Children's Emergency Relief International

What Children's Emergency Relief International does

Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI) is a Texas-based nonprofit organization founded around 2000, currently celebrating 25 years of operation from its San Antonio headquarters with 11-50 employees. Its mission is to protect childhood and strengthen families for vulnerable children and communities worldwide, with active field operations in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, and other regions affected by conflict and natural disasters. The organization delivers services through a structured "10 Domains" framework covering child protection, family strengthening, community support, and emergency relief, supplemented by a Trainings & Coaching capacity-building offering.

CERI's core programs include the "Sponsor a Child" (Child Again) sponsorship program, a Sponsor Portal for ongoing donor engagement, impact storytelling through "Stories," a Resource Library, and newsletter/mobile alerts for subscriber communications. The technology stack is not publicly disclosed, and the organization has no proprietary software, mobile applications, API, or documented AI/ML capabilities — its "product" is service delivery and community-based humanitarian programming rather than technology.

The business model is donation-funded and nonprofit in structure. Revenue streams consist of individual one-time and recurring donations via the ceri.org/give portal, the recurring child sponsorship program, and nominal capacity-building fees from Trainings & Coaching. Go-to-market relies on the organization's website, organic social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube), email newsletters, and community engagement. The organization holds the Candid Platinum Seal (2025) for nonprofit transparency and publishes Forms 990 filings, but discloses no revenue, financial metrics, institutional donors, or grants in the source data.

Name

Children's Emergency Relief International

Legal name

Children's Emergency Relief International

Website

https://cerikids.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI) is a 25-year-old US-based nonprofit that provides child protection, family strengthening, and emergency relief services to vulnerable children and families in countries including Sri Lanka and Guatemala, funded primarily through individual donations and child sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Humanitarian Child Protection Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (624110), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Education in Emergencies (EiE) & Safe Schools (BPADAKAJ)

Keywords

• Child protection services
• Humanitarian aid programs
• Family strengthening services
• Child sponsorship programs
• Nonprofit child welfare

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Direct charitable contributions from individual donors through the organization's website and engagement programs

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI) is a nonprofit that delivers child protection, family strengthening, and emergency humanitarian relief programs for vulnerable children, families, and communities in countries including Sri Lanka and Guatemala. Its primary offerings are the Sponsor a Child Program (Child Again), field-based child protection and family reunification services, and Trainings & Coaching for child welfare practitioners, all guided by CERI's proprietary 10 Domains framework.

Product overview

Children's Emergency Relief International (CERI) operates as a single unified nonprofit organization offering child welfare and family support programs. The core offerings include Services and the 10 Domains framework, supplemented by Trainings & Coaching for capacity building, a Sponsor a Child Program with an associated Sponsor Portal Resources for donors, Stories for impact communication, and a Resource Library for educational content. The organization also provides Newsletter & Mobile Alerts as communication tools. All offerings are integrated under CERI's mission to protect childhood and strengthen families worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sponsor a Child Program (Child Again) A recurring sponsorship program that lets individual donors support a specific child and their family through CERI's child protection and family strengthening initiatives in countries such as Sri Lanka and Guatemala.
• Child Protection and Family Strengthening Services Direct, on-the-ground humanitarian services including child protection, family reunification, post-disaster recovery (e.g., after Cyclone Ditwah in Sri Lanka), safe-return programs (e.g., Guatemala), and long-term community healing for children and families affected by conflict and natural disasters.
• Trainings & Coaching Professional development, training, and coaching services for individuals and organizations working in child welfare and protection, equipping them with CERI's 10 Domains methodology.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• International Justice Mission: IJM operates globally on child protection and anti-trafficking, with field programs and government partnerships in countries where CERI also works. Its advocacy-led, justice-focused model is adjacent to CERI's child protection work.

Direct peers

• Compassion International: Compassion International runs a child sponsorship model that mirrors CERI's Sponsor a Child program, pairing individual donors with children in developing countries. It is a direct competitor for the same pool of faith-motivated recurring donors.
• World Vision International: World Vision is the largest child-sponsorship-driven international NGO, operating child protection and family strengthening programs across dozens of countries. It is CERI's closest direct comparable given its recurring child sponsorship model, global footprint, and faith-informed child welfare focus.
• Holt International Children's Services: Holt International runs adoption, family strengthening, and child welfare programs primarily in Asia and Latin America — overlapping with CERI's Sri Lanka and Guatemala footprint and family-centered child protection mission.
• ChildFund International: ChildFund is a US-headquartered international NGO operating child sponsorship, child protection, and family strengthening programs across Africa, Asia, and the Americas — closely matching CERI's mission, geography mix, and sponsorship revenue model.
• SOS Children's Villages International: SOS Children's Villages focuses on children who have lost or are at risk of losing parental care, with family-based care and child protection programs across more than 130 countries. It is highly comparable to CERI's orphan care, family strengthening, and long-term healing focus.
• International Child Care: International Child Care is a smaller US-based Christian international NGO operating child welfare, health, and family support programs primarily in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. It is a smaller-scale, mission-aligned peer comparable in size and operating model to CERI.

Broad incumbents

• Mercy Corps: Mercy Corps is a broad humanitarian and development incumbent operating emergency relief, family support, and community resilience programs worldwide. It competes with CERI for disaster-response donor dollars and grants.
• UNICEF USA: UNICEF USA is the US fundraising arm of the UN children's agency, operating at massive scale in child protection, emergency relief, and family services worldwide. It is a broad incumbent competing for the same individual and institutional donor dollars as CERI.
• Save the Children: Save the Children is a broad incumbent in the international child welfare space, delivering child protection, emergency response, and education programming globally. It competes with CERI for donor attention and government contracts but at far greater scale and brand recognition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cerikids
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC5n-Ikqx3UXWdb2d6DKOL6A
• Facebookfacebook.com/cerikids
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cerikids
• Instagraminstagram.com/cerikids

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Children's Emergency Relief International