Free A Family® is an alternative to child sponsorship that enables North Americans to support entire families living in poverty. This support helps families learn how to read and write, start a business, send their children to school, and care for their families’ health. At the same time, North American supporters benefit from learning about and praying for a specific family, as they follow that family’s progress for many years.
It is an exciting journey of transformation
for all involved – and you can be a part of it!
Order a Free a Family Materials: Brochure | Bulletin Insert
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Free A Family?
2. How does it work?
3. Why does Free a Family use “representative families”?
4. How much should I give each month?
5. If I don’t want to send a check in each month, are there other ways to give?
6. How much of my gift goes to CRWRC’s programs?
7. Is my gift tax deductible?
8. How can I be sure that you are using my gifts as I intend you to?
9. How can I become a Free A Family supporter?
What is Free A Family?
Free A Family® is an exciting alternative to child sponsorship that gives you a chance to show compassion to a family and community in poverty. Free A Family® is not a handout. Your participation establishes Christian training programs to help people gain the skills they need to obtain adequate food, health, and income as they also come to know Jesus. In other words, your prayerful involvement helps families and communities meet their own needs while experiencing the love of Christ.
How does it work?
Through Free A Family®, you have the opportunity to support ministry in one of four regions of the world: Asia, East Africa, West Africa, or Latin America. In each of these regions, CRWRC staff have selected a family who is involved in their programs to represent all of CRWRC’s program participants in that region.
You select the region of the world in which you would like your contribution to be used. Once you have made your selection, Free A Family® will send you a color photo and information about the representative family from that region. Quarterly photo-stories will follow. You will learn about the family’s joys, sorrows, hopes, and dreams as they work toward change. You will also see how your pledge is giving a hand up to an entire community.
CRWRC and Free A Family® will follow the life of the representative families for a total of three years. Then the process will start over with a new set of representative families.
Why does Free A Family® use “representative families”?
Unlike traditional child sponsorship programs, your donation to Free A Family® does not go directly to one child or family in need. Instead, it goes to support CRWRC’s programs in one region of the world. This allows CRWRC to use your gift to make the greatest amount of impact in the world.
To match donors with specific families in need requires an enormous amount of time and money. By eliminating this step and reporting on only one family in each region, CRWRC is able to use more of our staff time (and more of your donation) for programs that directly help people in need.
In this way, your gift goes further - to develop programs and meet the needs of entire communities. In essence, you are helping many families free themselves from a life of poverty - including the representative family that you receive stories of.
How much should I give each month?
Because of the efficiency of the Free A Family® program, it only costs $20 US or $22 Canadian each month to give a family in need the opportunity to change their lives through the ministry of CRWRC. If you feel that you would like to contribute more of your resources to help families in need, you can feel free to do so at any time.
Please note: The $20/$22 per month cost is a recommended monthly donation based on CRWRC's estimates of what it cost for a single family to participate in CRWRC programs. Should you feel unable to pay this full amount, your participation in Free A Family® is still welcome. Please give as you are able.
If I don’t want to send a check in each month, are there other ways to give?
Yes! There are a wide variety of ways that you can choose to support the Free A Family® program. You can send a check each month, or send one check to cover an entire year ($240). You can also have your monthly pledge automatically deducted from your credit card or checking account.
How much of my gift goes to CRWRC’s programs?
More than 90% of your gift is directly used in ministry to the poor. These funds pay for programs in literacy, health, agriculture, income generation, and justice education. The remaining portion of your gift is used to cover administrative costs of the Free A Family® program.
Is my gift tax deductible?
Yes! The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee and Free A Family® are recognized Christian charities in both the United States and Canada. As such, your gift will be receipted as a charitable donation and is tax deductbile.
How can I be sure that you are using my gifts as I intend you to?
CRWRC is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability and the Canadian Council of Christian Charities. This means that our financial practices are carefully scrutinized by external auditors to ensure that your gifts are used responsibly, as you intended, and in a stewardly manner.
CRWRC produces and mails out an annual report with complete financial information each year. Audited financial statements are also available upon request.
How can I become a Free A Family® supporter?
For more information, or to sign up for the Free A Family® program, please contact CRWRC at the phone number or address below, or enroll online: Canada | US
Free A Family - US
2850 Kalamazoo Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49560
1-800-FREE-352
Andrea Roman - aroman@crwrc.org
Free A Family - Canada
PO Box 5070 STN LCD 1
Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8
1-800-730-3490
Chinyere Nwachukwu - cnwachukwu@crwrc.org