Sponsorship Manual 2024 PDF

January Sponsorship Manual Sponsorship Manual 2024 2024  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION...

January Sponsorship Manual Sponsorship Manual 2024 2024  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION 6 CONCEPTS OF THE SPONSORSHIP SYSTEM 6 SPONSORSHIP LEXICON 6 NOT ALONE PROGRAM 6 NOT ALONE CHILD 7 ROSETTA 7 FUTURE LEADERS INITIATIVE AND SCHOLARSHIP 7 REP 8 FIELD COORDINATOR 8 AREA PROGRAM MANAGER 8 SPONSORSHIP 8 SPONSOR 8 I-SPONSOR 9 I-SPONSOR PROXY 9 SPONSORED CHILD 9 RECURRING GIFTS 9 ANNUAL BLESSING 9 KENZY 9 BASEETA 10 DONOR ONLINE ACCOUNT (PORTAL) 10 FINANCIAL BUDGETING 11 BUDGET ALLOCATION WITHIN NAP 11 HOW TO PRESENT SPONSORSHIP TO PROSPECTIVE SPONSORS 11 POOL CONCEPT 11 FUND TYPES 12 OBTAINING NEW SPONSORS 13 SPONSORS REACHING OUT TO US 13 WEBSITE 13 SOCIAL MEDIA 13 NEWSLETTER 13 FIELD UPDATES 13 E-MAIL 13 PHONE 13 OUTREACH 13 CHURCH PRESENTATIONS 13 SCHOOL PRESENTATIONS 14 HOUSE GATHERINGS 14 1  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 PHONE NETWORKING 14 REFERRALS 15 RETREATS/CONFERENCES 15 EVENTS 15 HOW TO HANDLE A REQUEST FROM AN ASPIRING SPONSOR AFFECTED BY EGYPT’S BLASPHEMY LAWS 15 SPONSORSHIPS FROM EGYPT 17 SPONSORSHIP INITIAL PROCESSING 17 PAYMENT OPTIONS 17 HOW A SPONSOR WILL CHANGE TO A DONOR 18 CHOOSING A CHILD FOR A SPONSOR 18 TRACKING CHILDREN 19 MULTIPLE CHILDREN 19 CHILD BIO 19 COMPILING WELCOME KIT 21 METHODS OF WELCOME KIT DISTRIBUTION 25 NEW SPONSOR WELCOME EMAILS 25 NEW SPONSOR FOLLOW- UP EMAIL (1 WEEK AFTER SENDING THE NEW WELCOME KIT AND EMAIL) 25 NEW SPONSORSHIP ORIENTATION VIDEO IN POINTS 26 REQUESTING ADDITIONAL CHILDREN 27 ADDING ADDITIONAL CHILDREN 27 ADDING CHILDREN BEYOND THE 6 LIMIT POLICY 27 PROCESSING ADDITIONAL CHILDREN 27 NAP SPONSORSHIP: EGYPT’S ROLE 28 INFORMING A CHILD’S FAMILY ABOUT SPONSORSHIP 28 THE SPONSORSHIP ON KENZY 28 SPONSORSHIP COMPONENTS 30 SPONSOR CORRESPONDENCE TO CHILDREN 30 WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT 30 SOLICITING CORRESPONDENCE – BIRTHDAY REMINDERS 30 SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT TO SPONSOR 32 SPONSORS CORRESPONDENCE LOGGING 32 CHILD CORRESPONDENCE 35 WHAT IF A CHILD DOES NOT WANT TO WRITE TO THE SPONSOR? 37 THE ROLE OF TRANSLATORS IN CHILD CORRESPONDENCE PROCEDURE 37 SPONSORS LETTERS CRITERIA 37 REJECTED LETTERS PROCESS 38 LANGUAGE PREFERENCE 38 TIMING OF CHILD FIRST LETTER ARRIVING TO SPONSOR 39 2  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 TIMING OF SUBSEQUENT CHILD LETTER TO SPONSOR 40 DETAILED TRAIL IN EGYPT OF SUBSEQUENT LETTER 40 ELECTRONIC CHILD LETTER TEMPLATE 41 CORRESPONDENCE ISSUES WHEN CHANGE IN STATUS OF SPONSOR/CHILD OCCURS 42 GIFTS 42 MONETARY GIFTS 43 PHYSICAL GIFTS 44 SPONSOR-DESIGNATED PURPOSE DONATION 44 ANNUAL BLESSING 44 CHILD’S GIFT CUT OFF DATE 47 REP HANDLING OF CHILD’S GIFT 47 GIFTS FROM SPONSORS WHILE VISITING EGYPT 47 GIFTS FROM SPONSORS TO AN INACTIVE CHILD 48 GIFTS FROM FORMER SPONSORS TO AN ACTIVE CHILD 48 EXCEPTIONAL GIFTS 48 GIFTS TO REPS 49 VISITS 49 VISIT GUIDELINES 50 VISIT REQUEST 50 SPONSOR AFTER VISIT SURVEY 62 DR ASSOCIATE AFTER VISIT CULTIVATION CALL 63 INCOMPLETE VISIT REQUEST 64 EXCEPTIONAL VISITS REQUESTS ( MANUAL PROCESS) 65 SPONSOR VISIT INTEREST TEMPLATE (NON PORTAL) 67 SPONSORSHIP SPECIALIST VISIT ARRANGEMENTS 68 SPONSOR VISIT EXPENSES 69 UNSCHEDULED SPONSOR VISITS (“SURPRISE VISITS”) 70 SPONSOR GIFT INQUIRY BEFORE THE VISIT 70 THE ROLE OF THE REP IN A SPONSOR VISIT 71 STAFF ACCOMPANIMENT ON SPONSOR VISIT 71 THE ROLE OF THE FIELD COORDINATOR/ SPONSORSHIP SPECIALIST IN A SPONSOR VISIT 71 FIELD COORDINATOR PREPARATION BEFORE SPONSOR VISIT 72 SECURITY DURING A SPONSOR VISIT 72 HEALTH CRISES, PANDEMICS, AND SPONSORS’ SAFETY 72 CANCELLING A VISIT 73 RESCHEDULING A VISIT 73 NO-SHOWS 73 CONDUCTING THE SPONSOR VISIT 73 GIFTS FROM SPONSORS DURING SPONSOR VISIT 74 FIELD COORDINATOR AND CONTACT WITH SPONSOR 74 AFTER VISIT REPORT 74 SEMI-ANNUAL SPONSORS VISITS’ REPORT 74 VISIT REQUEST FROM A PRIEST 75 POTENTIAL MAJOR DONORS VISITS 75 MAINTENANCE 78 3  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 RECORD MAINTENANCE 78 PAYMENT MAINTENANCE 78 DECLINED DONATIONS 79 SPONSORS NOT RESPONDING TO ALL DECLINED PAYMENT EMAILS 82 BAD CC LETTER TEMPLATE FOR DONOR/ SPONSOR 83 EXPIRING CREDIT CARDS 83 ADVANCED/CHECK PAYMENT: 84 MISS YOU CARDS 84 SPONSORSHIP ON HOLD 85 ADDRESS MAINTENANCE 86 THANKING SPONSORS 86 HANDWRITTEN THANK YOU TEMPLATE (FIRST TIME DONOR) 87 HANDWRITTEN THANK YOU TEMPLATE (NEW SPONSOR, FIRST TIME) 87 HANDWRITTEN THANK YOU TEMPLATE (ONE TIME $1000+) OPTION 1 88 HANDWRITTEN THANK YOU TEMPLATE (ONE TIME $1000+) OPTION 2 88 CHILD PROGRESS REPORTS 88 CHILD PROGRESS REPORT TEMPLATE 88 PROGRESS REPORT CONTENT 89 PROGRESS REPORT EMAIL TEMPLATE 90 SPONSOR INQUIRY 90 MAJOR UPDATES ON SPONSORED CHILDREN 91 CHILD NEWS 91 PHONE CALLS BETWEEN SPONSOR AND CHILD 91 SPONSORS WITH INACTIVE CHILDREN 92 ASSIGNING NEW CHILDREN TO SPONSORS WHOSE CHILDREN HAVE BECOME INACTIVE 93 EXCESS OF 6 CHILDREN AND ONE BECOMING INACTIVE 94 TIMELINE FOR NOTIFYING SPONSOR 94 PROCESS OF NOTIFYING SPONSOR 94 EXIT EMAIL TEMPLATES 94 STAYING IN TOUCH WITH INACTIVE CHILD 100 RE-ACTIVATED CHILDREN AND RE-ENROLLMENT 100 CLOSING OUT RELATIONSHIPS/REDIRECTING 101 SPONSOR TERMINATING RELATIONSHIP WITH CHILD 101 FINAL EMAIL TO TERMINATE SPONSORSHIP IF UNRESPONSIVE 102 IF A SPONSOR ENDS HIS SPONSORSHIP AND LATER REJOINS 103 PROCESS WHEN SPONSOR BECOMES DECEASED 103 SPONSORSHIP TO THE NEXT LEVEL 103 THE LADDER OF ENGAGEMENT 103 COFFEE MEETING 103 SENDING PERSONAL CARDS 104 PRAYER REQUEST CARDS 105 4  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 SICKNESS CARD TEMPLATE 105 BAPTISM CARD TEMPLATE 105 DEATH OF A LOVED ONE CARD TEMPLATE 106 MEMORIAL/ SYMPATHY CARD TEMPLATE 106 WEDDING CARD TEMPLATE 107 DATA MONITORING & PERFECTION 107 TERMINOLOGY 109 CAMPAIGNS 110 WAYS TO CAPTURE THE CAMPAIGN 110 TYPES OF CAMPAIGNS 110 PASSIVE CAMPAIGNS 110 ACTIVE CAMPAIGNS 111 NAMING THE CAMPAIGN 111 PULLING CAMPAIGN DATA 111 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 112 WHO YOU SERVE 112 EGYPT-RELATED QUESTIONS 114 SPONSORSHIP 115 EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT ISSUES 118 DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE CHILD OR REP 120 CORRESPONDENCE WITH CHILD 122 GIFTS 123 VISITING MY CHILD 124 COPTIC ORPHANS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHURCH 126 ORGANIZATIONAL CONCERNS 127 OTHER PROGRAMS/SERVICES OFFERED OUTSIDE NAP: (B’EDAYA, URGENT NEEDS) 130 PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHER ENTITIES/ORGANIZATIONS 131 TAX RECEIPTS 131 COPTIC ORPHANS SOLICITATIONS/MAILINGS 132 ANNUAL REPORT QUESTIONS 133 SIGNED AGREEMENT 135 5  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Introduction Sponsorship is the largest source of individual donor income for Coptic Orphans. Due to the immensity of the processes involved, many members of Coptic Orphans across roles of staff departments, volunteer functions, and sponsors are inevitably involved in the sponsorship process. This manual is for staff across the diverse array of Coptic Orphans offices, departments, and functions. The purpose of this handbook is fourfold: First, the sponsorship handbook explains the process step-by-step to ensure the process will always have both uninterrupted continuity and consistency. Second, it is not only to preserve our experience at Coptic Orphans from the beginning of the organization until now but also to be the place we go to add new information and experience that we gain as we go along. This document is therefore a working document that will evolve as our understanding of the best way to do things also evolves. Third, though staff and volunteers from diverse departments and perspectives are all involved in the sponsorship process, we all work best when we understand how our particular roles fit into the overall picture. Thus, this manual strives for a comprehensive picture of everything involved in the sponsorship relationship from multiple perspectives; that of the sponsor and that of departments within Coptic Orphans (Programs, Donor Relations, Communications, and Administration). Moreover, it describes the staff’s role in the process, and also includes that of the volunteer Reps who facilitate the sponsorship relationship from the field. This document also contains explanations of the “why’s,” “what’s,” in addition to the “how’s” of the sponsorship process. Fourth, this manual will serve as a trouble-shooting resource for staff and volunteers so that when they encounter situations or get questions to which they do not know the answers, they have a single source of practical information that they can consult. Concepts of the Sponsorship System Concepts of the Sponsorship System Sponsorship Lexicon Not Alone Program Not Alone Program (NAP) is Coptic Orphans flagship program. Nermien Riad, Coptic Orphans founder, began her efforts by supporting 45 girls in an orphanage during the late 1980’s. After seeing that children who lived in orphaned households faced even greater disadvantages than those in orphanages, Nermien moved from supporting children in orphanages to supporting them in their own homes through local volunteer networks. Thus, NAP began to take its present shape. Today, NAP works through a grassroots network of hundreds of volunteers specially trained church-based community leaders, also known as Reps. These Reps provide our fatherless children with the tools that they need to break the cycle of poverty and injustice and become change-makers in their communities. Our over 900 Reps serve as advocates and mentors to the fatherless children enrolled in NAP. Each Rep builds a long-term