Our organisation The child
National organisations
A sponsored child represents all the children in their community. Individual children do not benefit directly from sponsor funding through handouts. Instead we fund projects, designed in partnership with their community, to improve the lives of all the children.
National organisation staff promote and explain Plan’s work to current and potential supporters, securing funds from individuals, organisations, companies and governments. They are also instrumental in building the global movement to tackle issues affecting children such as child poverty through development education and advocacy.
Volunteers Plan trains local volunteers who visit families regularly to see how the children are developing and how effective the projects are. Volunteers encourage and support relationships between sponsored children and sponsors.
Program unit Every country is divided into several program units covering specific geographic areas. Staff in program units work directly with and for the children, families and communities on a range of locally designed programs to improve children’s lives.
Country office Country office staff oversee the work of program units. They take a national view, liaising with national governments and non-governmental organisations and sharing examples of good practice with other offices.
Regional office The work of all Plan’s country offices is overseen by one of four Regional Offices. These cover Eastern and Southern Africa, West Africa, Asia and the Americas. They enable Plan to address region-wide issues like child trafficking and HIV/AIDS.
International Headquarters Staff at Plan’s International Headquarters in the United Kingdom provide guidance and support services to all other Plan offices. This includes technical advice, policy and program support, international marketing and communications, finance and information technology. ‘Plan - our story’ CD-ROM, August 2005
International Board Plan’s International Board members, who are all voluntary, come from countries in the North, where they sit on Plan's national organisations’ boards, and also from the South. They are respected figures in international development. The Board meets twice a year to oversee all Plan’s operations and map out the organisation’s future direction.
National Boards All national organisations have their own National Boards – a national equivalent of the International Board. The Boards nominate representatives to the International Board based on the number of sponsored children supported by their national organisation.
National organisation volunteers Many volunteers work for the national organisations, helping to raise awareness and even translating sponsored children’s letters. They help to ensure smooth communication and learning across the world.
Children’s advisory boards A number of national organisations have children’s advisory boards, whose members work to ensure that children’s rights are publicised and respected. In some countries, representatives of the children’s advisory board attend meetings of the national board as observers.