World Vision: Transforming the Child Sponsorship Journey
World Vision approached us with a critical goal: to improve their digital acquisition process for child sponsorship - a key revenue stream that supports vulnerable communities globally.
Their existing user journey was disjointed and complex, leading to drop-offs, internal inefficiencies, and a misalignment between user needs and business goals.
Background
Child Sponsorship (CSPON) is World Vision’s flagship digital experience. Each year, tens of thousands of Australians donate to World Vision via CSPON to help eradicate child poverty. In a time of tight household budgets and a busy charity market, capturing people’s financial support is increasingly difficult.
Meanwhile, there is a growing need for funds to support life-changing work in developing countries. Conflict and humanitarian crises are pushing more children and families into poverty. Therefore, increasing sponsorships through the digital experience is critical.
World Vision Australia (WVA) approached us with the desire to enhance Child Sponsorship (CSPON) onboarding for new sponsors in the first 90 days.
How might we enhance CSPON onboarding and increase retention in the first 90 days?
design process
To shape the future-state experience, we undertook both qualitative and quantitative research. This included stakeholder workshops, interviews with subject matter experts, and a detailed review of ~5,000 pages of existing documentation from analytics reports and historical insights, as well as prior consultant recommendations and competitor benchmarking.
This process gave insight into the existing landscape of WV, so that we could be as informed as possible before delving into current and future state journey mapping.
documentation review
sme interviews
in person workshops
Journey & Mental Model Mapping
onboarding edm redesign
Through research and synthesis, we uncovered core sponsor values that shaped the mental model map, journey maps, and EDM redesign.
Primary sponsor insights:
Transparency builds trust; Child Sponsorship is a high-consideration product, and sponsors expect clarity on where their money goes. Without visible, varied proof of impact, trust breaks down.
Impact needs to feel real; Sponsors want to know their support is making a tangible difference in a real child’s life. Personal stories, photos, and updates strengthen emotional connection and credibility.
Retention is tied to understanding; Sponsors who grasp the value and impact of their contribution are more likely to stay. Cancellations often stem from confusion or financial pressure, not a lack of goodwill.
What we found
Secondary values that inform experience design:
Time is precious; The experience needs to be quick, clear, and respectful of people’s time.
Sustainability matters; Sponsors prefer digital-first, environmentally conscious options.
Choice and flexibility; People want control over how they give and receive updates.
Moments of joy; Unexpected updates or milestones deepen emotional connection.
Sharing is caring; Sponsors value the ability to share their impact through social media or in-person.
future state journey map
The Journey Map provides ways that World Vision can address the causes of cancellation and enhance onboarding. There are several components to the map, including chronologically ordered touchpoints, supporter needs, key metrics, pain points and how they can be addressed in the future, suggestions for content and ‘test and learn’ blocks to foster an iterative design process.
A sample future state EDM using World Vision branding guidelines. The updated EDM considers timing of the email (previously this was overwhelming the new sponsor with information) and takes the key sponsor values into consideration.
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edm redesign
This discovery phase laid the foundation for a high-impact redesign that significantly improved both user experience and organisational outcomes.
The new Child Sponsorship experience led to a 32% increase in conversion rates and a 30% reduction in drop-offs, resulting in a significant uplift in the number of children sponsored and directly supporting World Vision’s global mission.
The new experience doubled the emotional connection between sponsors and children and boosted product understanding by 30%. What was once a complex and emotionally demanding process became an intuitive and engaging journey. Personalised child selection and clearer impact storytelling now empower more people to support World Vision’s mission to end child poverty across 96 countries.
By grounding our work in deep research and user insight, we designed not just a better product, but a more effective way for sponsors to make a meaningful difference.
impact
project by numbers
9
Weeks
5000
Pages of previous documentation reviewed
21
In-person workshop participants
19
Key findings
16
Hours of SME interiviews
3
2
Redesigned EDM’s
Journey Maps (Current/Future state)
2
Service Blueprints (Current/Future state)
1
Mental Model Map