ChildFund / Christian Children's Fund

The information on this page was last updated 1/21/2026. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]


Summary

ChildFund is a global community of people who care about children and take action to help them live at their fullest potential at every stage of their lives.


Contact information

Mailing address:
ChildFund
PO Box 1911
Merrifield, VA 22116-1911

Website: www.childfund.org

Phone: (800) 776-6767

Email: [email protected]


Organization details

EIN: 540536100

CEO/President: Isam Ghanim

Chairman: Tamar Manuelyan Atinc

Board size: 18

Founder: Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke

Ruling year: 1951

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end: 06/30

Member of ECFA: No

Member of ECFA since:


Purpose

Our Vision: A world where every child realizes their rights and achieves their potential.


Mission statement

Our Mission:

HELP deprived, excluded and vulnerable children have the capacity to improve their lives and the opportunity to become young adults, parents and leaders who bring lasting and positive change in their communities.

PROMOTE societies whose individuals and institutions participate in valuing, protecting and advancing the worth and rights of children.

ENRICH supporters' lives through their support of our cause.


Statement of faith

ChildFund does not have a statement of faith. "Non-sectarian" is the phrase ChildFund uses to describe their religious standing.

Articles

2/5/2024Inside the Partnership: Christian Music Artists and Child Sponsorship Ministries
8/1/2023MINISTRY SPOTLIGHT: ChildFund
9/27/2013Compassion International's Child Sponsorship Program Works

Donor confidence score

Show donor confidence score details

To understand our donor confidence score, click here.


Transparency grade

C

To understand our transparency grade, click here.


Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Relief and Development

CategoryRatingOverall rankSector rank
Overall efficiency rating1298 of 1365104 of 114
Fund acquisition rating1226 of 1365100 of 114
Resource allocation rating1151 of 136596 of 114
Asset utilization rating1001 of 136673 of 114

According to the organization's Form 990, it received $9,256,974 in government grants in 2025.

To understand our financial efficiency ratings, click here.


Financial ratios

Funding ratiosSector median20252024202320222021
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts =
Fundraising expense /
Total contributions
6%15%15%15%18%13%
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total revenue
5%14%15%15%17%13%
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance =
Total contributions /
Total revenue
98%94%98%98%97%97%
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total expenses
5%15%17%15%18%13%
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance =
Total other revenue /
Total revenue
2%6%2%2%3%3%
 
Operating ratiosSector median20252024202320222021
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio =
Program services /
Total expenses
86%75%72%75%73%77%
Spending ratio Spending ratio =
Total expenses /
Total revenue
99%96%90%98%97%94%
Program output ratio Program output ratio =
Program services /
Total revenue
84%72%65%73%71%72%
Savings ratio Savings ratio =
Surplus (deficit) /
Total revenue
1%4%10%2%3%6%
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate =
Surplus (deficit) /
Net assets
6%4%12%2%4%9%
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio =
Management and general expense /
Total expenses
7%10%11%10%10%10%
 
Investing ratiosSector median20252024202320222021
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total assets
1.560.960.951.101.251.16
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment =
Total assets /
Total current assets
1.161.221.301.351.411.45
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total current assets
2.111.181.231.481.761.68
 
Liquidity ratiosSector median20252024202320222021
Current ratio Current ratio =
Total current assets /
Total current liabilities
10.5012.8411.619.637.449.36
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio =
Total current liabilities /
Total current assets
0.070.080.090.100.130.11
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level =
(Total current assets -
Total current liabilities) /
(Total expenses / 12)
4.629.408.927.255.916.40
 
Solvency ratiosSector median20252024202320222021
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio =
Total liabilities /
Total assets
9%6%7%8%12%11%
Debt ratio Debt ratio =
Debt /
Total assets
0%0%0%0%1%2%
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio =
Net assets /
Total expenses
53%97%99%83%71%77%

Financials

Balance sheet
 
Assets20252024202320222021
Cash$32,041,200$31,212,535$42,283,359$36,283,224$33,887,727
Receivables, inventories, prepaids$37,420,458$37,299,949$15,809,677$17,079,772$14,963,939
Short-term investments$102,120,353$84,783,524$70,077,143$57,056,046$65,008,014
Other current assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total current assets$171,582,011$153,296,008$128,170,179$110,419,042$113,859,680
Long-term investments$175,370$6,174,328$6,262,590$6,071,410$10,536,174
Fixed assets$26,786,843$28,448,870$27,917,312$29,318,171$28,698,467
Other long-term assets$11,385,750$11,382,313$10,731,656$9,530,380$11,904,488
Total long-term assets$38,347,963$46,005,511$44,911,558$44,919,961$51,139,129
Total assets$209,929,974$199,301,519$173,081,737$155,339,003$164,998,809
 
