Lift the Children

What Lift the Children does

Lift the Children is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization founded on November 5, 2009, with dual charitable registration in Canada (BIN 80569 0690 RR 0001) and the United States (EIN 46-1834656), and operational offices in Langley, British Columbia; Kent, Washington; and Nairobi, Kenya. The organization's mission is to lift orphaned and vulnerable children out of vulnerability by providing monthly financial support to over 40 Charitable Children's Institutions across Kenya, delivering $10-$14 per child per month for food, shelter, education, and basic needs. Beyond direct funding, it provides case management, capacity-building training, monitoring and evaluation, family reintegration training, trauma-informed counseling, and youth mentorship programs including web development (LCT Cohort 1 with Computer Pride Institution) and 18-month agricultural training (with G-BIACK).

The core operating model is a donation intermediary: individual sponsors in Canada and the United States commit monthly recurring donations ($10-$14 per child) or general fund contributions, processed through Stripe on the liftthechildren.org website. The distinguishing structural feature is that the John Volken Foundation — established by founder John Volken with proceeds from the 2004 sale of United Furniture Warehouse — covers 100% of administrative and overhead costs, guaranteeing that all donated funds reach partner children's centers. This eliminates the overhead-ratio concern that typically constrains charitable giving and is the central trust mechanism of the brand.

Revenue mechanics rely on individual donor sponsorship at $10-$14 per child per month plus general fund donations, with no disclosed enterprise or institutional grant pipeline. The customer base is bifurcated: downstream "served" beneficiaries are 40+ children's centers caring for an estimated 1,500-2,000 children across Kenya, while upstream funders are a long-tail of Canadian and US individual donors. Go-to-market is content-marketing driven through the organization website, blog, and email newsletter, amplified by the reputation of founder John Volken (Dalai Lama Humanitarian Award 2015) and board networks. Strategic partnerships include the National Council for Children's Services (government), Computer Pride Institution (digital skills), G-BIACK (agriculture), and Shamri Institute (mental health), which together define the organization's evolving programmatic surface.

Name

Lift the Children

Legal name

Lift the Children

Website

https://liftthechildren.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Lift the Children is a registered 501(c)(3) charity that funds and supports 40+ children's centers across Kenya through monthly sponsorship, capacity building, counseling, and reintegration services, with 100% of donations reaching beneficiaries via John Volken Foundation overhead coverage.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Welfare Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Child Welfare, Foster Care & Adoption Services (BPAGAEAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Child Protection & Child Rights (BPAGABAG), Youth Mentoring & Positive Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAD), Family Resource Centers & Wraparound Support Services (EDACALAH)

Keywords

• Child welfare services
• Nonprofit charitable giving
• Child sponsorship programs
• Orphan care support
• Family reintegration services

Headquarters

HQ city

Langley Township

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: Lift the Children generates revenue through charitable donations and monthly sponsorship programs. Individual donors contribute $10-15 per child per month to support children's centers. The organization guarantees that 100% of sponsorship donations reach the children's centers, with the John Volken Foundation and board covering all administrative and operational overhead costs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Lift the Children is a registered charitable non-profit that channels individual donor contributions from Canada and the United States to fund and build capacity at over 40 Charitable Children's Institutions (CCIs) in Kenya. It provides monthly per-child funding ($10-14) for food, shelter, education, and healthcare, alongside case management, capacity-building training for CCI staff, family reintegration training, monitoring and evaluation, psychological counseling, and youth mentorship programs including web development and sustainable agriculture training.

