Frequently Asked Questions

Central to Philippines Humanitarian is our Student Sponsorship Program, in which individual and corporate donors provide monthly or annual sponsorships to impoverished students. Their contributions pay for school fees, uniforms, books, transportation, and other needed supplies, allowing families to keep their children in school rather than having to work to supplement the household income.

Sponsorship levels are as follows:

$20/month for Grades K-6 ($240/year)

$27/month for Grades 7-12 ($324/year)

$40/month for first to fourth year college students ($480/year)

A small portion of monthly sponsorships (between $2 to $5) are given to our NGO partner in the Philippines, the KapatidKita MahalKita Foundation, for their work managing the Student Sponsorship Program on the ground. The remaining amount goes directly to students and their families. Philippines Humanitarian uses its unrestricted funds to cover the additional program management costs.

Yes, we strongly encourage our sponsors to support their students through at least Grade 12. In fact, many of our sponsors have chosen to continue their support until their students graduate from college. The sponsorship rates do increase as students get into the higher grades and have more expenses. We absolutely understand if a sponsor is unable to pay those higher rates, and are grateful for the level of support they can provide.

There are rare times when a student has to leave our program because of unforeseen circumstances, such as a death in the family, additional financial burdens that necessitate their relocation, or their inability to go to school on a regular basis because of chronic illness. Thanks to our NGO partner, which carefully vets our student applicants and provides ongoing support to enrolled students, our student retention rate is over 95%. In the unlikely event that your student leaves our program, we will notify you immediately so you can decide whether to continue your involvement by sponsoring another student in need.

Students and sponsors are encouraged to communicate with each other via Philippines Humanitarian. The fastest way to get a letter to your student is to email your message or a scanned copy of your letter to info@philippineshumanitarian.org. We will then forward your correspondence to the KapatidKita MahalKita Foundation (the certified NGO in the Philippines that administers our programs) who will distribute it to your sponsored student(s). You may also mail a letter to our offices at:

Philippines Humanitarian
124 South 400 East, Suite 400
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Or send letters directly to the KapatidKita MahalKita Foundation at:

KapatidKita MahalKita Foundation
ATTN: Eva Aquino, Program Director
Lonergan Center, Loyola House of Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights, Quezon City 1108
Philippines

Please note that, for the protection of anyone involved in our program, we reserve the right to read any exchanges between sponsor and child.

Many sponsors choose to send a financial gift to their students to mark the Christmas holiday, their students’ birthdays, or the successful completion of the school year. To do this, please use our General Donation Form and choose “Student Gifts” as the Purpose. On that form, note whether you would like the gift to go to just the student or to the student and their family.

We also offer our sponsors a chance to send gifts to their students every spring, when we host our Balikbayan Box Drive. Sponsors can drop off or mail their gifts to our offices, and we will include them in our annual shipment of school supplies, personal care items, and other necessities.

Yes! Philippines Humanitarian has several other programs that support our mission, including:

Since we were approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2012, more than 385 elementary, high school, and college students have received much-needed educational sponsorships from the almost 200 individuals and businesses who have participated in our Student Sponsorship Program. Our organization also awarded 155 one-year college scholarships to students with outstanding academic performance and a commitment to “pay it forward.” In total, 79 of our students have graduated from college, and all are employed, many in their field of study.