Trust is the whole model. Since 2012, every campaign has accounted for exactly what came in, what the platform charged, what the exchange rate was, and what every real bought at the wholesaler. The model itself is explained on How It Works.
100% of the money raised goes to toys. The food baskets and clothing that go out alongside them are funded locally in Brazil, never from campaign money.
Every purchase since 2014 is documented by an official Brazilian tax invoice (NF-e). Earlier years have store receipts.
Each season’s wholesale receipts are published right here for anyone to check. The full accounting behind them is reviewed by the board and available to any donor who asks.
When this started, the gifts were about as simple as it gets: hula-hoops and thin plastic soccer balls, a couple of reais apiece. Every year since, as more people have gotten involved and given generously, we’ve been able to raise the quality. The soccer balls now are the real thing, and we hand out basketballs and volleyballs too, along with high-quality dolls and sturdy toy cars and trucks that are always a hit. For most of these kids it’s the only gift they’ll get all year, so it matters that it’s a real one.
Every campaign since 2012
Newest first. What came in, what it bought in Brazil, and the receipt for every year. The reais spent, the toy count, and the average per toy all come from those receipts. Amounts with $ are US dollars. Amounts with R$ are Brazilian reais, the currency the toys are bought in.
| Year | Raised (USD) | Spent in Brazil (R$) | Toys | Cost per toy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $4,427 raised by 78 people | R$22,987.78 View receipt | 1,051 | R$21.87 ≈ $4.07 |
| 2024 | $3,790 raised by 73 people | R$22,272.00 View receipt | 1,000 | R$22.27 ≈ $3.66 |
| 2023 | $4,744 raised by 116 people | R$22,357.06 View receipt | 1,082 | R$20.66 ≈ $4.23 |
| 2022 | $4,419 raised by 84 people | R$22,202.73 View receipt | 1,069 | R$20.77 ≈ $3.99 |
| 2021 | $3,725 raised by 63 people | R$20,451.21 View receipt | 902 | R$22.67 ≈ $4.01 |
| 2020 | No event, cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2019 | $5,510 raised by 108 people | R$22,551.62 View receipt | 1,313 | R$17.18 ≈ $4.22 |
| 2018 | $5,448 raised by 116 people | R$20,548.24 View receipt | 1,308 | R$15.71 ≈ $4.02 |
| 2017 | $4,780 raised by 120 people | R$15,132.79 View receipt | 1,237 | R$12.23 ≈ $3.72 |
| 2016 | $6,010 raised by 151 people | R$18,394.34 View receipt | 1,720 | R$10.69 ≈ $3.21 |
| 2015 | $3,920 raised by 137 people | R$14,118.65 View receipt | 1,752 | R$8.06 ≈ $2.05 |
| 2014 | $3,715 raised by 125 people | R$9,000.43 View receipt | 1,360 | R$6.62 ≈ $2.48 |
| 2013 | $2,876 raised by 118 people | R$6,303.11 View receipt | 3,704 | R$1.70 ≈ $0.73 |
| 2012 | $1,475 raised by 45 people | R$2,722.00 View receipt | 2,280 | R$1.19 ≈ $0.59 |
| Total, 2012 to 2025 | $54,839 | R$219,042 | 19,778 | |
Since the online campaigns began in 2012, that’s $54,839 raised and R$219,042 spent on toys in Brazil.
Dollars in, reais out. They aren’t the same money counted twice. The dollars are the campaign total; the reais are what got spent in Brazil, the two connected by that year’s exchange rate. Every real of it went to toys.
The toy count is the low end. Each number is what the year’s receipts show we bought. It leaves out the toys neighbors donate locally that we hand out alongside ours. So in most years the children received more toys than the table says, not fewer.
Where we buy. Every purchase is made at a wholesale toy dealer in the Contagem and Belo Horizonte area, and the store and every line item appear on that year’s receipt. The vendors have been Polo Atacado (2012 to 2017), BR Papelaria, later renamed Expressa Papelaria (2018 to 2023), and Comercial Pratti (2024 to 2025).
What being official means
A True Christmas Project is a registered 501(c)(3) charity (EIN 42-3969641). That comes with rules we welcome: the board approves the toy budget and reviews the full accounting after every season, and we file a public report with the IRS each year. None of it changes the promise on this page. The receipts still get published, and 100% of what you give still buys toys.
Check our math
Every receipt is linked in the table above, and the full donor packet for any year is one message away; ask and we will send it the same day.
Donate → Ask for a packetA True Christmas Project is a registered 501(c)(3) charity (EIN 42-3969641). Donations are tax-deductible in the United States to the extent allowed by law. Donations before 2026 were personal gifts and were not tax-deductible.