More than 3 billion people across the globe live in poverty, according to the World Bank. Of these people, more than 1 billion live on less than $1 a day. Faced with such staggering numbers, it may seem that there is little any one person can do. But you can make a difference by sponsoring a child in need. Sponsoring a child typically involves donating as little as $35 a month.

Children in Need

If you'd like to contribute to children with substantial basic needs, run a quick Internet search for the phrase "how to sponsor a child in need." You will find dozens of social service agencies that will take your donations and use them to provide food, shelter, water, education and medicine to poor children across the globe. Some of these organizations serve only children from one specific country, while others allow visitors to pick a specific country in which to sponsor a child. For example, Children International lets visitors pick the country in which they want to sponsor a child. The organization also lets people pick the age and gender of the child they want to sponsor. Child in Need sponsors children in such varied locales as El Salvador, Ghana, Tanzania, Colombia, Kenya, India, and Thailand.

Every Little Bit Helps

You may not have much money to spare. But you do not have to donate much to make a significant difference in a child's life. The agencies working with poor children across the globe are happy to take as little or as much as you can give. At World Vision, you can sponsor a child in Zambia, for instance, for just $35 a month. At Save the Children, you can make a one-time donation of as little as $10 or as much as $2,500. You should know, too, that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) provides matching grants to several agencies that work with poor children across the globe. If you donate $1 to Save the Children, for instance, that donation grows to $4 thanks to the USAID matching grant program. If you donate $25 to the organization, the U.S. program boosts your donation to $100. USAID works with countries recovering from disasters, as well as those trying to escape from poverty and attempting to transition to a democratic form of government.

Do Your Research

Not all the companies that promote themselves as international aid organizations are actually doing good work. As in any field, there are scam artists out there hoping to separate you from your money. Before donating to any organization, do a quick online search on the company's name. This might turn up complaints or reports that the charity is not spending its money properly. Next, check the Better Business Bureau's charities and donors page. This page lets you type in an organization's name to discover if the charity has any complaints or investigations filed against it. The site also identifies whether an organization has met the 20 standards for charity accountability. You can also visit the home page of Charity Navigator. This site acts similar to the Better Business Bureau, but reports solely on charities. You should also ask any child-sponsorship organization for a breakdown of how much of its budget it spends on actually helping children and how much it spends on paying employees or advertising. For instance, Save the Children reports that in 2008 it spent 92 percent of its budget on charitable services.

Source:

Children International

World Bank

Better Business Bureau charities page

Resource:

Charity Navigator

World Vision