According to Plan USA, a Family Profile Survey (FAMP), filled out by a paid staff worker or a trained community volunteer, is used as a means to gather information about sponsored children and those waiting to be sponsored. This FAMP includes information about the child's health and education, the family members who live in the home, and various descriptions of the child's dwelling as well as descriptions of the child's and family's needs, hopes, dreams, and wishes. Each year, sponsors are mailed an Annual Progress Report which contains, among other things, an updated FAMP, general information on Plan activities, Plan Passport magazine, and descriptions of specific projects that benefited the sponsored child and the community in which they live.
Plan USA reports that current and prospective sponsors are made aware that funds collected are pooled and subsequently used for the benefit of sponsored children, their families and their communities. Plan USA seeks to help better the community in which the sponsored children reside. By engaging beneficiary families and enabling those families to become empowered throughout the process of improving the collective health, education, livelihood and habitat of the community, they believe the ultimate beneficiary is the child, whether directly or indirectly.
As "building relationships" is stated as a focus of Plan's mission, the organization reports that correspondence between children and their sponsors is encouraged. Community volunteers deliver the correspondence to the homes of the sponsored children and read the letters to them and help, if the child is unable, to compose a response. According to Plan USA, if the child requires help in drafting the response, this is indicated in the body of the correspondence. Sponsored children are required to write to their sponsors at least once a year.
Plan asks sponsors to commit to a contribution of $24 a month, which will support the wellbeing of the sponsored child and other children in the community.