Liabilities20252024202320222021
Payables and accrued expenses$13,365,069$13,199,795$13,315,977$14,848,303$12,166,833
Other current liabilities$0$0$0$0$0
Total current liabilities$13,365,069$13,199,795$13,315,977$14,848,303$12,166,833
Debt$0$0$270,833$1,895,833$3,520,834
Due to (from) affiliates$0$0$0$0$0
Other long-term liabilities$171,472$419,774$870,155$1,471,404$2,229,094
Total long-term liabilities$171,472$419,774$1,140,988$3,367,237$5,749,928
Total liabilities$13,536,541$13,619,569$14,456,965$18,215,540$17,916,761
 
Net assets20252024202320222021
Without donor restrictions$99,648,400$92,697,631$89,726,432$72,188,574$76,024,931
With donor restrictions$96,745,033$92,984,319$68,898,340$64,934,889$71,057,117
Net assets$196,393,433$185,681,950$158,624,772$137,123,463$147,082,048
 
Revenues and expenses
 
Revenue20252024202320222021
Total contributions$197,288,386$206,371,071$190,653,479$193,788,532$197,089,235
Program service revenue$566,589$625,636$704,836$774,230$807,854
Membership dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment income$9,561,533$4,310,725$1,290,384$7,374,728$4,911,322
Other revenue$3,018,530($1,088,786)$1,485,080($2,375,347)$469,558
Total other revenue$13,146,652$3,847,575$3,480,300$5,773,611$6,188,734
Total revenue$210,435,038$210,218,646$194,133,779$199,562,143$203,277,969
 
Expenses20252024202320222021
Program services$152,166,325$136,350,684$141,914,781$140,874,882$146,066,852
Management and general$20,451,024$20,978,545$19,488,633$18,773,306$18,949,107
Fundraising$29,287,585$31,115,947$28,808,584$34,533,000$25,731,049
Total expenses$201,904,934$188,445,176$190,211,998$194,181,188$190,747,008
 
Change in net assets20252024202320222021
Surplus (deficit)$8,530,104$21,773,470$3,921,781$5,380,955$12,530,961
Other changes in net assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total change in net assets$8,530,104$21,773,470$3,921,781$5,380,955$12,530,961

Compensation

NameTitleCompensation
Isameldein Mohamed GhanimCEO$480,682
James M TuiteCOO$365,580
Adam T HicksVP, CDMO$316,074
Scott ShermanVP, Global HR$278,853
Erin KennedyVP, External Affairs and Partneships$271,604
Sassan C ParandehTreasurer$254,517
Cheryl DahlDirector Sr. Communications$242,986

Compensation data as of: 6/30/2025


Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.


The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 1/21/2026. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]


History

Helping children in poverty has always been at our heart, although how we do it has changed over time. What's been consistent is our desire to ever improve how we make an impact - we've fostered a spirit of innovation from the beginning, first as China's Children Fund, then as Christian Children's Fund and now as ChildFund International.

We're still growing and learning, but now we're doing it under a name that fully reflects the way we've always welcomed children and supporters of all nationalities and faiths to change the world through our programs. Here's how.

Innovation #1: The sponsorship model

Our founder, Dr. J. Calvitt Clarke, was an early innovator in gathering support for his cause: He started the "child sponsorship" concept we know today, asking a sponsor to donate to help one child.

Innovation #2: Working with families

Acting on its growing understanding of what works for children, ChildFund moved from running orphanages to helping families and communities fight poverty at its roots.

Innovation #3: Local communities run the local programs

Because helping an individual child only goes so far, we added community-level interventions. We determined the best way forward for lasting change was to have local people lead those local programs, because they understand cultural nuances and their local needs best. We added a focus on the whole child - not just physical needs, but emotional and social ones, as well.

Innovation #4: Pioneering accountability measures

As we grew, we knew our sponsors would want to know their dollars were being well spent, so we created a Code of Fundraising Ethics: our continuing promise that we will conduct ourselves with accountability, integrity, stewardship and honesty.

Innovation #5: A fund for emergencies

We created the Emergency Action Fund, which allows our emergency response teams to provide immediate relief and long-term assistance to children in wars, droughts, hurricanes and more.

Innovation #6: Places for recovery

We established the first of our Child-Centered Spaces to help children affected by war recover, learn, play and heal. These spaces, which we now offer in any kind of emergency, help children return to a sense of normalcy, hope and calm.

Innovation #7: A new approach to program development

We conducted an in-depth study on child poverty, which revealed that children acutely feel not only the physical but also the emotional and social impacts of poverty. As a result, we found that listening to children's voices when it comes to how poverty affects them makes a profound difference in how we help them improve their futures. We listen before we act. And when we help, it's as a partner.

We'll keep growing and learning: We've evolved and innovated over the years to improve the lives of children who are in the most distress, and we empower the communities where they live to take responsibility for this work themselves. We will continue doing so, to ensure that children are heard and receive the physical, cognitive, psychological, emotional and social support they need to become leaders in their communities.


Program accomplishments


Needs