Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 PDF

Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Contents METRICS 1 ONLINE VISIT REQUESTS 2 COMPLETED VISITS...

Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Contents METRICS 1 ONLINE VISIT REQUESTS 2 COMPLETED VISITS 2 CANCELED VISITS 3 MOST COMMON CANCELLATION REASONS 3 1-TIME GIFTS TO CHILDREN 4 AFTER-VISIT SURVEY 4 AFTER-VISIT CULTIVATION CALL 5 SPONSORS FAQS 6 CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 6 INSPIRING STORIES 7 PHOTO GALLERY 8  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Metrics We are proud to release the 28th semi-annual report of visits conducted during the 1st half of 2024. The following statistics, highlights, and comments provide insights into the sponsor visit process for that period, aiding in the optimization of the visit experience and enhancing the roles of all stakeholders involved. Below are a table and a chart showing the total number of completed and canceled visits from January to June 2024. This is followed by a comprehensive analysis of the data, with comments on each section, key highlights, and conclusions. The table indicates that Minia Governorate received the highest number of sponsor visits. Cairo follows closely, due to its proximity and the larger number of sponsored children. Country Canceled Complete Cairo Giza Lower Bani Minia Assuit Sohag Luxor Egypt Suef USA 5 20 9 3 2 1 2 1 2 0 AUS 5 58 6 2 5 11 17 7 3 7 CAN 3 12 3 0 7 0 0 2 0 0 INT. 0 4 0 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 UK 0 4 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 0 Gulf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 98 18 9 14 13 21 11 5 7 1  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 70 63 60 50 Sum of Total (Jan-Jun) 40 35 2024 30 30 25 Sum of Total (Jan-Jun) 2023 18 20 15 9 10 4 4 2 2 0 0 USA AUS CAN INT. UK Gulf Online Visit Requests In the first half of 2024, 41 out of 98 visits were manually requested, compared to 25 in 2023. This increases the proportion of manual requests to 42%, up from 33% in 2023. Notably, 20 of these 41 manual requests were for the same sponsor, Medehat Magdy. Manual visit requests fall within less than two weeks' notice, and thus, cannot be submitted online. The donor mobile application should help encourage sponsors to submit their visit requests with enough notice. 8 manual visit requests were for sponsors from US, 25 from Australia (20 out of which were for Medehat Magdy, and the DR region owner tried to walk him through the link online but faced a technical difficulty adding the children he wanted to visit), 5 from Canada, and 3 from Egypt. The DR region specialist diligently guides sponsors on visit arrangements and the visit process. This effort is reflected in a lower cancellation rate in 2024 compared to 2023, as detailed in Section 1.3. Completed Visits 139 visit requests were received during the first half of 2024, compared to 143 during same semester of 2023, a slight decrease. 98 visits were completed by 52 sponsors in 2024 compared to 76 visits completed by 37 sponsors during the same semester of 2023. Out of 98 children, 30 (31%) were previously visited. Below is a breakdown of the children previously visited by their sponsors per country. USA Australia Canada International UK 4 (20%) 19 (33%) 4 (33%) 3 (75%) 0 (0%) 2  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Canceled Visits In the first half of 2024, 15 visits were canceled compared to 18 in 2023. 12 sponsors in total asked to cancel some of their visits, and 10 of them asked to cancel all their visits. The table on page 1 shows that the cancelation rate dropped from 19% in 2023 to 13% in 2024. Now, we strictly apply the policy to not accept visit requests with available dates that fall within less than one-week notice, which are very likely to be canceled. If it is a manual visit request, we do not proceed with the arrangements until we make sure we have all the information we need, applying the same policy. Below is a comparison of the cancelation rates between 2023 and 2024. Overall, the cancellation rate dropped for all countries. 