relationship with the children they serve, connecting with each child through home visits, educational support, mentoring, life-skill workshops, and community activities. The Reps work to achieve NAP’s goal of increasing each child’s academic achievement, building strong character, and 6  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 nurturing their sense of volunteerism as future leaders of Egyptian society. By connecting the children with these building blocks for a successful life, NAP helps prepare them to break the cycle of poverty. Children enrolled in NAP receive access to a range of services focusing on their development via financial support and technical support. The Reps, acting as their mentors, are able to provide these range of services by regularly visiting the children’s homes to provide guidance and encouragement, while assessing and attending to their overall development. The Reps ensure the children have adequate nutrition, healthcare and housing, while also providing moral, social, and spiritual support, in addition to teaching civic rights awareness to the participants. NAP’s educational support helps in covering private tutoring, transportation to and from lessons, school supplies including uniforms, books and bags, and other expenses such as university tuition, if the child’s courage and hard work takes them to that level of schooling. NAP children also receive access to in-house and external scholarship opportunities. NAP also provides life-skills workshops that nurture good study habits and build reading, goal-setting, and critical thinking for the children as well as life skills workshops for their mothers. Additionally, enrichment trips open up the children’s world, and stimulates their curiosity as well as develops their social skills. Not Alone Child Enrollment in NAP requires the following pre-requisites: children must be fatherless, live below the poverty line, enrolled in school (if school-aged) and age-appropriately literate. Our NAP children often live with their widowed mother and siblings, and sometimes if they have lost both parents, with one or more of their extended family members. We call the children enrolled in NAP, “participants” since they too have an important role in our program. Thus, we expect children to do their part, which involves active participation, since our approach is not charity-based but rather follows a model of transformational development and partnership. It is the Rep who identifies the children from their local communities. Many times, a Rep identifies the children from the “Brethren of the Lord” lists of local Coptic parishes (lists that keep track of those in the parish who are in particular need). This way, even identifying children is a grassroots process. NAP children are currently all Christian children. Since we equip children in their homes, if we accepted non-Christian children in NAP we would risk accusations of evangelism, which is illegal in Egypt under the blasphemy laws and is subject to severe penalties (see section 3.3). Rosetta Rosetta is the name that Coptic Orphans uses internally to refer to a NAP pre-enrollment phase designed to help children from 4th to 8th grade who are not yet at age-appropriate literacy, reach that level before enrollment in NAP. Rosetta provides support at a lower level than in NAP for six months while the child progresses in his/her literacy level under the guidance of a Rep. If he/she succeeds in becoming age- appropriately literate during this six months’ period, he/she becomes an official NAP participant. Future Leaders Initiative and Scholarship The Future Leaders Initiative was designed and piloted in 2016, replacing its smaller precursor established in 2012. The Initiative encompasses all the efforts to identify the most promising participants and provide them with the extra push they need to apply for and win 1) private, 2) public or 3) in-house scholarships. A key pillar in this initiative is the building of loyal participants who will become leaders for their church and community. The Coptic Orphans in-house scholarship available to top High School scholars is named the Future Leaders Scholarship. 7  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Rep The NAP Representative (Rep) is a volunteer that has a one-to-many relationship with a number of children in NAP who live in the Rep’s designated territory. The Rep provides opportunities tailored to the child’s circumstances, local limitations, and individual resources, from the financial support provided by Coptic Orphans according to the budget designated to each Rep. The Rep also serves as an advocate, mentor, and guide to the participant. The vast majority of our Reps are also “servants” in the Coptic Orthodox Church. Field Coordinator The Field Coordinator (FC) is a Coptic Orphans Egypt staff member who monitors and facilitates the work of the Rep and accompanies sponsors on visits to their sponsored children. Area Program Manager An Area Program Manager (APM) is a Coptic Orphans Egypt staff member who oversees the work of the Field Coordinator in his/her area. There are currently eight areas in Egypt (Lower Egypt, Cairo Area, Giza Area, Bani Suef Area, Minia Area, Assiut Area, Sohag Area, Luxor Area), and therefore 8 APMs. Sponsorship Only NAP children are eligible for sponsorship. Sponsorship is a one-to-one connection between a sponsor and a child; it is an opportunity for both the child and sponsor to benefit from the relationship. The encouragement of the sponsor is yet another intervention of the Program to achieve the 3 stated NAP goals. Lastly, sponsorship is also another mechanism to connect the diaspora with children in Egypt. The NAP relationship involves automated monthly financial support of at least a minimum level equivalent to the following currency levels: $60 AUS, $60 Canadian, £42 GBP and $60 US (the standard for the US and International) per month to the general fund. However, when promoting for sponsorship, we now say that most sponsors at $100 as the living costs in Egypt increased tremendously over the past few years and it now costs around $100 for a child to be enrolled in NAP. In return for this financial commitment, Coptic Orphans commits to deliver a minimum of two letters from the child and one Progress Report from the child’s Rep, for each sponsored child per year. The sponsor is also encouraged to write at least one letter for each sponsored child per year. Additionally, the connection may involve periodic gifts from the sponsor to the child on special occasions and visits by the sponsor to the child. Regardless if the NAP child is sponsored or not, he/she receives the full benefits of the program. The sponsorship model is our most effective mechanism for providing annual income for Coptic Orphans due to its tangibility and attraction for donors. From a financial perspective, we prefer recurring donors to sponsors which carries a lower administrative burden. However, we understand the value of sponsorship that allows for a personal connection to a child and in turn leads to long-term donors. Sponsor A sponsor is someone who financially donates while having a one-on-one connection with a NAP child. In addition to the sponsor’s monthly recurring donation, the sponsor also writes to his/her child, may give periodic gifts on special occasions and may even visit his/her child. Cultural and religious sensitivities in Egypt, in relation to the blasphemy laws, preclude us from having sponsors who are Muslim (see section 3.3 on how to communicate this to prospective sponsors). 8  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 i-Sponsor An i-sponsor is a person who is sponsoring a child, but their payments are made on their behalf (possibly by a parent or another entity). For Example, a parent can be responsible for the monthly sponsorship payment while having their son or daughter develop a personal relationship with a NAP child in Egypt through the exchange of letters. In this case, the sponsor’s son or daughter is considered the i-sponsor1 who exchanges letters with the participant and is being notified with all the child’s news. Meanwhile, any payment processes or issues are to be taken up with the i-sponsor proxy (the parent in this case). i-Sponsor Proxy The i-sponsor proxy is the person making sponsorship payment on behalf of the i-sponsor. The I-sponsor proxy could be a parent, and uncle paying for his son/nephew, or a company paying for an employee. Sponsored Child A sponsored child is a child who has a sponsorship connection with his/her sponsor. All NAP children are theoretically available for sponsorship. All children receive the same program benefits as sponsored children; the only difference is that the sponsored child has a connection with a sponsor and the added opportunity of corresponding with his/her sponsor abroad, receiving special gifts, and meeting his/her sponsor in-person through a visit. Recurring Gifts A recurring gift is a donation that is set up to occur more than once. Setting up an automated recurring gift is an essential pre-requisite of the sponsorship relationship. The vast majority of recurring gifts are monthly donations without a pre-determined end date. Our goal in fundraising is to receive as much income as possible with the lowest possible amount of overhead expense, thus allocating more funds to programs. Recurring gifts help us achieve this goal. We exert effort to acquire the donation, but get the benefit of a steady stream of income over many years. Among recurring gifts, the most cost-efficient are automated monthly gifts set up through direct debit (EFT). They tend to require less