfect way to know how to encourage them or offer advice.
As a sponsor, I think it would be useful to receive the highlights of our children’s plans for the future. It would be nice to have specifics for which to send encouragement and about which to pray for our children. I always just get generic “please pray for my education” request and have not heard of updated goals since they first started the program. For instance, on a sponsor tour to Ethiopia, I learned one of my girls had attended a field trip to a university and decided she wanted to become a scientist. Great news! She had never mentioned this goal in any letters before or since my visit. Perhaps she worries she will disappointment me if her plans change or she does not achieve this goal. I leave it to the wisdom of the field staff.
I looked through all my kids. Only a few have completion dates. Do they wait until a child is a certain age before filling in that information? It doesn’t seem to be affected by country. Although I do have a couple younger children that have completion dates and children older than them that do not.
The child will not have a completion date listed until their information is updated after their 13th birthday.
I know the completion date used to be on the child’s information but when I checked this morning, it looked like it was no longer there. Has this changed?
Super-great information! Possibly my favorite post ever. I LOVE this filing system. It’s so organized and thorough.
I’m going to use the goal folder idea w/my daughter for homeschool.
This was very good information, especially good to know what was kept in the childs folder and how through the record keeping is of the childs progress in the program. Is it approproiate to ask a child about there goal folder since our girl in Mexico will turn 12 this year in July?
It would definitely be appropriate to ask about their folder in your letters. It will give your sponsored child an opening to think and write about their goals and dreams for the future.
when they graduate the program is there a way to keep in touch with them after? I would like to know how my kids are throughout their adult lives too. I know you don’t recommend personal information sharing while they are in the program, but would it be appropriate at that point?
Thanks for your posts and information – very helpful!
This blog post, What Happens When a Child Leaves Our Sponsorship Program?, talks about how to stay in contact afterward.
You can request a waiver to continue corresponding with your sponsored child once they complete the program. Simply contact us once you receive notifcation of their completion.
so helpful! i was wondering since my kid is 20, and i saw that his completion date is a week before he turns 22.
I appreciate this blog. Although I knew bits and pieces of all of this, it was really helpful to see it laid out so clearly. I’ll be watching the video when I get a minute!!
It’s great to know that each child is so well documented. I have had a few kids not reach the graduation age, but I was given whatever information the office had, and all the attempts to get the child to continue. it’s great to know they care about each child.
“Our goals for the children in our program include:
•Follow Jesus Christ in faith and deed as part of their spiritual training.”
What are the chances that a child chooses to follow the religion of their family/culture/country rather than Christianity, even after 10+ years of Christian training? I know that the families know they will be taught about Jesus, and have to agree to that before a child can be registered, but I was under the impression that they were not required (encouraged, yes) to become Christian in order to continue receiving services. Maybe I misunderstood the statement and it’s still a goal–we wish that for all the childen–but like their own personal goals for themselves, there comes a point where all we can do is pray for them and let the Holy Spirit work in His own timing.
Judith, This goal does not have to be met for a child to complete our program. Although it is our deep desire to see every child come to know Jesus, we realize that not every one will make that decision. It also does not determine their stay in the program- whether or not they choose to follow Jesus, they are welcome in the program. This is listed as one of our goals for every child because Jesus is central to everything we do.
Thanks for the clarification. 🙂 I figured it was meant more in the true sense of “goal”, as in “we’d like for this to happen”, rather than “requirement” for completion.
They are not required to become Christians. But it is a desire and a prayer of ours.