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Hi,
I'm a new sponsor.  I now have two great guys.  There was at least one other ​child that was listed as "Most Needy" and hadn't been sponsored in a super long time.  I was worried about him, but wanted to check on a couple things about the program. I have a couple of questions. 
First:  If a child hasn't been sponsored in a long time are they aware of that and do they receive less benefits? 
Second: ​I don't understand the "Most Needy" identifier.  When I was choosing my kids I was looking at how long they'd not been sponsored and how needy they seemed.  I saw some kids who had multiple siblings, parents ​earned hardly any money and they were sleeping on a dirt floor but the child wasn't listed as "Most Needy".  Anyway, if there is an easy explanation for the designation, please let me know.  There's one other child who hadn't been sponsored in almost 900 days and was listed as "Most Needy", but his family income seemed larger than a lot of the others and his house sounded better (concrete ceiling, beds, and water in the house).  I hate the idea that he could know that he hasn't been sponsored for so long or that he may be in a worse situation than I can tell based on the house information. 
Thanks in advance.  I'm really excited about my kids and the sponsorship experience.
Stanton

We think alike. I have been wondering that as well. I have a habit of checking back through the kid's profiles on my - last 10 you viewed - thing from time to time and just feel so helpless when I see some of them ​still waiting. I also wonder how hard it must be for them knowing that no one is "picking them". It tears at my heart but I'm just trying to find a routine with our one child so far. Most needy is also a mystery to me as well. The girl we picked was flagged as most needy and waiting 800+ days. But, like you said, there were others who "seemed" worse off than her. I'm glad we are helping her though I just wish I understood how it worked a bit better. 

I have been sponsoring since 2013 and the most needy thing is still a mystery to me. I believe they have tried to explain it once or twice but still a mystery. Best case is to find the kid that appeals to you the most and sponsor them. We can't sponsor them all ourselves so need to let someone else sponsor. There will never be a time all the kids are sponsored so we do the best by our kids and hope the best for the rest.

Welcome Stanton!

The following 2 posts do address your questions:

1) CI - "We never tell kids they don’t have a sponsor, only when they have a new sponsor!"

https://www.children.org/MySocialCenter/messageboard/!content/q-and-a-with-children-international/sending-letters-to-unsporsored-kids#uO6uMgM5R2e4y_8AAKKRFw

2) CI - "To determine which children are considered the “neediest” there is a point system"

https://www.children.org/MySocialCenter/messageboard/!content/q-and-a-with-children-international/Criteria-for-Most-Needy#nSKRyWi3WE-NcOvG39cDVA

Hope this helps!

Welcome to CI Stanton301 and thank you for deciding to share your friendship with two very special boys! Generally, the children are not told if they lose their sponsor because they don't lose any benefits. They do learn when they receive a new sponsor when we ask them to write a welcome letter to their new sponsor. 

As far as the most needy goes, it's hard to get the hang of the rhyme and reason, because while the criteria is the same for each country, basic necessities differ so much from country to country (and even from community to community within the same country). 

To determine which children are considered the “neediest” there is a point system to score the children.

The criteria used is:

electricity + water + sanitary + sleep accommodation + parents

Income is not a factor because you can't compare it from country to country, and it fluctuates so much - daily in some cases.

Waiting time for a sponsor is not a factor. Hope this helps!

Thank you for this question and the answers to it.. I am a sponsor since 2005 and I have to admit that I never fully understood the "most needy" list (thanks Debbies, now I understand it) and the facts that sometimes "new" children appear on the list with a huge amount of waiting days.. remains a mistery (maybe they moove and come back, but then they were not waiting in my eyes). However I am doing my best for my children, and I think children waiting for s ponsors are all needy and waiting.. and that CI is doing a great job..

Hi mariemrcm. The "new" children aren't new. Children on the website show in cycles. Unfortunately, we have many waiting for sponsors and our website isn't capable of showing them all at once. More of less when one gets a sponsor we can add another to the site. 

I was actually wondering something about that. The children show in cycles, and not all waiting children can be displayed at one time. But, if I search for specific criteria (say a specific name, like 'Mary'), will it return ALL waiting children who fit that criteria, or only waiting children who are in the current display rotation who fit the criteria?

To be a little clearer on the "cycles," our pool of waiting children are marked in different ways to find them sponsors. For example, some are marked to show on the web, some to replace kids who leave the program, and others for allocation over the phone or by mail. The kids stay marked for a certain period of time, and if we haven't found a sponsor, then they cycle to another marking.  
So, not every child waiting for a sponsor shows on the web and, if you do a search for specific criteria it will only search for the kids who are marked to display on the web.  

Thanks everyone for the great information.

Thanks for clearing that up, Debbie! I'll chat with a representative directly then, to find out the status of some of the girls I had to give up a while back. =)

I am a new sponsor too. Your first link is not working....

CI were clearing up some older posts in late last year, and am afraid… that link is no longer available.