interventions on our part since they do not expire. However, donors prefer giving credit card details and are more reluctant to give their bank details. Credit card companies deduct an average of 3% surcharge from the total contribution. Annual Blessing Sponsors may send a monetary gift for an occasion such as Christmas or Easter. When this is a recurring gift for every Christmas or every Easter, it becomes an Annual Blessing. Kenzy Kenzy is the mobile application the IS team developed in 2019 for the Not Alone team (staff & volunteer representatives) to serve as an interface to the Not Alone data on salesforce. This application also helps save time and effort and ensures the quality and completeness of data provided by the volunteer reps. 1 i stands for imaginary, like the imaginary number in math. 9  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 The volunteer reps use this application to record children/family information, housing improvement & medical requests. The field coordinators also use this application to review the submitted data and record any additional and essential information for follow-ups and evaluations that concern the respective area. Moreover, the area program managers use this application to review and assess tasks and requests submitted by the field coordinators for higher-level monitoring and budget control for each area. Baseeta Baseeta is the new financial system for the Not Alone program, facilitating direct subsidy transfers to mothers through their bank accounts on a monthly basis. Each month, the representative serving the family will be responsible for submitting a needs assessment for each family. The proposed amount, determined by the representative's discretion regarding the family's spending needs for the next month, will be reviewed and approved by the designated field staff. Subsequently, the approved amount will be transferred to the mother in the following month. Donor Online Account (Portal) Donors can create their online accounts on our website to access and update their payment information & donations, etc. Through the online account, sponsors connect with their sponsored children by writing letters and planning visits to their homes in Egypt. 10  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Financial budgeting At the highest level, all revenue, including sponsorship revenue is pooled together to finance all programs of Coptic Orphans, including NAP, The Valuable Girl Project, Serve to Learn, The 21 trip, etc. The number of new children to enroll each year in NAP is determined by the estimated income for the year as well as the required expenses for the different categories such as workshops, Rep trainings, staff support, transportation, etc. Budget Allocation within NAP Each month, the needs’ assessment budget is transferred to the mothers. The rep, who would have already attended training on budgeting and working with the family to use the funds wisely, will help the mothers determine spending priorities based on each child’s particular circumstance for each particular month, to achieve the goals of the program for quality education, strong character and a sense of volunteerism. Expense items include but are not limited to: school lessons, school supplies, clothes, medicine, transportation, home appliances, rent, sport/talent fees, workshop materials, etc. Expenses will vary among families and between months. For example, a family may use the budget for literacy tutoring to help one child catch up with his/her classmates; and another child to develop his musical talents. These examples illustrate the way funds may work through NAP, but bear in mind that it will vary with each family. On average it costs us $100 USD to enroll a child in NAP. Keep in mind that every child, family, and community is unique and may thus require different services to access their basic rights. NAP is tailored accordingly to account for these differences. Ultimately, our goal in the NAP is to empower the participants with quality education, enable them to advance academically, develop a well-rounded personality and character, and equip them to become change-makers in their communities. Because of that, sponsorship funds an array of services that are sometimes more and sometimes less quantifiable. How to Present Sponsorship to Prospective Sponsors When we explain how sponsorship works to potential sponsors, we NEVER say that the sponsored child or family receives a particular dollar amount and we NEVER share the particular per-child budget with a sponsor. This creates the impression that we are merely distributing money and ignores the fact that the child receives so many less-easily quantifiable benefits through NAP, including workshops, mentoring, tutoring, training for his/her rep, transportation, and other services. Doing so would really undermine the goals of our program and provide a false impression about the real benefit of sponsorship funds. Sponsorship funds are investments in the child’s potential; not regular handouts or direct financial support of a family. The support provided through the Rep’s relationship with the child as his/her advocate, that the child receives and benefits from, is made possible through the training sessions and conferences given to the Reps. Through these avenues, the Reps are equipped with the skills to in turn empower, mentor, and advocate for the child. This provides life skills for the child, and nurtures his/her God-given talents. It also increases awareness of the child as he/she gains access to more fundamental rights of survival, nutrition, housing, etc. Pool Concept It is important to ensure the sponsor understands that his/her monthly gift does not go directly to his/her child’s pocket, but in a general pooled fund. 11  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 The pool concept is that all donations from all the sponsors go into a pool and the funds are used based on the child’s changing circumstances. Some months he may require more, so we cover; other times he may require less, at which time other children are supported. The pool is our way of ensuring that if sponsors drop off, the children have a safety net of support. Furthermore, not all children are sponsored, so any additional funds to the pool, ensures that they are also cared for. Hence, we encourage sponsors to contribute more than the $60 per month. Fund Types It is also important to highlight that there are two distinctive types of funds within the funding pool. One is called restricted fund, and the other is unrestricted. Restricted funds are money set aside for a particular purpose as a result of designated giving. They are permanently restricted to that purpose and cannot be used for other expenses of the nonprofit. Examples of the current restricted funds:  Bishop Samuel Endowment  Taunt Awatef Endowment  Children Gift Fund  Maged Atiya Scholarship By contrast, unrestricted funds may be used for any legal purpose appropriate to the organization. In other words, if a donor gives to Coptic Orphans, this goes to an unrestricted fund and may be used for expenses towards Housing, Microfinance, general operations, etc. If a donor gives towards the Housing Fund, monies will be used towards that purpose and any additional funds will be used towards the greatest need as determined by Coptic Orphans. Hence, the Housing Fund is not considered restricted. At Coptic Orphans, sponsor recruitment is everyone’s responsibility, not just the Donor Relations Department. Whenever you meet new people, mention the plight of the children of Egypt. Every volunteer, sponsor, staff member, board member, furthest-flung extended family member should become a sponsor-recruiting machine. Below is the process of how we recruit potential sponsors, and a view at the process of accepting sponsors. We obtain new sponsors two ways: by them reaching out to us, or us reaching out to them. Those that come to us, usually find us online through a search that leads them to our website or by following our posts on social media. Others who reach out to us inquire further about sponsorship by calling or emailing us, sometimes in response to a newsletter or email blast they received if they were on our mailing list or database as a constituent. We also obtain sponsors through our Donor Relations outreach efforts, presentations, events and general networking. 