photos courtesy of Dick and Da Ana Judith (8) and Dani (10) are two children in Guatemala sponsored by Dick and Daffy Shaw of St. Thomas More Parish.

Judy-Anne Goldman, CFCA’s public relations manager, wrote in an announcement about the consecutive high ratings CFCA had received that earning them “from watchdog groups is not just a point of pride for a nonprofit, it’s a valuable endorsement that lets prospective donors know that this is an organization they can trust.”

The 4-star rating is given to non-profit charities which demonstrate sound fiscal management; less than 1 percent of the more than 5,400 charities rated by the group score that high. Using information from each charity’s annual tax returns, Charity Navigator rates the financial health of charities of many different causes on the bases of organizational efficiency (how it functions day to day) and organizational capacity (how well it will be able to sustain its programs over time). Donors can research a charity by name, location or service, to learn about its mission and activities, as well as its fiscal responsibility. According to their Web site, Charity Navigator is a non-profit founded in 2001 by philanthropists John and Marion Dugan, who believed that an unbiased evaluator would help potential donors make informed giving decisions. The organization estimates its ratings influenced more than $10 billion in charitable giving in 2008.

CFCA, founded in 1981 by Bud, Jim and Bob Hentzen, their sister Nadine Pearce and a friend, Jerry Tolle, is a lay Catholic organization working with persons of all faith traditions to create a global community of compassion and service.

Both Bob Hentzen and Tolle served as missionaries in Central and South America for many years. When they returned home, they both wanted to continue helping the people they once served, and determined that a sponsorship program would benefit not only children and aging people living in poverty, but also rebound benefits on the sponsors.

CFCA believes the poor can effect change in their own lives and in the world. Sponsorship helps children from preschool through high school, college or technical training, by providing for fees, books, school uniforms and supplies. It helps families put food on the table and supplements a family’s income; making medical care and better living conditions more accessible.

Children and aging adults can be sponsored in the Americas and the Caribbean, in Africa and Asia. Sponsors have the opportunity to visit their sponsored child or older adult and they get to know them through a regular exchange of letters and pictures, sometimes photographs, often brightly colored drawings by the child. Over time, a sponsored child or older person becomes a member of the family, with photos or drawings framed and displayed on walls and tables, and spoken of with pride and affection.

Goldman said that was the core part of the organization: the personal connection.

“Most children are selected through parish appeals,” she said. “Sponsors pick up a folder containing information and a photo of a child. Through the years a relationship is built through letters and occasional visits to the child. That relationship is strengthened and continued through thoughts and prayers. In fact we’ve had sponsors say how touched they were when a letter from a child or a sponsored family says ‘We’re praying for you.’

“Sponsors and the children truly get more than a $30 donation each month — that personal and spiritual connection is really powerful.”

Dani and Ana Judith are two children sponsored by St. Thomas More parishioners Dick and Daffy Shaw. Dani (Danilo) is a 10 year old boy living in San Andreas Itzapa, Guatemala. The Shaws were paired with him six years ago through CFCA. Their own adult children also sponsor children.

When they first sponsored Dani, one of his parents would send letters to the Shaws, because as his mom said, Dani was “too short of age” to write them himself, Daffy Shaw recalled. Now he writes his own letters, detailing thoughts and happenings in his life.

“They are a very faith-filled family,” Dick Shaw said. “Dani goes to Mass regularly with his dad. His father earns about $75 a month, which has to feed, clothe and shelter five people.”

Daffy added, “We send $35 each month to Dani and his family through CFCA. The donation is $30, but there’s a $3 overhead fee so, to make sure they get all $30, we send a little more. The money helps pay for his education and some of the family’s medical needs.”

Ana Judith (a favorite name of Dick’s) is 8, and also lives in San Andreas Itzapa. Her father earns about $80 a month, which has to support a family of eight. Dick said he and Daffy contribute $35 monthly to Ana Judith and her family.

“We checked CFCA out through Charity Navigator,” Dick said. “They are very quiet in their marketing, but we were able to learn more about them by reading the reports and information on the Charity Navigator Web site. One of the things we found out that impressed us was that, except for the small fee which pays for overhead and administrative costs, the money we donate goes directly to benefit the children and their families.”

Sponsorship donations are sent to a CFCA project office in the area where a sponsored child or aging adult lives. The project coordinators decide how best to use the contributions, whether it’s for a child’s education, or to provide food, medical care, shelter or other benefits, and see to it that the family or elderly adult knows that a specific benefit was provided by their sponsor.

According to both Charity Navigator and CFCA’s Web sites, in 2008, the charity reported $103.9 million in revenue and contributions, of which $93.6 or 94.6 percent was directed to projects benefiting sponsored children and adults. The remaining 5.4 percent paid for administrative and fund-raising expenses.

The Charity Navigator Web site also compares CFCA to other like charities in the states of Missouri and Kansas, and CFCA came out on top for its day-to-day operational efficiency and its long-term financial expectations.

Christian Foundation for Children and Aging is an IRS designated 501 (c) (3) not-for- profit charitable organization and as such, donations are tax-deductible.

Unlike tossing spare change in a kettle at Christmas, contributing to the education, well-being and future of a child or older person living in poverty is “so personal,” Daffy Shaw said. “Ana Judith calls us her godparents. I like that.”

If your parish would be interested in hosting a speaker from Christian Foundation for Children and Aging, or if you are interested in personally sponsoring a child, visit www.cfcausa.org.

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