An International Charity’s Approach Shows Long-Term Results

Child-sponsorship programs are effective ways for international charities to raise money because they create a direct connection between donors and the young people served. But until now, it’s been unclear how much they do to improve the lives of the children they seek to help.

A new study says they do, at least when it comes to one type of child-sponsorship program.

The study collected data on more than 10,000 people enrolled in Compassion International’s sponsorship program from 1980 to 1992. While some sponsorship programs pay for water projects, schools, and other infrastructure where the sponsored youths live, donations through Compassion go directly to pay for assistance to individual children.

Some aid workers say that sponsorship model doesn’t allow for enough flexibility in how money can be used and risks stirring resentments among families who do not receive financial support.

But the new study, published in the Journal of Political Economy, found that Compassion’s approach has a significant long-term impact on young people—and that the direct connection between donor and child may be part of the reason.

People who participated in Compassion’s program as children were at least 50 percent more likely to finish college and 35 percent more likely to obtain a white-collar job than those who did not, according to the study.

Bruce Wydick, professor of economics and international studies at University of San Francisco and the study’s lead author, said that Compassion’s approach works because it “dramatically increases the aspirations and self-esteem of sponsored children.”

“We think the increase in aspirations developed in childhood is particularly responsible for the outcomes we saw like increased education and the likelihood of having a good job as an adult,” he said.

The study was based on data from people in six countries. The results were most striking among women in the sub-Saharan countries of Kenya and Uganda.

“I always tell people, based on what we found, that if you want to do something great in the world, sponsor a girl in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Mr. Wydick.