General FAQs

Unfortunately, we’re not able to accept applications to work at Tearfund based on a CV alone. You’re very welcome to have a look at our jobs page and see if there is a vacancy that interests you. If you don’t find anything suitable at the moment, you can register your interest by signing up for job alerts in the future.

We can occasionally organise work experience placements. To explore the possibility, please contact our recruitment team recruitment@tearfund.org with a copy of your CV and a short message telling us a little about yourself and what you would like to do for us. We would love to know if there are issues or areas of Tearfund’s work that are of particular interest.

We do not currently run any internship or graduate schemes.

Unfortunately, due to limitations on Tearfund’s resources, we are presently focusing on building the capacity of our current partners. We are, therefore, not currently able to accept applications for organisational or individual funding. We are also unable to give details of any other sources of funding at present.

Although unable to help with funding, we do like to share our information and experience with those who are interested in development issues around the world. You can view and download all of our development resources by visiting Tearfund Learn.

As we receive a number of requests for assistance as part of research projects, we are unfortunately not always able to provide individual assistance. However, you might find Tearfund Learn a great place to start. Here we share our learning from more than 45 years of involvement in development work worldwide.

We have found that it is best to get supplies either in-country or from neighbouring countries, rather than accepting gifts in kind. This saves us a lot of time and money because we don’t have to collect, pack, or ship the required items. It also means that we can provide culturally-appropriate supplies. We prefer, therefore, to offer financial help to our partners so they can purchase supplies themselves – this also supports the local economy.

We decide which countries to work in using internationally recognised indicators of poverty to inform our choices. To find out more about the countries where our partners are meeting material and spiritual needs, visit our About Usbpage.

We understand that there are many needs across the world and many places where people are still living in poverty. Tearfund has to make some very hard decisions about how to use the limited financial resources that are entrusted to us and it is not possible for us to support every country.

We are so thankful for our supporters and enjoy connecting through one to one conversations. If you’ve given us your phone number we will call you from time to time to keep you up to date with what we’re doing, and to discuss your support. We’ll also check that you’re happy with the communications you’re receiving from Tearfund. You may notice us calling you from our main office number of 020 3906 3906 or you may receive a call from 020 3906 3900 from an agency called Mango who we have carefully selected to call supporters on our behalf.

We try to ensure that all our correspondence is tailored to your requests, so the type and number of mailings you receive depends on what you have requested or agreed to. Our magazine, Tear Times, is sent out three times a year, and our mailings regarding emergencies and disasters are sent out as and when there is a crisis. If you would like to change the type or number of mailings/emails you receive, you can call us on 020 3906 3906 or email info@tearfund.org – we would be more than happy to help!

You are welcome to contact us on behalf of someone who has asked you to do so. There are some changes that we’re able to make without hearing directly from the supporter themself; for instance we can amend the frequency of news and appeals that we send. However we’re not able to make changes to an individual’s giving, or share any of their financial information or history, without speaking to the supporter themself (even if it’s just for them to say that they’re happy for us to talk to you about it) or unless we see a Power of Attorney document.

If you are the Power of Attorney for one of our supporters, please do let us know by sending us written evidence of the Power of Attorney; this can be a scan or email version. When we receive this information we can record it on the supporter’s record to ensure that you’re free to make any necessary changes to their records in future.