Healthy Guidelines for Sponsorship Programs

Advice from Zoe Empowers on transitioning your sponsorship model: “Our own history involved following the call of God to care for orphans; doing that fairly poorly (but the best way we knew how); finding others doing it better; and changing to adopt a more effective way to be in ministry. It has been, and continues to be, an exciting journey and we encourage ourselves and others to remain open to finding more effective ways to be in ministry with God’s children.

Here are some other things we recommend: • Using data collection to measure effectiveness and not just activities • Holding finances very tightly and the program somewhat loosely • Relentlessly pursuing an improved program • Being willing to cease activities that are not producing sustainable results • Trusting that donors want their resources used well with sustainable impacts • Always being in awe of what God can do • Wrapping the ministry in prayer