I am a supporter of Children International. Recently I sponsored 2 new girls in Philippine and Zambia. When I received the welcome pack, it included not only their pictures and profile info but also a card and a stamp-exempt return envelope asking me to answer a few questions to introduce myself. It took me only a few minutes to write 2 cards, put in the envelop then drop off at a near-by mailbox.
A week or so later, I received another mail. This time it includes 3 pictured cards as shown and 2 cards with return envelope to write some encouraging words as a friend to the girls. I happily complied again.
Children International has done several simple and smart things here: (1) it provides ‘happy’ vs. conventional ‘sad’ pictures featuring malnutrition kids in poor condition. The positive outcome/ impact is what organization and donors are looking for. (2) A stamp costs little yet saving the donor time to find one and reducing the procrastination, I believe, significantly increase the chance that people will get it done immediately (as I did) before being distracted by other things. (3) Most importantly, it started the interaction between the child and the sponsor: everybody wants to be loved and know somebody, besides family, care about him/ her 🙂