12  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Obtaining New Sponsors Sponsors Reaching Out To Us Website Sponsors often respond through the website in one of two ways. First, they can directly visit the website (www.copticorphans.org) and click on “Sponsor a Child Today” after selecting their country. They will then be directed to a donation page where they can enter their billing information, and request a child by gender or age. They also have the option to fill out a form to create a username and password for them. On subsequent visits to the website, they could enter their login info and make donations simply by choosing their payment method, which they have already stored. The donations entered through the website become immediately available and the DR processes the sponsorship by assigning a child. Social Media Sponsors may also react to what we post and share on our social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram. Newsletter All constituents who have financially contributed within the last 14 months receive newsletters. We mail out newsletters on a bimonthly basis. We include a reply card with the newsletter, which includes an option for sponsoring a child. Field Updates We send out monthly field updates through email blasts to all our constituents with a valid email address listed in our database. Field updates include a story from the field as well as a direct-ask for sponsorship or related to the different campaigns throughout the year. E-mail Sometimes a prospective sponsor will reach out to us by emailing [email protected]. Since e-mail tends to be an impersonal form of communication, we try to call those who e-mail us. If someone e-mails and we do not have their contact information, we reply and communicate via e-mail. Phone Often, prospective sponsors will call with questions about Coptic Orphans or with inquiries about sponsorship itself. Not only can these questions or inquiries over the phone lead to a potential sponsorship, but virtually any phone call or inquiry, when skillfully directed, can also result in an actual sponsorship. Outreach Church Presentations Another source of obtaining sponsors is through church presentations. Donor Relations (DR) outreach associates arrange visits to churches where they present an overview of our programs in Egypt including what sponsorship entails, to any of the various audiences: the general congregation after liturgy, Sunday 13  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 School classes, or meeting groups such as: Bible Studies, Youth Groups, and Servants. At the end of the presentation, the DR associates invite the people who heard our presentation to approach us should they have more questions or interest. It is there where we use that more personal opportunity to promote sponsorship further. We must select and prepare children bios before the presentation (see section 4.2.1). These bios are already prepared in welcome kits along with pre-filled donation cards containing the child ID. Therefore, if a prospective sponsor is interested, he/she can fill out the donation reply card by including their contact and payment information and we can provide them with the welcome kit on the spot. We do not give out welcome kits without first receiving the sponsor’s payment information (see section 4.4). After the presentation is over, we take back any filled-out donation reply cards back to the office for recording. We record the contact and payment information in the sponsor’s record along with the new child relationship in our database. School Presentations We also use school presentations as a method of in-person outreach, specifically College or University Coptic Clubs or association meetings. We raise awareness about Serve to Learn and the 21– which is geared towards University students – as well as encourage the students to sponsor a child as individuals or as a group. We also reach out to primary and secondary schools through various means (mostly done in Australia). In primary schools that we visit, we present a short talk or play; encourage the children to contribute to an urgent need or to sponsor a child as a group and through activity competitions. In secondary schools that we visit, we present talks and videos, encourage the children to contribute to an urgent need or to sponsor a child as a group and to conduct fundraising activities. House Gatherings When there are not opportunities to present at a church, we use house gatherings as a different form of outreach to promote our work in that region. A house gathering is an informal setting where we ask a sponsor or donor to gather their friends or family and invite them to their home. The host lets them know that a Coptic Orphans staff member would be coming to speak to them about the work we do for the children in Egypt and that we are trying to raise awareness about our cause. We may use promotional videos, come prepared with welcome kits, and donation reply cards. If there are youth present, we also use this as an opportunity to promote Serve to Learn and “The 21”. Phone Networking Phone networking is another form of outreach used to promote our cause and inform people about the work we do, especially in situations where the Donor Relations Associate is more limited in his/her flexibility through in-person outreach due to distance, cost, or inaccessibility to the churches. Phone networking is also a good method of outreach for first-time donors who come to us through our website or inquire about our work by sending an email to our info email account asking to learn more about us. The Donor Relations Associate should call the individual and ask him/her how he heard about us, and seek opportunities in his/her area in order to continue to raise awareness. Phone networking is especially a great tool for Donor Relations Associates who handle the United Kingdom, the Gulf, and international countries since it is the least costly and most convenient method of communication. 14  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Referrals Referrals are a form of outreach that any Coptic Orphans staff member can use. We use this as a way to promote our cause and work in our communities, whether that is through people we meet, family and friends, colleagues, volunteers, people who are interested in helping Egypt, etc. We also ask our donors and sponsors to spread the word for us in any way they can. Retreats/Conferences Donor Relations use retreats as another form of outreach. We start by seeing where the retreat or conference is hosted. If it is in an area where we have no issues from the Bishop, we ask the retreat planning committee if we can have 5-10 minutes to present our work. If the point of contact is unable to accommodate our request, we ask if we can have a table set up with brochures and materials for any attendees to come speak to us should they be interested. If we cannot do either, we may still send Donor Relations associates to attend the retreat, and use it as a way to meet new people and network with attendees. Though this is less direct, it is still an opportunity to raise awareness about our cause. Events Throughout the year we may have several events or activities that we can use to raise awareness about our cause or obtain new supporters. In the past, we have partnered with Better Life at their concerts, hosted “Top Donor” dinners, had a “Copts Got Talent” show, and had themed dinners such as “Courage and Strength” to celebrate our girls. Our anniversary galas have also been major milestone events to not only celebrate our work (20 year, 25 year, 30 year, and 35 year), but also to solicit financial support and obtain new sponsors. Other fun activities that we can have in the future to gain support are 5k-runs, summer bar-be-ques, boat cruises, etc. How to handle a request from an aspiring sponsor affected by Egypt’s Blasphemy Laws In the event that an individual who is of an Islamic faith approaches us about wanting to sponsor a child, DR must politely inform the individual that this is unfortunately not a possibility due to the nature of the religious tension/sensitivities that exists in Egypt and the problems that may arise because of the blasphemy laws. Because this is not an easy thing to say to someone without sounding discriminatory, it is best to explain the reasons for this and provide other options, as opposed to just saying we cannot allow them to sponsor a child. It is important that each DR staff member that comes into this situation, uses the same messaging. Communications Director has created important talking points to keep in mind and repeat when speaking with the individual and this should be in the conversation. If a Muslim sponsor sets up his/her sponsorship, and his/her religious affiliation is unbeknownst to the DR staff member who assigned him/her a child (for example, a sponsor has a neutral sounding name), the DR associate should call the sponsor at the point of discovery, and inform him/her about the blasphemy laws2 in Egypt and how this affects their sponsorship request. 2 Information on the blasphemy law: [A] new anti-hate resolution [is] currently under discussion in the corridors of the Egyptian Parliament...The bill, drafted by Al-Azhar, condemns anyone who writes or speaks against Islam or attempts to analyze the writings of the Islamic books. It also includes severe penalties of imprisonment and death. 15  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Remember that the overall objective of the conversation is to gently disengage the aspiring sponsor from sponsoring, and only secondarily to re-channel their desire to help into a gift to the general fund for NAP or with Valuable Girl Project. The most important talking points to remember and repeat:  This is happening because of how loosely the blasphemy laws may be interpreted; not because of Coptic Orphans.  Keep the focus off them and perceived criticism of them or their faith. Again, this is about the laws.  