I have been a sponsor since 1996.  Best I can say is when I can take another child- either one graduates or I have a raise that will support one more without worry- I pick the search parameters I want- for me I only sponsor girls as they in my opinion have a harder life than boys in poor countries- tho all suffer when poor- I am partial to DR as my husband and I have viisted there many times as well as the Phiilipines )we had an exchange student years ago) and Ecuador for unknown reasons!  So I pick in the search criteria- girls, any age and from my chosen countries.  Then I sift thru the pictures until one catches my heart.  No idea the rhyme or reason. If there are too many I will redefine with waiting the longest and see if one catches me there.  All children in the program are needy and will benefit from our sponsorship.  I have never used the red flags as a criteria.   Watching our children grow is the show of all sponsorship provides as you watch their eyes change from little hope to a young adult with a hopeful future. One child at a time we do make a difference.

I just posted a new topic to this, the children are in the program. Sponsors come and go. This is a fact, only in the fact no one is making us sponsor anyone. So if a given location has 100 kids, all in the program, I am assuming they post the ones that have the lowest income and their names are attached to sponsors. In any case, I can imagine in some locations there may be a ratio difference of 2:1, (Sponsors to Children), in that case I wonder if the excess money is redistributed to other locations. Or maybe those children are not highlighted "in need". But which sponsors are communicated with in that case? Who do the children write their letters to? I am also assuming when they post "most needy" those are the locations that have the ratio of 1:2, (Sponsors to Children) and those ones they push to get more sponsors for that region to put money into their general fund, so in that case, the child may end up having more than one sponsor. Is this how this system works? Because that is how see most sponsorship's working.

Hello!  Other than the US program, CI has a 1:1 relationship for sponsors and children.  Fortunately for the children, when a child loses their sponsor, CI continues to provide them with benefits.  Unfortunately, CI is currently not enrolling new children because there are too many children currently receiving benefits without an active sponsor . . . so the relationship is actually less than 1 sponsor per 1 child.  CI does not allocate funds by taking your specific payment and sending it to the center serving your child - the funds are utilized to provide the children in the program with the CI services at a center, plus certain programs that are tailored to the needs of the area.

For example, I don't assume that it costs the same for CI to provide services to my children in Guatemala as it does in the Philippines because the cost of living is not necessarily the same.  I assume that they pool the funds that I send them to support their overall mission and allocate those funds in the best way possible (including some amount that is actually covering the services for children who've lost their sponsor).

Great explanation, thank you!

I'm not sure how other sponsorship organizations work, but at CI we are a one on one sponsorship organization.  Meaning that all international kids have 1 sponsor that they write to.  All funds we receive are pooled to allow CI to provide significantly more programs and benefits to the children, than we'd be able to do if we only sent the funds given for kids in each agency to that agency. 

For more info on how our program works, I urge you to check out the FAQ's on our website (lots of great info there), or reach out to our Care Team.  Thanks!

Can one somehow give an anonymous EG 'extra gift' to a child on the waiting list?

 I have been searching the board for an answer to this question with no luck. The reason I am asking it that sometimes I see a child that is needy on the waiting list but I am not in a position to add another sponsor child. However, a one time EG seems more doable and the family would certainly appreciate it. My employer also does gift matching so CI would get and equal amount to use where needed most.

Frosty! M'dear Frosty:  What an interesting (big-hearted) idea, a one-time EG (Extra monetary Gift) to a needy CI child or CI youth.  Personally, I love it!!! And I would do it.  But I have no idea if CI will find it logistically possible, but I adore that you, Frosty, are an imaginative thinker and suggested such an inventive, kind idea.  Thank you !

Sharing, here is the process for making an EG to someone on the wait list. The response below is from debbies at CI

'Although it does not happen very often, we have had a few sponsor who have made donations for kids they've seen on the waiting list or in a story on our website. Since you have automatic payment service, you can reach out to our Care Team via phone, e-mail or chat and give them the child's id number and let them know how much of an EG you'd like to make and they will take care of everything for you. The donation will show as an "Our Mission" gift on your MyCI, but it will be sent to the child's SOA.'

Update, I have sent an EG to a child on the wait list. The EG has to be a minimum of $100 and the child needs to be in the program as outlined by debbies further down in this post.

Summary: It is possible. One needs to contact CI to see if the child on the wait list being considered meets the requirements.  

I just wanted to point out that not all of the children on the waiting list are enrolled in the program. Would those children also be allowed to receive an EG?

As you can see from my private message reply posted by Frosty, I was pretty specific to Frosty's actual situation. To clarify, to give a donation to a non-sponsored child, the child must be receiving benefits.  And, it must be $100 or more, because it is an exception and the donation is coded on the givers account as a general fund gift. Therefore, anything less than $100 would not get picked up in the quarterly transfer because the child is not on the giver's account.  I know, lots of confusing words...but bottom line, you can't do it with every child and it must be $100 or more. 

Thanks debbies for adding some details and explanation of the process for giving an EG to a child on the waiting list.

I'm happy to see this is still possible!  I remember a story about a young man who was unable to walk after an accident.  He was already sponsored, but I was able to send an EG still, which I received a letter and pictures for (to my surprise).  Proof again that CI has the best interests of the children in mind!