Dear NaMasTe 1317;

That is very impressive that you started being a sponsor at such a young age!  Most of the kids I knew when I was that age were mainly concerned with themselves.  You must have had more maturity than most. 

I am still new, myself, at being a sponsor (I just started in November of last year) and I am also new to Special Needs Gifts.  However, I do know that if you want them to go specifically to your child, you need to send at least $25, write "child-specific gift", your child's name and ID#. Otherwise, they go in the general fund.

I sent my first SNG to Eyra, whom I am sponsoring in Guatemala, and I made it for a combined total of $150 since she had her birthday in the same month as Christmas.  It is too soon yet to know what they spent it on, but the family income is low, so I assume it will go for something necessary.  Since it is for over $100, there will be photographs.  I am looking forward to getting this information; it's like a present for me, too. 

As a novice, I am hesitant to advise you on what you should suggest the money be spent on.  I have been told that the children love to help provide things which the family needs, even if that does not include any toys for them -- although I don't believe there is any harm in sending a largish amount and asking that a toy or other fun item be provided. But they might find it a greater "luxury" to fix a leaky roof, so I'd find out what they need first.

I did not specify with Eyra because I do not know what she needs.  I did call the organization and request reports on all three of my sponsored girls, so that I will know what they need and can send appropriate amounts of money (or try to raise it on the group fundraiser page). 

I would advise, if you ask for a report, that you specify a certain amount of money.  They were only going to send me info about needs up to $100, but I wanted to hear about more than that, so I asked them to tell me of needs up to $300.  (Another sponsor told me that some sponsors panic if they get a complete report and think they have to provide it all ASAP, so that may be why they aim lower.) 

The Initiatives and Events/Firstgiving page lets sponsors post information on something their child needs and ask others to help fund it.  Firstgiving.com is,  I am told, a reliable site and a good way to raise group funds.  The only thing is that they charge 7.5% of the money raised, so be sure to include enough so that you'll have enough left for the project after their fee. 

I have not yet tried to raise money that way, so I cannot tell you how to set it up.  But there are CI workers who can advise you (sorry, I don't remember the names).  After looking at the fundraising posts, I would also advise you to list specifically which items are needed and specify how much each will cost.  Sites which go into specific detail seem to get a lot more donations (and photos help, too). 

Also, if you have more than one child's project, it's best to post them separately.  There's one post where several children are lumped together, trying to raise a large sum, and I think donors find that intimidating. 

Good luck with the SNGs and I hope my novice's two cents are worth something!

In harmony, Brightspot

Yeah, that's one reason I like to let them choose--it tells me something about the family. For example, I sent a new child her gift last year, suggesting that part of it be used for academic support--and even though it's a family of 8 living on $64/month, they used it all to pay for tutoring for the child and two of siblings, providing her 19 year-old brother with the help needed to do well in his 10th grade exams, which are crucial to continuing his studies. That,and the fact she says all her siblings--up through 21 or older--are still studying, tells me that this is a family that has really come to value education, despite getting a late start.

Another family, which has one of the highest incomes, spent most of a gift on toys. They're the only Indian family to do that. So it'll be interesting to see what they do in the future.

I sent for my sng nad it took about 8 weeks to receive it back, but it was worth the wait,  found out that the family needed a new roof and help sending the two girls I sponsor to school,unforunately it is alittle more than I can do on my own, so I set up a page at firstgiving.com,hoping to get help from friends and family