We don't express it as "we have to cancel your sponsorship" or “we don’t allow” (or similar) unless backed into a corner. Let your description of the dangerous situation caused by the blasphemy laws speak for itself and then pivot to asking if they are willing to shift their support for the kids to another channel. Sample script for disengagement conversation: (After pleasantries) I'm calling because we're facing a lot of sensitivities right now about the proselytizing laws in Egypt, which can get interpreted in different ways from day to day and can have serious implications for the organization and the kids we serve. [In what way is it sensitive?] It's particularly sensitive if we're perceived as encouraging sponsor relationships across religious community lines, because the sponsor relationship involves transfers of financial support, letters, and even visits in the home. I know you care a lot about the kids, or you wouldn't be a sponsor, but in this situation, I need to ask you about your religious affiliation. If you're not Christian, because of the proselytizing laws, it could put us in jeopardy. Would you be willing to share that with me? Thank you. It means a lot to me, personally, that you would be willing to sponsor a Coptic child, and I'm sorry that these laws create a problem with that. In the interests of the kids, would you be willing to let me shift your contribution to another of our programs? It's called the Valuable Girl Project, and it brings together Christian and Muslim girls and fosters healthy Big Sister-Little Sister relationships and helps them access quality education. [Why is it different that way?] We don't have the same issues with people donating to the Valuable Girl Project as we face with the sponsorship program, because the Valuable Girl Project doesn't involve letters and home visits. I really appreciate your understanding, and again, this about the proselytizing laws, which we have no control over. [Agreement, explicit or tacit, to ending sponsorship] Thank you again for understanding. I'll go ahead and make that change in your record, so that your contributions will support the Valuable Girl Project, and send you some links about that/so that you're no longer responsible for the monthly contribution for [name]. Even discussing Islam's heritage and history will be suspect. As such, the bill expands upon Egypt’s current blasphemy law which penalizes speaking or writing about the Prophet, Allah and the first Caliphas. 16  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 [I don't want to end my sponsorship and/or I'm offended and/or this is discriminatory] I'm so sorry you feel that way, and again, this is not about you personally, it's about our vulnerability, and the kids' vulnerability, to the proselytizing laws. I apologize for the way you're feeling about our conversation and I'll ask my executive director to call you personally so you can express how you're feeling. [The goal of disengaging here is to regroup, discuss as a group the specific things the person said that might help us defuse the situation, and strategize about soothing their feelings at the next conversation. Talking to the ED should make them feel important and listened to, and help head off further negative interaction.] Sponsorships from Egypt We do not use sponsorship as a fundraising tool in Egypt; and Egyptians there are not our target audience. In the past, we discouraged any sponsorship for two main reasons: 1) Recurring donations were not possible there, and 2) We do not want to risk over interference in our Program due to their proximity. However, as the use of credit cards have increased in Egypt, we will allow for exceptions with the following conditions:  The potential Sponsor has signed up with a credit card using US Dollars and the first payment processed.  We are certain this relationship will not expose us to Blasphemy laws.  The child assigned is very far from the sponsor’s home/location. Should these conditions not exist, the Sponsorship Specialist in Egypt will contact them to encourage them to be a donor to help all children rather than a sponsor. We are currently encountering difficulties related to foreign currency charges on Egyptian credit cards due to recent restrictions imposed by the Central Bank. Consequently, no new sponsorship requests in Egypt will be processed until these challenges are resolved. Sponsorship Initial Processing When a sponsor is ready to give his or her payment information right away, we process the sponsorship. A sponsor may do so by providing his/her credit card or bank account information. By doing so, they authorize us to deduct an amount on a monthly basis to go towards their sponsorship. After we receive their payment information, the DR associate sends the sponsor a welcome kit that includes their new sponsored child’s bio along with some other important sponsorship information (see section 4.4 for kit contents). Further, sponsorships that come from the website has the payment already processed and populated in Simsim. Payment Options We do not accept any payment method for child sponsorship other than by credit card or direct debit from a checking or savings account. We accept standing orders from donors and sponsors in the United Kingdom. We do not accept checks for sponsorship. Checks unnecessarily increase our administrative 17  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 overhead and almost universally prove to be unsustainable. With an automated credit card or direct debit, we can ensure regular support that we can count on with minimal maintenance on our part. We also strongly prefer direct debit to credit card since credit card companies take out an average of 3% of each contribution or more, and credit card contributions require more administrative maintenance. This increases overhead cost on our part since they expire, are lost or stolen, or otherwise become invalid far more frequently than checking accounts. We try to encourage all of our current credit card contributors to switch to direct debit, but keep the credit card option open for those who simply refuse to contribute via direct debit for fear of overdraft fees or fear of our having such direct access to their finances. Most monthly Credit Card donations are set up for the 1st of the month from our sponsor’s card, while direct debits are set up for the 15th of the month from the sponsor’s checking or savings account. However, should a donor request a specific date, we accommodate that. If there is a mistake from our end, and we need to refund a donation back, credit card donations are refunded to the card, while for direct debits, we must issue a check for the amount; or in Australia, do a bank payment into their account. Regardless of payment method, some proof of authorization is required in their record. Proof of authorization includes a void check, a reply card, an email directing us to deduct funds, etc. How a Sponsor Will Change to a Donor If a potential sponsor is uncomfortable with either automated credit card or direct debit options, we encourage him/her to still donate, but usually explain that instead of sponsoring a particular child, his/her contribution will go into our general fund (pool) which covers program costs for all our NAP children. No advanced payment will be accepted. Choosing A Child For A Sponsor Potential sponsors may express some preference for a child. Preference may include age, gender, location, a specific name (such as a saint’s name), a child who has lost both parents, or a child whose father has converted. We try to accommodate meeting their preferences as much as is feasible. If there are no preferences requirements from the sponsor, children enrolled in NAP the longest are given priority. We do not accommodate requests from the field to sponsor specific children. Our goal is to have all children available for sponsorship, sponsored. We normally do not sponsor children that have less than 2 years left in the program. Therefore, children who are on the technical track and have less than 2 years of school remaining to finish, are not chosen (after 10th grade). Children in general high school, however will typically reach college and continue with us, thus we include them in the "sponsorable children” report from which we choose children. Children on the general high school track, who have less than 2 years left are also not chosen (after 2 st year of university). However, the sponsorable children report has filters that already considers all this, so you as a DR associate do not need to worry about this. Children in the “sponsorable children” report do not include Rosetta children since they are not officially part of NAP. 18  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Children who had been sponsored in the past are also available for sponsorship. Their photo on the system may be out of date; however, this should not prevent us from getting him/her sponsored once more. The updated photo will come to the sponsor with the next progress report. Tracking children When preparing for an outreach trip or event we often take with us a number of children bios. It’s important that we country track the children so that others in the office will not find them available for sponsorship. In effect, we are “checking out” these children from the sponsorable pool until they are sponsored at the event or are returned to the pool. Furthermore, children that have been tracked and have been unable to get sponsored also need to be "checked back into circulation." This can be done by going back into the child's profile and deselecting your country as well as deleting the tracking date. The child will return to the "sponsorable children" report and be available for sponsorship. Children should not be checked out from the sponsorable pool beyond 1 month. During major fundraising events (e.g. a gala), children should be checked out immediately before the event in order to give those who attended the gala (but did not immediately decide to sponsor a child) the time to decide within that month. Multiple Children We do not allow a sponsor to have more than 6 active children at any given time. There are four reasons that we do this  All children in Not Alone receive support whether they are sponsored or not;  Maintaining each sponsorship connection increases our administrative overhead;  A sponsored child is hurt when he/she does not receive correspondence from a sponsor, and sponsors are less likely to maintain their connection with multiple children with diligence.  