logo
 

 

CFCA NEWS  
   

 

Manage my sponsorship

CFCA news - Fact Sheet

Journalist Fact Sheet

     

What is CFCA?

How many children and aging people are sponsored?

How many people are CFCA sponsors?

Where does CFCA work?

Where are the CFCA headquarters?

How does CFCA work?

CFCA sponsors: What they contribute. What they receive.

How does CFCA invite sponsors to join the CFCA community?

What other ways can people contribute to CFCA?

Accountability

Leadership

History

Mission Statement

Contact and more information

 

Journalist fact sheet

 

Download a pdf  

version of this page

 

What is CFCA?

CFCA is an international lay Catholic movement of people sponsoring children, youth and the aging in developing countries. We help families put food on the table, send their children to school, access health care and have a decent place to live so that they can end the cycle of poverty. We work with people of all faiths.

How many children and aging people are sponsored? (Updated monthly)

Children: 288,251               Aging: 20,703               Vocation candidates: 488           Total: 309,442

 

How many people are CFCA sponsors? (Updated monthly)

There are 272,575 primarily U.S.-based sponsors.

Where does CFCA work?

CFCA has projects in 25 countries, listed by region below:

Mexico and Central America

Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua 

Caribbean

Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti

South America

Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela

Africa

Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda

Asia

India, Philippines, Sri Lanka

       

Where are the CFCA headquarters?

The CFCA headquarters are in Kansas City, Kan.

How does CFCA work?

We bring people together through a sponsorship model in which one sponsor partners with a child or aging person in a developing country, offering support and encouragement. This relationship impacts not only the child or aging friend but the whole family and the sponsor as well.

At CFCA, we listen to families and tailor the sponsorship benefits to their needs, giving them the tools to make a better life for their children. We also give them a means to work with their neighbors to support each other and build stronger communities.

CFCA sponsors: What they contribute. What they receive.
Through the support of primarily U.S.-based sponsors, who contribute $30 a month, CFCA provides basic life necessities and, in some instances, livelihood programs so families can become self-sustaining and live with dignity. Sponsors get to know their sponsored friends through letters and photographs, and some sponsors travel to meet the people they help support on CFCA-hosted mission awareness trips.


Benefits and services provided through sponsorship are personalized according to the needs of the family and may include: nutritious food, school uniforms, school supplies, tuition or other school fees, clothing, housing repairs, medical and dental care, livelihood support, literacy training for adults, Christmas and birthday celebrations, social outings and assistance for the elderly.

 

How does CFCA invite sponsors to join the CFCA community?

CFCA’s primary way of inviting sponsors is through parish presentations. About 30 priests visit parishes on weekends and speak on behalf of CFCA sponsorship.

Some people who have sponsored through CFCA become advocates. They share the story of sponsorship with their families, friends and community by hosting sponsorship parties, giving talks to community organizations and bringing CFCA presenters to their churches.

What other ways can people contribute to CFCA?

CFCA manages several funds that accept donations, as follows:

 

Accountability

Charity Navigator, an independent charity oversight organization, has awarded CFCA a four-star rating for the seventh year in a row, an honor earned by less than 1 percent of the charities it reviews. We have earned an A+ rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy and meet the stringent standards established by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance.

 

Leadership

Chief Governing Officer: Scott Wasserman

Chief Executive Officer: Francis “Paco” Wertin

President and Co-founder: Robert Hentzen

Director of International Programs: Paul Pearce

Director of Sponsorship Operations: Elaine Haake

Director of Sponsor Outreach: Raelene Dietz

Director of Communications: Loretta Shea Kline

History

CFCA was established in 1981 by brothers Bob, Jim and Bud Hentzen, their sister Nadine Pearce and Jerry Tolle. Bob Hentzen, a former Christian Brother, and Tolle, a former Jesuit priest, worked in Central and South America for many years. They developed the sponsorship program to help people living in dire poverty. 

 

Mission Statement

CFCA’s mission is to walk with the poor and marginalized of the world.

We provide personal attention and direct benefits to children, youth, aging and their families so they may live with dignity, achieve their desired potential and participate fully in society.
We invite people of good will to live in daily solidarity with the world's poor through one-to-one sponsorship.
We build community by fostering relationships of mutual respect, understanding and support that are culturally diverse, empowering and without religious or other prejudice.

Grounded in the Gospel call to serve the poor, CFCA is a lay Catholic organization working with persons of all faith traditions to create a worldwide community of compassion and service.

For more information:

Read our blog                                                                     

Visit our youth Web site          

Contact us:

Judy-Anne Goldman, public relations manager: (913) 384-7162, judy-anneg@cfcausa.org

Loretta Shea Kline, director of communications: (913) 384-7138, lorettak@cfcausa.org

Toll-free: (800) 875-6564