9 8 8 7 6 5 5 5 5 Sum of Canceled (2024) 4 3 3 Sum of Cancelled 2023 3 2 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 USA AUS CAN INT. UK Gulf Most Common Cancellation Reasons Visits were canceled due to many reasons, and most commonly the following: - Tight and unpredictable schedule: Ms. Lilian Kobrossy (DS468485, United States) said that her work schedule kept changing and work meetings were unpredictable. - Difficulty reaching the sponsor to confirm the visit date or the meeting point: Magda K. Migali (DS447253, United States) did not contact the sponsorship specialist as agreed when she and her husband arrived to Aswan. The specialist emailed the husband, but he did not reply, texted him at his phone number and did not get a response as well. Finally, we had to cancel the visit in order not to keep the family waiting. - Medical emergency: Marise Barsoum (DS473763, Canada) called the field staff and asked to rearrange the visit to the following day due to her father having undergone an urgent surgery. Then, she called the sponsorship specialist and asked to cancel the visit, as both her parents will not be able to travel to Alexandria with her. For reference, please check Cancelled Visit Report 3  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 1-Time Gifts to Children When arranging a visit, sponsors often inquire about suitable gifts for their children. The sponsorship team provides guidance on appropriate options. However, almost all of sponsors choose to give monetary gifts instead, allowing children to select their preferred items. In 2024, 50 out of 52 sponsors gave their children money gifts. Below is a summary of gifts given by sponsors during visits per country. USA AUS CAN INT UK Gulf Total Country 828.28 5,109.26 2269.09 475.75 219.48 0 8901.86 Money (EGP 33,800) (EGP (EGP (EGP (EGP (EGP Gifts (USD) 235,700) 108,337) 20,000) 10,000) 407,837) After-Visit Survey 14 out of 52 sponsors filled in surveys for 29 visits in 2024 while 8 out of 37 sponsors filled in surveys for 14 visits in 2023. This means that the completion rate is 27% versus 22% respectively. The sponsorship specialist follows up with the sponsor after the complete their visit and encourages them to fill in the survey. The DR contacts the sponsor again to collect feedback on visits and can fill in the survey based on it. 10 sponsors said that they would encourage family and friends to sponsor children with Coptic Orphans and 4 said that they would promote Coptic Orphans on their social media platforms. Moreover, 3 requested to sponsor a child; 2 sponsors - Mr. David Khalil (DS469039) from Australia and Mr. Danial Ikladious from Australia (DS469056) - had their sponsorship requests accommodated short time after they returned home; while a third sponsor expressed interest in sponsoring a child at a later date. Surveys trigger after-visit cultivation calls made by DR region owners to further cultivate with sponsors about their visits. For refernce, please check After Visit Survey Report. Item/Country After-Visit Survey Australia 12 Canada 6 International 1 United Kingdom 2 United States and Gulf 8 Total 29 4  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 After-Visit Cultivation Call After the sponsor is back from Egypt, it is very important to call them to get their feedback about the visit and how all arrangements went. After-visit cultivation call will have a separate section on Simsim, so that it can be easily conducted and monitored. After-visit cultivation calls to sponsors have increased from 54% in 2023 to 85% in 2024 due to two factors: the donor relations specialist is now tasked to call the sponsor while visit details are fresh and has received training on effective cultivation and feedback collection. The total numbers of after-visit cultivation calls include the misrecorded notes. It is highly recommended that the DR specialist record the after-visit feedback in the same visit communication note. Item/Country After-Visit Call Completed After- Missed After-visit calls visit calls Australia 96% completion rate 24 1 for returned sponsors. Canada 83% completion rate 5 1 for returned sponsors. International 100% completion rate 2 0 for returned sponsors. United Kingdom 100% completion rate 3 0 for returned sponsors. United States and Gulf 54% completion rate 7 6 for returned sponsors. Total 85% completion rate. 41 7 The table shows that Australia has the highest number of after-visit calls because it has the highest number of visits. Also, 21 of Australia visits were conducted by one Major Donor, Medhat Magdy, and his sister, Mary. For reference, please check the After Visit Call Report. 5  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Sponsors FAQs While arranging a visit for a sponsor, some questions might be raised. Below are examples of such questions and the recommended answers: 1) Who can I reach if I have inquiries about my child? Will the gift I gave to my child’s mother at the end of the visit be handed to my child? We advised him that he should reach his country office if he had any inquiries about his sponsored child and that we handed the gift as it is to his child. We also advised him that we just make sure that gifts handed to children are appropriate and unused. 