We learned from the past that when a sponsor lapses and he has a large number of children, it causes a ‘mini shock’ to the system. When we contact the sponsor, we explain that sponsorship is a relationship; not just a means of financial support, and so the sponsor should build his/her connection with one or two children first before sponsoring additional children. We encourage the sponsor who wants to sponsor more children, to instead donate more by increasing their original recurring gift. Hence, if a sponsor is paying $120 per month and sponsoring one child, we do not give him a second child just because he is paying more. We may also direct the sponsor who wants to give more, to make a general one-time donation. We have no restrictions for a sponsor to sponsor siblings. Child Bio The bio is printed and mailed to the sponsor. The bio bears a scanned photo of the child from when they first joined the Not Alone Program. The sponsor will later receive a more recent photo of their sponsored child along with their progress reports. The bio contains basic information about the child and it is not meant to cover all his/her circumstances. 19  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 A Sample Bio (Front & Back) 20  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Compiling Welcome Kit New sponsors should only receive a welcome kit when he/she provides you with the payment information (either a credit card number or a void check to set up a direct debit). We do not accept checks, nor promises of bank deposits, since in our experience these have proven to be unreliable. We put together a child welcome kit using the blue Coptic Orphans folders. We give this kit to all new sponsors. Before distributing the kit, please ensure that it contains the following items:  Child’s bio with printed photo  Donor Associate’s Business card  Introduction letter3  Return envelope “No 9 Regular” to mail back the introduction letter  Quick Facts sheet  New Sponsor Welcome Letter  Annual Blessing Form (see section 6.3.4) 3Each country has its own version of the introduction letter. This is an example of the international version (for countries other than the US, Canada, Australia, or the UK). 21 Sponsorship Manual January 2024 22 Sponsorship Manual January 2024 23  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Note: When constructing the kits for presentations or outreach, add a donation reply card with the child’s ID written on it for collecting payment details. 24  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Methods of Welcome Kit Distribution If we are on an outreach event or trip and we have already had a conversation and received the payment information from the individual interested in sponsorship, then the welcome kit can be distributed to the new sponsor by handing it over there in person (remembering to collect the donation reply card that has been prefilled by the sponsor). If a request for sponsorship comes through our website or over the phone, the welcome kit can be sent to the sponsor’s address. New Sponsor Welcome Emails Once the sponsorship is set up on the system, we send a welcome email in addition to the hard copy welcome kit. Attached to this email is the child(ren) bio and a short orientation video that tells the sponsor more about the sponsorship process and what to expect from this new relationship with his child. Subject: Welcome to Your Sponsorship with Coptic Orphans! Dear [Sponsor], Welcome to Coptic Orphans and congratulations! I am proud to introduce you to [Child], your new sponsored child, who is blessed to have you as their sponsor. Because of you, [she] will receive the support, encouragement, and love [she] needs to reach [her] God-given potential. Attached, you will find [Child’s] biography. We’ve also created a short orientation video to tell you more about the sponsorship process and what to expect. It should help answer some questions you may have about your sponsorship, but please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. Your donation history and [Child’s] information can be conveniently accessed on your online account. I’ve also mailed out a sponsorship kit that you should be receiving within the next few days. Thank you again for your generosity. Your sponsorship blessing will help lift [Child] out of poverty and allow [her] to focus on [her] education. May the Lord reward you abundantly. One Body in Christ, [DR Associate] New Sponsor Follow- up Email (1 week after sending the new welcome kit and email) After one week from sending the new welcome kit and email, we send the below template as follow up email to make sure that sponsor has received the welcome kit and ask them to fill in the attached intro letter and annual blessing form. Subject: Your Sponsorship with Coptic Orphans Dear [Sponsor], Thank you again for choosing to sponsor [Child], who is blessed to have you as [her] sponsor. Your support means the world to [Child], and because of your sponsorship, you will help unlock [her] God-given potential and succeed in life. By now, you should have received the sponsorship kit with [Child’s] bio as well as information on the sponsorship process. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. 25  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Please take a moment to fill out the “first introduction letter” attached to this email and found in your sponsorship kit. Remember to include a picture of you and your family to go along with it. [Child] will be thrilled to receive it! You can also fill out the Annual Blessing form attached here and included in your sponsorship kit to set a yearly Christmas or other occasion gifts to be sent to your child. You can mail both forms to our address (P.O. Box 2881, Merrifield, VA 22116), or access your online account to fill them out there. Thank you, and may the Lord reward you abundantly. One Body in Christ, [DR Associate] New Sponsorship Orientation video in points If the sponsor calls to understand or question any of the points conveyed in the sponsorship orientation video, the donor relations associate should be ready to answer any questions to address any concerns the sponsor has about sponsorship in details with examples and stories. Points covered in the video are as follows:  Your sponsorship allows your child to be enrolled in Coptic Orphans’ Not Alone Program, where he/she receives benefits including mentoring, educational support, enrichment trips, and life- skills workshops.  Explain the pool concept.  He/she will receive a letter from the child twice a year and one yearly progress report.  Remind the sponsor to fill out his intro letter and include a photo so the child gets to know him.  As an added incentive for the child to excel, he/she may send additional monetary gifts on special occasions throughout the year. This gift will go to the child to spend or save as he/she wishes with the guidance of the Rep. To facilitate sending an additional monetary gift he can set up a yearly gift on the online portal account or fill out the Annual Blessing Form.  As a sponsor, you can visit and meet your child in Egypt! We can schedule this visit for you and take care of all the arrangements just let us know with a 3 weeks’ notice before your trip to Egypt.  In order to protect both parties in this unique relationship and because we have a very strict Child Protection policy, Coptic Orphans staff act as a liaison between the sponsor and the sponsored child in all interactions of correspondence and visits.  Our average current overhead varies from 14% to 16%. This means that 84 to 86 cents of every dollar donated to Coptic Orphans goes directly to serving the children in Egypt. This percentage can change slightly based on the annual donations received per year, but it is a good average.  He/she will receive a tax receipt at the end of the year for their donations. 26  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Requesting Additional Children Adding Additional Children Sometimes a sponsor will call and ask to sponsor additional children. As mentioned in the lexicon, we prefer that a constituent contribute without a sponsorship relationship to reduce administrative overhead. Still, sponsored children do benefit from the relationship that they have with a sponsor and the special gifts, visits, and correspondence that they receive from their sponsorship, and many sponsors are more likely to increase their gift if they do sponsor additional children. With these considerations, we try to strike a balance that benefits both the sponsor and the children as much as possible. We always explain to a sponsor who wants to increase his/her gift and sponsor another child that because sponsorship is a relationship involving correspondence, gifts, and visits, we prefer that they focus on deepening their relationship with the children that he/she already sponsors. Instead, he/she may increase their recurring gift by $60 (or whatever amount is appropriate to the number of additional children that he/she wishes to sponsor). If he/she seems unwilling to increase his/her gift without sponsoring additional children, we accommodate their wishes up to the maximum of 6 children. Where possible, add the sponsorable siblings first. Adding Children beyond the 6 limit Policy In rare cases where the sponsor insists on sponsoring more than 6 children, the DR associate should request the Country office Director’s approval for a maximum 8 children. Donor Relations Director’s approval from the Headquarters office is required to increase beyond the 8-children limit. Approval takes into consideration the following factors:  Have we explained to them that they can increase the monthly donation in lieu of adding more children?  