Include a gift in your will

Thank you for considering a gift to Compassion in your will, also known as a bequest. Including Compassion in your will has life-changing and eternal impacts. Your gift will be so much more than a financial donation—it will leave a legacy of love and make a lasting impact. It will be used with wisdom and integrity to empower the local church in transforming the lives of children and their families, restoring eternal hope and new opportunities to those who are currently trapped in a generational cycle of poverty.

Thank you for considering leaving a gift to Compassion in your will and for partnering with us to see children released from poverty in Jesus’ name.

Download Bequest Booklet

Why leave a gift in your Will?

We understand that many supporters want to continue to bring hope and holistic development to children living in poverty for years to come. Including Compassion in your will has life-changing and eternal impacts. Whether you wish to ensure that your current sponsored children are supported through to their graduation, or you would like to impact the lives of future generations of children, we are here to support your decision and guide you through the process.

Suggested Wording for your Will.

We recommend that you seek professional legal advice when making preparations to include Compassion in your will. Your solicitor will be able to ensure that any changes made to your will are valid and effective. However, once you have sought legal advice, the process to include Compassion in your will is simple. We have provided important information so you can make an informed decision about the type of bequest you would like to leave, along with the suggested wording. The most common type of bequest is a Residuary Bequest.

A Residuary Bequest is a gift of all or a percentage of what is left in your estate after specific gifts, taxes and debts have been fulfilled.

We recommend that you seek professional legal advice when making preparations to include Compassion in your will. Your solicitor will be able to ensure that any changes made to your will are valid and effective. However, once you have sought professional legal advice, the process to include Compassion in your will is simple. We have provided important information so you can make an informed decision about the type of bequest you would like to leave, along with the suggested wording. The most common type of bequest is a Residuary Bequest.

A Residuary Bequest is a gift of all or a percentage of what is left in your estate after specific gifts, taxes and debts have been fulfilled.

Suggested wording for a Residuary Bequest:

"I give............. [insert per cent] per cent of my residuary estate [or the rest of my estate] free of all duties to Compassion Australia (ABN 67 001 692 566) for its general purposes* and direct that the receipt of the authorised officer of Compassion Australia will be a sufficient discharge to my trustees."

*To request that funds be directed to a specific program, replace the words 'general purposes' with the name of a specific Compassion program.

Information on the other types of bequests, along with the suggested wording, is available in the FAQs below or by downloading the Bequest booklet.

FAQs

What sort of development work does Compassion do?
Compassion’s holistic child development model is designed to help the most vulnerable and marginalised children on our planet grow up to become thriving followers of Jesus who are positively influencing their world. Poverty is complex and has a devastating impact on every area of life. Compassion seeks to address the different dimensions of a child's development simultaneously, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all solution. Holistic child development takes an individual child through a process of growth and fulfilment in all dimensions by seeking to address their physical, social, emotional, spiritual and economic needs. It sees each aspect of a person in an integrated way and resists the common practice of treating one area of life as independent of the others.

Therefore, our programs are tailored to meet the specific needs of individual children through all stages of their development. Compassion sees holistic child development as a contextualised, long-term approach that begins before a child is born and continues through to school age and beyond. Our Child Sponsorship Program and Critical Needs work in partnership to provide holistic development to children living in poverty.

Find out more about:
What is a Compassion child development centre?
Our Child Sponsorship Program and Critical Needs (including Mums and Babies) around the world are delivered through local child development centres. Every child development centre is an outreach of one of the local churches that we partner with in our field countries.

Each centre:
- Meets regularly
- Uses local church facilities
- Provides program activities for registered and sponsored children
- Has a committee that provides local accountability and support
- Has a director employed by the church to manage the day-to-day activities
- Employs staff and volunteers selected by the local church
- Operates under Compassion International's carefully monitored standards and guidelines
- Provides reasonable levels of safety for children relative to the realities of the surrounding community
Find out more:

Learn more about the Child Sponsorship Program

How much time does my sponsored child spend at the Compassion child development centre?

Give to Mums and Babies

Donate to Critical Needs
Can Compassion fund me, my family or my organisation?

Unfortunately we cannot support individuals, families or organisations outside our program. Compassion's work in developing countries is led by a national office in partnership with local churches, and involves an in-depth process of determining the communities and individuals with the greatest needs that can be served through Compassion's program. All decisions as to which children receive support through Compassion's program are made locally.

You can:

Learn more about child sponsorship
What is the best way to donate to Compassion?
There are many ways you can make a donation or sponsorship contribution to Compassion, but by credit card or direct debit is usually the easiest. Recurring contributions can save a significant amount in fees and administration costs, meaning more of your gift can be directed to the program.

If you prefer to donate by cheques or money order, please make them payable to the Compassion Overseas Aid and Development Fund and consider giving three, six or even 12 months of donations at a time to help reduce administration costs.

For more information about our full terms and conditions for automatic payments, please read Compassion's Automatic Contribution Agreement.

You can:
Why is Compassion Australia not listed with the Australian Council for International Development?

Compassion Australia is not a member of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) because of the church-based nature of our child development programs.

Relying on private funding rather than government grants allows for a primarily church-to-church model of development. We do place a priority on governance, accountability, stewardship and transparency and, as a result, consider the best fit for our organisation are Christian Ministry Association accreditation, Missions Interlink membership, and Australian Charities and Not-For-Profits Commission financial reporting requirements.

However, this does not mean Compassion Australia could not obtain ACFID accreditation, which we would do if pursuing government grants.