apadrinar

To sponsor someone or something — to be a child's godparent (apadrinar en el bautismo), a couple's best man/witness at a wedding, or, more broadly, to back or champion a cause, project, or person (apadrinar a un artista joven, apadrinar un niño a través de una ONG).

• Mis tíos apadrinaron a mi hermano en su bautizo. — My aunt and uncle were my brother's godparents at his baptism.
• La actriz decidió apadrinar una causa ambiental. — The actress decided to sponsor an environmental cause.
• Una ONG le permite apadrinar a un niño en otro país. — An NGO lets you sponsor a child in another country.

Limiting apadrinar to its religious sense — in everyday Spanish it's just as often used for sponsoring a charity child, backing an artist, or being someone's witness at a wedding, not only godparenthood.

Often confused with patrocinar.