Sponsorship Programmes FAQ

• Due to a combination of factors including rising living costs in India and Nepal, increasing educational expenses and inflationary pressures impacting our operational costs, we have found it necessary to ask sponsors to increase their annual sponsorship contribution to £420 when renewing. This adjustment ensures we can continue to provide the consistent and vital support participants in our sponsorship programme rely upon. We are committed to ensuring that Tibetans supported through our programmes receive a consistent level of support.

• From August 1st, our administration fee will increase from 15% to 20%. This is essential to covering the vital operational costs that allow us to effectively manage the sponsorship programme, ensure accountability and deliver programmes on the ground supporting Tibetans in exile. These costs include regular monitoring and reporting from our project partners, maintaining secure payment systems and communicating updates to sponsors.

• As part of our work to maintain overheads as low as possible, we will be rolling out the digitalization of our sponsor letter process where sponsors will receive correspondence via email only. We hope that you understand the reasons driving this change which will commence in earnest from September 2025. We recognise that you may still wish to continue to receive and send updates by post or may not use an email address so please let us know if this is the case. 

We offer two different sponsorship programmes which both require a regular donation via annual or monthly payments.

Our main programme provides support, education and care for an individual (child, elder, nun or little monk). Your gift will be used to support their education or care.

We also run a Community Sponsorship programme where your regular gift will be used for vital resources such as classroom materials, teaching staff, food, medicine, care givers, electricity and clean water.

In the best interests of the Tibetan communities we support, we ask you to commit to your sponsorship for a minimum of two to three years, but ideally, for the entirety of a child or little monk’s schooling so as not to disrupt their education. If you choose to sponsor an elder, we ask you to consider sponsoring for the remainder of their life so they can live out the rest of their days comfortably and without worry.

Our sponsors have found it incredibly rewarding to sponsor for a number of years to see how their sponsorship contribution has really impacted the quality of their sponsored individual’s life. However if your circumstances change you can cancel your sponsorship at any time.

As a Community Sponsor you will receive Tibet Relief Fund’s silent sponsorship welcome pack, subscription to our digital magazine, Tibet Matters, and a yearly update from the community you have chosen to support.

If you’d like to write to your sponsored child, little monk, nun or elder you are more than welcome to do so. We ask that you send your letter (unsealed)to our office and we will forward to the agency where your sponsored individual lives.

To comply with our child protection policy and ensure all letters sent and received are appropriate for both parties, all correspondence received at our office will be opened before being forwarded. The safeguarding of our sponsored children, little monks, elders and sponsors is of course our utmost priority.

Please send your letter to:
Sponsorship
Tibet Relief Fund
68A Rochester Place
London
NW1 9JX

It’s really helpful to us if you include your supporter number, which can be found on all letters from us at the top, right-hand side of the page. In addition, please refrain from sending monetary gifts, email addresses, social media accounts and any other personal information. Thank you!

We welcome donations with instructions as to how you want this distributed to one of our Tibetan communities. However, to promote fairness, we ask that sponsors refrain from sending personal monetary gifts to their sponsored individual, as unfortunately, a great many children, little monks and elders do not have sponsors, so they miss out. It is more inclusive if gifts can be sent to a school or care home for treats that everyone can enjoy.

To ensure we allocate your sponsorship gift correctly be sure to include your supporter number, which again, can be found on all of your letters from us at the top, right-hand side of the page.

If you pay your sponsorship through direct debit, standing order or PayPal subscription your payments will be ongoing until you decide to change them. If you pay by another payment method such as cheque, credit card or bank transfer, we will send you a sponsorship renewal reminder a month before your renewal date is due. Or you can easily renew your sponsorship at time by visiting www.tibetrelieffund.co.uk/renew

GoCardless Direct Debit
Our preferred payment method is GoCardless Direct Debit as it helps us to keep our administration costs low. You can start sponsoring by direct debit in just a few clicks by visiting: https://tibetrelieffund.co.uk/be-a-sponsor/

Standing Order
A standing order is a recurring payment, arranged between yourself and your bank. Your standing order can be a monthly, quarterly or annual payment, whichever you prefer. Please contact our sponsorship coordinator for a standing order form or set up through online banking.

By Phone
If you would like to pay for your sponsorship over the phone by debit or credit card, you can call us on +44 (0)203 119 0041. Please note, for your safety, we will never keep your card details on file once you have paid for your sponsorship.

BACS Transfer
You can pay for your sponsorship by arranging a bank transfer through your bank using the following details:
Tibet Relief Fund
Account Number: 13425523
Sort Code: 16-00-16

Cheque
Please make your cheque payable to Tibet Relief Fund and send it to:
Sponsorship
Tibet Relief Fund
68A Rochester Place
London
NW1 9JX

80% of your donation directly benefits your sponsored individual or their Tibetan community. The remaining 20% goes towards supporting our sponsorship programme – helping us to raise awareness and find new sponsors.