2) What is the role of the rep and field coordinator? We clarified that the volunteer rep maintains contact with the family to report needs and provide emotional and financial support, as unpaid service. In contrast, the field coordinator is a full-time, trained employee who provides technical support to the volunteer reps and monitors the implementation of the Program in the respective area. 3) Is it appropriate to send letters to my child as I thought it might hurt her sense of privacy? At first, the sponsor and her husband thought corresponding with their sponsored child might hurt her dignity. They wanted to remotely check up on her through Coptic Orphans without direct correspondence with the child. We advised that sending letters to children mean much care to them. Challenges and Recommendations There is the possibility of things going out of control or that we face some challenges such as the following: A last-minute accommodation request: In order to make sure that all the visit arrangements are made enough time in advance, the sponsorship specialist offered them accommodation and even left the website link of the recommended hotel and advised how far in advance it should be booked. Too close to the visit date and after the originally recommended one was fully booked, the sponsor asked to book accommodation which left the specialist very little time to successfully find a good alternative. We are investigating compiling a comprehensive list of transportation and accommodation suppliers to be able to resort to Plan-B if original arrangements fail. A Child’s disappointment when their visit is canceled: We emphasize the disappointment experienced by a child who eagerly anticipates a visit when a sponsor requests cancellation. However, we offer a call instead to alleviate such disappointment. Short-notice reschedule request: A policy to prevent reschedule requests from sponsors within one week of the visit date is being finalized. Sponsors are allowed to change a confirmed visit date or time only once. Outings: Outings for Dr. Shawkat Massih’s (DS425024) from the United States for his children were organized in the first half of 2024, with 2 additional outings for other sponsors scheduled for the second half. The current policy permits outings only if the sponsor's initial visit was to the child's home and both the field coordinator and volunteer representative are present. Due to logistical challenges, policy refinement and further guidelines are underway to ensure smoother, more efficient, implementation. 6  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Inspiring Stories Emad El Komos (DS420610) from Australia experienced a serious accident affecting his lungs before traveling to Egypt. Given this emergency and his need for extensive medical tests and consultations, the sponsorship specialist offered to cancel his visit. However, El Komos was determined to meet Martina, hoping his daughter could connect with his sponsored child and care for her in the future. He even considered another visit to Martina before leaving Egypt. Seif Basillious (DS452287) from Australia visited his three sponsored children, including two for the second time. Veronia’s family hosted him for lunch and gifted his daughter. He praised the Program for its visit arrangements and its work with the children. He told Karas' mother that these visits provide him with lasting positive energy, underscoring their importance. His daughter Maria was surprised by his visit less than a month after he began sponsoring her. He expressed deep gratitude and happiness for the Program and the staff. Dr. Mamdouh Metrie (DS424942) from Canada has four sponsored children, and it was his first visit to his child Mariam and her sister Marina. The visits brought them great joy. He expressed interest in ongoing communication through letters, noting that he and his wife drop hard copies at the Canada office. His wife, Dr. Nermine, gave the children a picture of her with her children and grandchildren, making the children feel as though they were part of her family. During his visit to his sponsored child Merna, she gave Dr. Mamdouh and his wife a picture they had sent her before put in a light frame. He left his children generous money gifts and many non-monetary gifts. He took the time to come to the Cairo office and meet the sponsorship team thereafter. Mina El Sanabawy (DS402635) from the US visited his child Youssef in Assiut for the second time. He told Youssef that he knows all what he had written in his letters by heart. He expressed how happy and proud he felt when he knew of his child’s aspirations and how the Program impacts him. 7  Sponsor Visits Semi-Annual Report June 2024 Photo Gallery Merit Daniel, US (DS470178) Dr. Joseph Faltas, USA (DS404812) Jacqueline Saad, AUS (DS470196) Mary Magdy, AUS (DS485717) Amir Barsoum, CAN (DS396165) Mamdouh Metrie, CAN (DS4242942) 8