Put your Catholic faith into action

In 1981, a small group of Catholics put their faith into action. They founded an organization based on principles of Catholic social teaching, grounded in the belief that the needs of the most vulnerable should come first.

They took seriously what Jesus taught in Matthew 25:40: "Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me." So they created a way for people with generous hearts in the U.S. to reach out to those needing help in the economically developing world. Anchored in four core values, it was an approach that honored the God-given dignity of program participants, who didn’t have solutions imposed on them but were free to choose their own path out of poverty.

Today, our community of sponsors helps hundreds of thousands of individuals and their families in Africa, Asia and Latin America overcome poverty. With the help of a team of dedicated priests preaching on our behalf in parishes across the U.S., we offer an effective and trustworthy way for people to put their faith into action, just as our founders did when they started Unbound in 1981.



Be part of a community making a real difference

Start your sponsorship
Parner with a child, youth or elder and form a special friendship.
Pray with us
Receive weekly faith reflections delivered right to your inbox.
Tell your pastor
We'll send a priest to preach at weekend Masses and share our message. 
Share Global Classmates
Help Catholic school students make new friends and expand their worldview.
Our Lord came to bring freedom to the children of God. Yet, for many today, the future seems to hold little hope. Time moves on, yet their lives feel immobilized by the weight of poverty and insecurity. At [Unbound] … we are crying ‘No’ to the poverty, disease and injustice that afflict so many innocent families made in God’s image.

— Bob Hentzen, Co-founder



Where your money goes

Responsible, transparent financial management is a hallmark of Unbound. We ensure contributions work hard to meet sponsored friends’ needs, resulting in top ratings from independent charity evaluators.

In 2023, 90.2% of Unbound's expenses went toward program support, with more than $114 million in direct assistance to our programs around the world.

We’re committed to keeping our costs low to send the maximum amount of support where it’s needed most. Our sponsored friends, and our sponsors, deserve that.



 

Top-Rated and Reviewed

Unbound consistently meets and exceeds standards of third-party charity evaluators that help donors make wise giving decisions.
Unbound is awarded 4 out of 4 stars by Charity Navigator, with the highest score of 100 in the area of accountability and transparency.
Unbound is the only child sponsorship organization to receive CharityWatch's highest rating, an A+.
Unbound receives the distinction of Top-Rated Nonprofit from Great Nonprofits, based on reviews from people who donate to or benefit from nonprofit organizations.
Unbound holds the Platinum GuideStar Nonprofit Profile Seal of Transparency, the highest level of recognition offered by GuideStar.