We empower Children in the world's most disadvantaged nations to rise Beyond Poverty under the leadership of local champions.
We know that the best placed to meet the needs of children and young people are those who understand their context, their needs, and the local setting. That is not us. That is why we partner with the locally led children's projects and local champions who are embedded in their community and are trusted and respected. They are best placed to identify the needs of children and meet those needs in a way that is culturally appropriate and impactful. What we do is to support them with regular, reliable funds, prayer, pastoral support, and development opportunities.
The money that is raised or donated by our supporters in the UK, either directly or through the surplus made in our charity shops, is used to support the projects that we partner with. We have a small UK team that is primarily focused on raising funds. We work diligently and passionately, ensuring that some of the most vulnerable children on the planet benefit from the care and relief that we provide through our local partners.
We know that the most helpful way of supporting our partners is through long-term, committed, reliable income. This helps them plan for the future and ensure they are able to sustain themselves. By supporting CRY, you aren’t giving one-off help, but you are helping build a sustainable, impactful legacy of support that will impact children right now, but also in the years and decades to come. Furthermore, we work with our partners to explore long-term solutions that will help them move towards financial independence.
To see children rise beyond poverty—the very heart of our mission—we need resources and financial support, just like every charity. Here’s how we plan, fund, and deliver our work.
At the beginning of each year, we determine how much funding is needed to fulfil our humanitarian objectives with and through our partners around the world. For example, this year we allocated £7,800 for education, orphanage support and relief work in Togo. This planning process is repeated for each of our 30+ projects worldwide.
Once the budget for each project is set, our commitment is clear: we make it happen. In 33 years, we have never failed to deliver.
But this is both a faith and action exercise—every year, we need to “fill each project’s money jar.”
And that’s where you come in.
At CRY, we offer our supporters and sponsors several ways to help children:
a) Give to a specific project – Your donation will be restricted to the project you choose, and 100% will go directly to meeting that project’s needs.
b) Give to one of our four key causes – Your donation will support any of the projects related to that cause, with 100% going to make it happen in the field.
c) Give to our general fund – General donations are pooled with other unrestricted income and used where the need is greatest. This includes fulfilling children’s project commitments and covering essential costs—such as staff, operational expenses, or compliance —that allow our work for children to be delivered safely and effectively across the world.
d) Give via our Gift Catalogue – Every pound you donate for an item or service in the catalogue goes directly to the intended beneficiaries.
e) Give to our Charity Shops – You can give items to our charity shops and be a customer. Surplus made supports our mission as a whole, including both projects and essential operating costs.
No matter which option you choose, your support helps us ensure children we support have the chance to rise beyond poverty.
We are an organisation rooted in our core values - our Christian beliefs, our respect and integrity, our ambition for excellence, and our partnership working. These values underpin everything we do in the field, how we work with our partners, and every way that we raise funds. We are passionate about the work we do and want to help you understand the situations in which we work to help you engage through giving or praying.
Our mission, shared with our partners, is to raise awareness, mobilise prayer, and generate funds for children around the world who are in need of support. While we believe it is important to share the realities they face, we are committed to doing so in a way that upholds the dignity of the nations, leaders, and—most importantly—the children we support. All stories, case studies, and media materials comply with Fundraising Regulator guidelines, and we always obtain consent from partners or legal guardians. We use media not only as a powerful tool to highlight the needs, but even more so to celebrate the courage, resilience, and beauty of the children we serve globally. You can read more about our overall ethos and principles here.
We began transforming children’s lives in 1992 — and we haven’t stopped since. Over the years, our work and impact have continued to grow. Here’s a video that shares our journey.