Sponsorship FAQs

You can learn more through writing letters and reading our blog or other resources on our website. You will also receive regular updates about our programs through emails and newsletters.

Specifics for letter-writing can be found at For existing sponsors. Your sponsored child or student will respond to the letters you send (please limit to one per month), and we will send you a new photo of your sponsored child or student every year. We encourage you to write letters to your sponsored child or student, but please do not send more than one per month. Along with your letter, you may include photos and a single sheet of stickers. Larger items cannot be sent. Where needed, our in-country staff will translate letters both coming and going. It may take several months to hear back from your sponsored child or student, as our mail is sent with staff or teams traveling to our countries.

You may send photos and a single sheet of stickers with your letters to our USA office. We will also identify special Christmas and summer camp projects each year, for you to give toward. You may also give toward items within the COTN Gift Catalog, which will benefit your sponsored child or student and many others. For more gift-giving ideas, visit for existing sponsors. (Note: Items will be distributed wherever the need is greatest, and cannot be designated for a specific child.)

While we appreciate the intent behind gifts, limiting gift giving helps the children and in-country staff by: (1) Promoting equality. It's common that some children and staff receive an abundance of gifts while others receive nothing. (2) Supporting the in-country staff's role in our children's lives. Our gift policy seeks to respect the authority of the in-country staff as the best people to make decisions regarding the children's welfare. (3) Encouraging Christ-like behavior by promoting honesty and inclusiveness while discouraging jealousy and secrecy. You can learn more about why we have rules for gift giving by reading one of our favorite books, When Helping Hurts.

Items will be distributed wherever the need is greatest, and cannot be designated for a specific child. Your sponsored child will benefit from these items when he or she has a need that these items meet. Having a priority list of needed items for existing sponsors allows our staff to prioritize distribution of items based on children’s needs.

You can update your credit card information online by logging in to your 'Partner Profile.' Log in by clicking on 'My Account' (in the top right corner of this website) and entering your password. From your profile, click on the 'Gift Info' tab and then click on 'Edit Settings' next to your recurring gift. On the next screen, you can update your credit card number and CVV, its expiration date, and/or your billing address. (Please note that you must enter your entire credit card number to update any information on this screen.) Save when you're finished.

If you have not yet established your 'Partner Profile,' or cannot access your profile, please call 360-698-7227 for assistance.

While sponsorship provides for the needs of the children already in our care, packaged meals, and donated resources allow us to provide for children who do not yet have sponsors, and to help children who attend our schools, live nearby, and take part in partnering programs.

For example, not all of the children who attend our schools are enrolled in our sponsorship program, but almost all of them eat meals at school. COTN uses the meals you package to feed these students and, sometimes, other children who are not directly involved in our programs but live nearby and have a significant need.

In addition, COTN uses donated resources and packaged meals to provide for the needs of children who are enrolled in our programs but do not yet have sponsors. When a child enters our care, they do not have a sponsor waiting. We take children into our care by need and in faith—trusting that sponsors will soon follow and the needed funds will come in. While these children await sponsorship, your donated resources and packaged meals greatly help to meet their needs.

If you have further questions, please contact our sponsorship department at sponsorship@cotni.org or 360-698-7227, or visit this page.