Product overview

Lift the Children is a charitable organization that operates as a unified program rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The organization provides child sponsorship funding ($14 per child monthly), case management, capacity building training, reintegration training, monitoring and evaluation, youth mentorship, counseling services, and web development training to support vulnerable children in Kenya. All these services work together to fulfill the organization's mission of lifting children out of vulnerability to hope and better futures, with 100% of donations reaching the children's centres.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Child Sponsorship Program Monthly financial sponsorship program providing $10-14 per child to supported children's centers in Kenya, covering food, shelter, education, and basic care for orphaned and vulnerable children.
• Case Management Services Child-focused and family-centred interventions including thorough assessment and documentation of children from entry point to exit, covering admission documents, court committal orders, behavioural policies, assessment tools, and exit strategies at partner children's centers.
• Capacity Building Training Regular training sessions for management and staff of funded children's centers covering child protection, management practices, government compliance, sustainability, fundraising, and record keeping.
• Reintegration Training Program Training program for orphanage management and social workers on the processes of harmless, holistic, and systematic reintegration of children into family-based care.
• Monitoring and Evaluation Regular monitoring of children's centers by Lift the Children staff to ensure best practices in child care and protection, working with local authorities to promote compliance with set standards and guidelines.
• Counseling Services Psychological counseling services using trauma-informed, child-centered therapeutic approaches including play therapy, art therapy, group sessions, and one-on-one counseling for children in supported homes.
• Youth Mentorship Program Mentorship programs for youth in children's homes, including partnerships with G-BIACK for 18-month training programs in sustainable farming, livelihood opportunities, life skills, and community service.
• Web Development Training Program Hands-on digital skills training program in partnership with Computer Pride Institution teaching web development (HTML, Bootstrap, JavaScript, PHP, jQuery, SQL, MySQL, Git and GitHub) to equip youth from children's homes with technology skills for employment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3 CCIs completed full 12-month counseling cycle in 2025
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Grow Biointensive Agriculture Centre of Kenya (G-BIACK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for 18-month agricultural training program for youth transitioning from children's homes. G-BIACK provides training in sustainable farming, biointensive agriculture, soil care, composting, water harvesting, small livestock keeping, beekeeping, and value addition. Seven youth from Lift the Children-supported homes began training in September 2025.
• Computer Pride InstitutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for web development training program (LCT Cohort 1). Computer Pride Institution provided hands-on training in HTML, Bootstrap, JavaScript, PHP, jQuery, SQL, MySQL, Git and GitHub. Participants developed real websites for children's homes supported by Lift the Children.
• Shamri InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMental health mentorship partnership providing Nickson Mugambi, a psychologist and youth mentor affiliated with Shamri Institute. He conducts self-awareness and mental health sessions for trainees at G-BIACK as part of the mentorship program.
• Dick and Nancy Noble FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMaterial support provider to Kibera Pride Children's Home, one of Lift the Children's partner centers. Provided beds and mattresses to support the children's home.
• National Council for Children's Services (NCCS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partnership for child welfare programs and transition guidelines. Lift the Children collaborated with NCCS to host sensitization training on Child Welfare Programs and Transition Guidelines for directors, managers, and social workers from partner institutions.
• Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund (SFRTF)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment program focused on rehabilitation and integration of street families across Kenya. Watoto Wenye Nguvu, a model partner organization, is part of this trust that enhances coordination and sharing of best practices across child welfare stakeholders.
• Dagoretti Sub-County Children's OfficerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment referral partnership for True Care New Day Centre, a teen mothers center. Referrals made through the Children's Officer for young mothers who have experienced sexual violence and early motherhood.
• Kibera Children's OfficeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment referral partnership for Kibera Pride Children's Home. Children are referred by the Kibera Children's Office and police stations around Kibera.
• John Volken AcademycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRelated organization founded by John Volken, sharing staff (Jaynas Prasad serves as Director of Finance for both). The Academy also benefits from the John Volken Foundation's funding model that supports Lift the Children.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Watoto Child Care Ministries: Uganda-based Christian nonprofit operating children's villages that provide residential care, education, and family reintegration. Referenced in Lift the Children's benchmarking; closely comparable in operational model and African child-welfare focus.
• Holt International: International child welfare and adoption-focused organization with programs supporting children in family-based care across multiple countries. Comparable on child welfare mission and family reintegration programs.
• Children's HopeChest: US-based nonprofit running a child sponsorship model with partner care points in Africa including Kenya, focused on child and community development. Direct peer to Lift the Children on sponsorship structure.
• Compassion International: One of the largest child-sponsorship charities globally, running a virtually identical monthly per-child sponsorship model supporting children in developing countries, including Kenya. Most directly comparable peer to Lift the Children on funding model and beneficiary population.
• SOS Children's Villages: Global NGO focused on family-based care for orphaned and abandoned children, with active operations in Kenya and across East Africa. Highly comparable in mission (child welfare + family reintegration) and beneficiary segment.
• ChildFund International: Child-focused international development organization operating a per-child sponsorship model with programs in Kenya serving vulnerable children. Direct peer on funding model and target beneficiary population.
• Love Without Boundaries: Faith-based nonprofit providing direct support to orphaned and vulnerable children, including medical care, education, and family-based care in Africa and Asia. Comparable as a mid-sized direct peer on mission and beneficiary type.
• African Children's Aid Education and Development Foundation (ACAEDF): Smaller Africa-focused NGO supporting orphanages and vulnerable children, sharing mission and beneficiary population with Lift the Children in sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable as a smaller-scale direct peer.

Broad incumbents

• World Vision: Large, established international child-welfare and community-development NGO operating child sponsorship and capacity-building programs across the same geographies (including Kenya) but at vastly greater scale and breadth.Comparable as a broad-incumbent competitor for donor attention and government partnerships.

Others

• Kenya Children's Home Network (KenCHNet): Peer-to-peer / industry body representing children's institutions in Kenya. Comparable as an ecosystem counterpart whose members include many of Lift the Children's partner centers and which shapes the regulatory environment the organization operates within.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lift-the-children-africa

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Lift the Children