What is his/her record of corresponding with his/her present sponsored child? Even if he/she only sponsors one child, if he/she has never written that child a letter in a number of years, they should focus on deepening that initial relationship before sponsoring additional children. Graciously encourage the sponsor to increase his/her gift for the sake of the child. If it’s a go, this is a good opportunity to increase the monthly contribution with this phrase “most people sponsor at $100, would you like for me to set you up for that amount?” Processing Additional Children It is not necessary to mail a new welcome kit to existing sponsors who choose to sponsor an additional child sometime later. Rather, the Donor Relations Associate can electronically send the sponsor: the child bio, introduction letter, Annual blessing form (if gifts to previous child are not already set up), and the New Sponsor Welcome letter to serve as a refresher. The email template is as follows: 4.5.3.1 Additional Child Email Template Subject: Your new child [Name] Dear [Sponsor], 27  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Congratulations! I am proud to introduce you to [Child] your new sponsored child who is blessed to have you as their sponsor. Because of you, [she] will receive the support, encouragement and love [she] needs to reach [her] God given potential. I have enclosed information about [Child] as well as a refresher Video. Please take a moment to fill out the "first introduction letter" and include a picture of you and the family to go along with it so that [child] and her family can become acquainted with you. Please scan and send your intro letter or mail it to our address (P.O. Box 2881, Merrifield, VA 22116) [If no AB on file: Also, I have enclosed the Annual Blessing form to set Christmas or other occasion to send direct gifts for your child/ren. Please return the filled form, or you can set up these gifts by visiting your online account. [If AB is on file: Your existing Annual Blessing will be replicated for (child).] Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. Thank you once more, and may the Lord reward you abundantly. One Body in Christ, DR Associate Name The DR Associate will update the payment record as well as the existing Annual blessing to include the new child. NAP Sponsorship: Egypt’s Role Informing A Child’s Family About Sponsorship When a child is sponsored, the newly created sponsorship is immediately reflected on Kenzy (the volunteer rep’s tablet). The Rep in Egypt informs the family that one of their children has received a sponsor. Keeping cultural sensitivities and other considerations in mind, it is up to the Rep to determine whether to tell the family simply that the sponsor is “someone who cares for you and is praying for you” or whether to also tell them that the sponsor is providing financial support. In any case, the Rep also explains that the sponsor overseas will pray for the family’s needs and may correspond with the child and might either give gifts or visit the child in Egypt. Likewise, the sponsor wants to hear from the child, and wants to hear updates on the family’s progress. The Rep should be careful in his/her choice of words regarding sponsorship, so as not to set expectations that may not later occur (such as sending gifts and visiting the child). Since sponsorship for an Egyptian family is not a familiar concept, the Rep also explains it using the concept of the Body of Christ and the reciprocity that takes place within the Body, using scriptures such as Acts chapter 4. The Sponsorship on Kenzy When a child is sponsored, this is reflected in Kenzy where the Rep can check the sponsorships of all the children. Through Kenzy, the Rep will be able to identify the sponsored children, the name of their sponsors and their turn to write a letter and/or PR. 28 Sponsorship Manual January 2024 29  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Sponsorship Components Sponsorship components that build up the relationship between a sponsor and his child include letters to the child, gifts, and personal visits. Once a sponsor has signed up for his/her regular monthly contribution, he/she can begin the process of providing encouragement to his/her child. Encouragement can come through different forms such as through correspondence by sending one letter or a birthday card, and the sponsor may encourage his/her child through gift giving on occasions such as on Christmas and Easter. The sponsor may also encourage their child by personal visits while in Egypt. Sponsor Correspondence to Children Corresponding with sponsored children is an essential part of the sponsorship relationship. Correspondence builds a bond between a sponsor and a sponsored child that encourages the sponsor to continue monthly support over the long term and ideally encourages the child to succeed by showing him or her that someone overseas cares enough about the child’s success to invest time and attention in the child. Words of Encouragement Words of encouragement can come in many forms. They can come through a physical hand-written letter, a card on the child’s birthday or special occasion, sending a customized card via the sponsor online portal account, or an email to a country office for the sponsor’s convenience, and as a last resort for a sponsor who does not write to his/her child, it can be a message given over the phone to a DR associate. Words of encouragement can also be said to the child during an exceptional phone call or personal visit. We seek to encourage sponsors to correspond with his/her sponsored children as often as we can: when they call, when we meet them, or any time we encounter them. It is most helpful to help sponsors realize that correspondence does not mean writing a long letter or even a letter at all. Just “God bless you” on the back of a photograph or a roll of stickers (perennial favorites for children in Egypt) is correspondence that the child will treasure. Sponsors may write to their sponsored child in English, and we will deliver the correspondence along with an Arabic translation so that the child can have the experience of holding a sponsor’s own handwriting in his/her hand, while still understanding the correspondence completely. If a sponsor knows Arabic, though, we encourage him/her to write in Arabic since it saves administration costs for us. We encourage sponsors to write a minimum of once a year to his/her child, but of course welcome correspondence that is more frequent. Soliciting Correspondence – Birthday reminders To ensure a sponsor is writing to his/her child at least once a year, we have an initiative to encourage correspondence. Every month, an automated email will go as a reminder to the sponsor for their child’s upcoming birthday. Contacting the sponsor about his/her relation with his/her child has great results. The sponsor will feel that we are not just contacting him/her to solicit money, but that we really care about the children and that is why we are asking the sponsor to remember the child on his/her birthday. 30  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 6.1.2.1 Birthday Reminders by Phone The DR Associate should call those sponsors who do not have emails in their records to remind them of the upcoming birthday. DR will receive an email notification with the following subject line: Report: SPNSR - Birthday Reminders. This email identifies sponsors whose children have upcoming birthdays and do not have a valid email. Script: “Hi, I’m [DR] from Coptic Orphans and I’m calling to remind you that [Child] birthday is coming up next month if you’d like to send him/her a birthday card or even a greeting by email. [Child] will be thrilled to get something from you. God bless” 6.1.2.2 Birthday reminders by Email The following two templates will be used according to the child’s birthday month so as to not bore the sponsor if he has multiple children. Also the email goes out 2 months prior to the month of the birthday so as to give the sponsor enough time to respond and have the letter delivered to the child. Birthday Email Template Jan - Jun: Subject: Wish [Child name], a Happy Birthday! Dear [First name], [Child name], has a birthday coming up on [birthday], and [he/she] is turning [age]. We know that the children in Egypt love notes from their sponsors. A message from you can boost their morale and remind them that there's someone who cares for them. Please take a moment to send them a birthday wish. Now it's even easier and faster to send a note to your child - just click here to access your account. Thank you for putting a smile on a child’s face. May God reward you and bless you abundantly. One Body in Christ, Nermien Riad Founder and Executive Director Birthday Email Template July - Dec: Subject: [Child name] has a birthday coming up! Dear [First name] [Child name] has a birthday coming up and [She/He], will be turning [age] on [birthday]. A simple message such as "Happy birthday...," or “Wishing you many blessed years to come,” or “God loves you and so do I,” can have a lasting effect on a fatherless child. When the children realize that someone who lives far away is thinking of them, it really means the world to them. Please take a moment to send them a birthday wish. Now it's even easier and faster to send a note to your child - just click here to access your account. 