sponser a girl,?

evangeline

Over the course of 12 years I sponsored 2 girls through Plan. Never had any concerns about the running of the charity , always kept informed , received photos , sometimes small gifts etc. When the child reaches age 18 they automatically allocate a different child to you , so something to be aware of perhaps when in the future your circumstances may have changed.

de_g.

Don't assume that money spent on admin is money wasted - evidence actually demonstrates that the most effective charities spend more, rather than less - see http://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2013/may/02/good-charities-admin-costs-research.

As for sponsoring a child, I can see that it is gratifying, but if you're worried about admin then does it not concern you that the charity will be using a substantial proportion of whatever you donate on keeping you updated - time, effort, postage, etc? Seems to me that your priorities aren't quite consistent.