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CHARITY REVIEW
Issued: July 2025 Expires: July 2027

Global Child Advocates

Standards Not Met
Standards Not Met
7 11 14 16
(512) 270-0910
1450 West Highway 290, #815
Dripping Springs, TX, 78620
https://globalchildadvocates.org/
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Standards For Charity Accountability

Governance

  1. Board Oversight
  2. Board Size
  3. Board Meetings
  4. Board Compensation
  5. Conflict of Interest

Measuring Effectiveness

  1. Effectiveness Policy
  2. Effectiveness Report

Finances

  1. Program Expenses
  2. Fundraising Expenses
  3. Accumulating Funds
  4. Audit Report
  5. Detailed Expense Breakdown
  6. Accurate Expense Reporting
  7. Budget Plan

Fundraising & Info

  1. Truthful Materials
  2. Annual Report
  3. Website Disclosures
  4. Donor Privacy
  5. Cause Marketing Disclosures
  6. Complaints

Global Child Advocates does not meet the following 4 Standards for Charity Accountability:

Standard 7 (Board Approval of Written Report on Effectiveness)
Submit to the organization's governing body, for its approval, a written report that outlines the results of the aforementioned performance and effectiveness assessment and recommendations for future actions.

GCA does not meet this Standard because:

  • The organization did not produce a written report outlining the results of its February 2025 effectiveness assessment.

Standard 11 (Financial Statements)
Make available to all, on request, complete annual financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. When total annual gross income exceeds $1 million, these statements should be audited in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $1 million, a review by a certified public accountant is sufficient to meet this standard. For charities whose annual gross income is less than $250,000, an internally produced, complete financial statement is sufficient to meet this standard.

GCA does not meet this Standard because:

  • Although the organization reported $783,385 in total revenue, according to its 2024 IRS Form 990, it states that it does not have a review done by a certified public accountant (CPA).

Standard 14 (Budget)
Have a board-approved annual budget for its current fiscal year, outlining projected expenses for major program activities, fund raising, and administration.

GCA does not meet this Standard because, when the organization provided 2025 budget information, it indicated that the budget:

  • Did not identify total projected program service expenses, broken down by major program category (child protection, Freedom Restoration Project, and Sojourn Studio).
  • Did not identify total projected fundraising expenses.
  • Did not identify total projected administrative expenses.

Standard 16 (Annual Report)
Have an annual report available to all, on request, that includes: (a) the organization's mission statement, (b) a summary of the past year's program service accomplishments, (c) a roster of the officers and members of the board of directors, (d) financial information that includes (i) total income in the past fiscal year, (ii) expenses in the same program, fund raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and (iii) ending net assets.

GCA does not meet this Standard because the 2024 annual report did not include:

  • A roster of the board of directors.
  • Financial information that matched the organization's 2024 IRS Form 990.

The BBB Wise Giving Alliance requested but did not receive complete information from the organization and is unable to verify the organization's compliance with the following Standard(s) for Charity Accountability: 1, 13

Global Child Advocates meets the remaining 14 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Stated Purpose:
"to strengthen the layers of protection around children to prevent abuse, trafficking, and exploitation."

Year, State Incorporated:
2008, TX

Also Known As:
Compasio Relief and Development

Global Child Advocates (GCA) aims to strengthen, equip and empower vulnerable families to keep and provide for their children within a safe environment. Programs include early childhood intervention, family preservation services, economic empowerment, and education support. For every child who has lost parental care, GCA advocates strive to place them in a safe and protective family through reunification, kinship care, or foster care. GCA also equips and assists governments and organizations to trace families and to place children in safe families instead of orphanages. Sojourn Studio is a social enterprise that empowers young women and moms on the Thailand-Myanmar border. The women earn fair wages, educational scholarships, savings funds, health benefits, and maternity care. The Freedom Restoration Project also works on the Thailand-Myanmar border to interrupt the narrative of abuse and domestic violence for people in migrant communities through drop-in services and empowerment.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, Global Child Advocates's program expenses were:

Child protection $622,758
Sojourn Studio $62,920
Freedom Restoration Project $33,147
Total Program Expenses $718,825

Chief Executive
Ashlee Heiligman, Executive Director

Compensation*
$50,064

Chair of the Board
Christopher McWhorter

Chair's Profession / Business Affiliation
Director, SAP Enterprise Application, Pilot Thomas Logistics

Board Size
5

Paid Staff Size
2

*2024 compensation includes annual salary and, if applicable, benefit plans, expense accounts, and other allowances.

Method(s) Used:
Grant proposals, Internet, Direct mail appeals

Fundraising costs were less than 1% of related contributions. (Related contributions, which totaled $714,434, are donations received as a result of fundraising activities.)

This organization is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. It is eligible to receive contributions deductible as charitable donations for federal income tax purposes.

The following information is based on Global Child Advocates's audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024.

Source of Funds
Investment income $10,992
Sojourn Studio $57,959
Contributions $270,943
Special events, net $443,491
Total Income $783,385

Programs: 93% Fundraising: 0% Administrative: 6%

Total Income $783,385
Total expenses: $770,778
  Program expenses $718,825
  Fundraising expenses $2,250
  Administrative expenses $49,703
  Other expenses $0
Income in Excess of Expenses $12,607
Beginning Net Assets $556,163
Other Changes In Net Assets $0
Ending Net Assets $549,982
Total Liabilities $5,466
Total Assets $555,448

An organization may change its practices at any time without notice. A copy of this report has been shared with the organization prior to publication. It is not intended to recommend or deprecate, and is furnished solely to assist you in exercising your own judgment. If the report is about a charity and states the charity meets or does not meet the Standards for Charity Accountability, it reflects the results of an evaluation of information and materials provided voluntarily by the charity. The name Better Business Bureau is a registered service mark of the International Association of Better Business Bureaus.

This report is not to be used for fundraising or promotional purposes.

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Report completed by:
BBB Wise Giving Alliance