31  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 Thank you again for your continuous support and may God reward you abundantly for your kindness! One Body in Christ, Nermien Riad Founder and Executive Director Special Encouragement to Sponsor At times, a child will complain (either thru his letters or directly to the Field Coordinator), that he really feels bad that he has not received correspondence from his sponsor. In this situation the Field Coordinator will contact the Sponsorship specialist in Egypt. The Sponsorship specialist will check how long it has been since a letter was written. If more than two years, the Sponsorship specialist will send a special request to DR to reach the sponsor requesting from him/her some words of encouragement. Likewise, should the Data Processing team run across a letter where the child is complaining, the translator will first ensure that two years has passed and then will notify the Sponsorship specialist. It’s the Sponsorship specialist responsibility to put in a special request to the DR Associate to contact the sponsor. It must be noted, that there is never 100% assurance that sponsors will accommodate our requests, hence please see section 6.2.1 for the options of the child in this situation. Sponsors Correspondence Logging Sponsors have three ways to send letters to their sponsored children. Sponsors can send their letters through their online account (portal) which will be automatically recorded and reflected into the sponsor’s record. Sponsors can also send letters either hard copy through the mail, or electronically through our info account. Both must be manually recorded into the sponsor’s record. The Donor Relations should always encourage all sponsors to utilize their online accounts to send letters, as it is more appealing with its visual elements and faster to reach the child. 32  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 6.1.4.1 Hard copy Letter Process Hard copy Letters sent by sponsors to their children come into the country office. We forward hardcopy letters by courier at minimum quarterly (preferably the month before admin week because the letters need time to be sorted through; therefore, in February, May, August, and November are ideal) unless someone is going earlier to Egypt and in that case, we send them with him/her. The Donor Relations associate (in HQ and the UK office) and the Donor Services associate (in Canada & Australia) track the sponsor’s correspondence in the sponsor’s record under “Sponsorship letters” using the following fields: Child Name, Letter Brief Description, and Date written. A scanned copy of the letter should be attached. Although the 3D letters are hard to scan, it has become very crucial to scan all hard- copy letters for reference, especially when there are challenges shipping them to Egypt on time. After this information gets recorded, it is automatically associated with the name of the APM and the Rep on the letter to be identified. Once the letter arrives in Egypt, the Data Processing team process the letters accordingly. If written in English, it will get translated before being sent out to the sponsored child. 6.1.4.2 Electronic Letter Process Similar to the steps above, the DR team in the HQ & UK and the DS team in Canada, Australia will record the electronic letters by using the following fields: Child Name, Letter Brief Description, and Date written. A copy of the electronic letter or received attachment will be uploaded in the field “Letter Content – Sponsor”. The letter will automatically be identified and marked as electronic. 33  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 The Sponsorship team will check the “Sponsor’s letter- to be translated” report periodically, with the list of the letters that are received and pending translation/printing to make sure the letters are translated regularly without any delays. For the letters, pending translation, the Data Processing team attaches a print out of the original letter to the translation, for the rest of the letters they are printed out and both get processed and sent out to the sponsored children. 6.1.4.3 After the Sponsor’s letter is processed Normally the Data Processing team gives the processed sponsors’ letters to the field staff during the monthly admin weeks when they visit the Cairo office. It can take up to 5 months for the Letters to finally reach the child. At the next home visit, the Rep will deliver the letter to the sponsored children. Diagram illustrating the regular trail of the Child’s letter: 34  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 6.1.4.4 Lag between Sponsor Letter and Gift The processing of a sponsor’s letter is different than the processing of a sponsor’s monetary gift. The two may not arrive to the child at the same time. In the case that the sponsor has written in his letter “I hope you enjoy the gift this Christmas” and there is no money with it, the Data Processing team adds a note with the letter saying the gift will arrive in the next quarter’s transfer. This is to avoid confusion for the Rep and the child. Child Correspondence Not Alone Program requirements entail correspondence from the children to their sponsor and is an integral part of the Program. It is very important that the child writes the letter him/herself. If the child cannot write because he/she is too young, he/she may instead draw a picture. If the child is too young and cannot write or draw, although it is not preferred, an older sibling, mother of the child, or Rep, may write on the child’s behalf until the child is able to write for him/herself. However, in those cases, it should be indicated that they are the ones writing the letter, not the child, so as not to give off a false impression. Every 6 months the Rep will have their children send correspondence to their sponsors. It is ideal that correspondence will build a relationship between the child and his/her sponsor. Some examples of topics that the children are encouraged to write in their letters are:  Introduction about him/herself and family  What the child likes about school  What the child did last feast  What activities the child likes in church  The child’s favorite bible character and why  NAP activities, workshops, trips in which the child participated and their effect on him/her  Thanking the sponsor for his/her letters and gifts sent, if any  The child’s dreams  The child’s hobbies The children’s letter criteria: The Rep should make sure that the letter template is clean and not crinkled while the child is writing his message. Any fold marks that do not affect the quality of the photo of the letter are admissible. Also, the child should address the sponsor by his or her correct name and gender, if available. The Rep should direct the children to write a clear content with a readable handwriting sharing their hobbies, their school, what they did last feast, what activities they like to engage in, their favorite bible characters, NAP activities they have recently participated in, their dreams and ambitions. If it is the first letter to the sponsor, the children can also introduce themselves and their families. The children should avoid talking about their needs. Children should not ask their sponsors for specific gifts or to cover certain needs neither explicitly nor implicitly. When a child thanks the sponsor for a gift/letter, the record of the child should be checked to make sure the letter and/or the gift the child is thanking the sponsor for is there. 35  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 The children can talk about how they used the gifts. They can say they used the gifts to help settle the family’s debts, to contribute to the marriage expenses of a sibling, or to contribute to private lessons’ expenses, etc. They should, however, avoid bragging about misusing the money in buying unnecessary items especially when the family is in great need. The child should not ask the sponsor for help to travel or to immigrate either to the sponsor’s country or to any foreign country. They should not give their contact information or ask for the sponsor’s. This includes phone numbers, email addresses, and social media accounts. The Rep should also make sure, if they decide to send photos along with the letter, that the personal photos are not photo-shopped, and children are not using too much makeup, especially when photos are taken when the children are at home on regular days. If any of the above points or scenario takes place, the Data Processing team stops this letter, and the rejection process takes place for another letter replacement by the Rep. Child’s Letter Sample: 36  Sponsorship Manual January 2024 What If A Child Does Not Want To Write To The Sponsor? Part of the sponsorship commitment is that the sponsor receives two letters from his child and one progress report per year. In the event that the child objects to writing letters to the sponsor, the Rep needs to inform the field coordinator who in turn verifies through the Sponsorship team that the sponsor hadn’t been writing to the child for more than two years first. The child’s Rep can suggest that in place of the letters the child can write two cards per year with the statement “kol sena wenta tayibe” for any of the upcoming occasions (such as St. Mary’s Feast, at the end of the Apostles Fast, Christmas or Easter). On the other hand, the IT/IS department has added a new field in the constituent’s record on Simsim, where a sponsor who hasn’t written letters or sent gifts to their children for two consecutive years will be labeled as “Sluggish Sponsor”. When the DR associate sees this box checked or has been notified by the sponsorship team that the child is disappointed from his unresponsive sponsor, he should pick the appropriate timing to call those sponsors and encourage them to write to their children. The Role of Translators in Child Correspondence Procedure The Egypt office has a Data Processing department that translates an