The other day we published an article by Christie about how the Red Cross hasn’t distributed all the money donated to it to help those affected by the bush fires in Australia. We also published an article by Xavier about how Jacinda Ardern has signed up to what she calls Facebook transparency rules. Well, another charity, Oxfam, on Facebook this week has been transparently political. Do you think that it is okay for a NGO charity organisation to post political posts like these?
Not only is Oxfam a registered charity engaging in political activism on its Facebook page, it is also actively scapegoating wealthy people. Wealthy people are not the reason why poor people exist. They are the reason why so many working-class and middle-class people have jobs.
Oxfam in the UK a decade ago was exposed for paying 5 of its staff in excess of £100,000 a year. Seven years later in 2017 that had increased to eleven staff, illustrating how much of the money donated to charities these days goes into the pockets of the fat cats they so love to demonise in their political activism.
So how is the money donated to Oxfam in New Zealand distributed?
How the funds are used:
Globally, 81% of every dollar spent goes directly to help those who need it most and advocate for their rights. 19% goes to raising even more funds, and essential running costs like finance management systems, auditing, health and safety, insurance and accountability fees. Our commitment to you is that your support goes to where the greatest need is. We are committed to using resources with wisdom and care.
Why do some funds need to be used for admin?
You have the right to expect your donations to be professionally handled, your credit card details protected, the right receipt issued and your address details kept confidential. This requires up-to-date software, trained and qualified staff and a high standard of IT and security systems. We are committed to the highest possible standards for you.
You would also expect us to protect the safety of our staff, as a human rights-based organisation, we don’t expect anything less. This has a cost in insurance, health and safety systems, training, and in security services when they are travelling to dangerous places overseas.
You also expect us to know whether the donations you have given us are making the difference you and Oxfam expect. We do not take this for granted. Quality and accountability are fundamental to what we do. We check that your donations are going to the partners we have chosen, are having the local impact we planned together and that we are constantly learning from our projects so we can improve. This means we have trained and qualified experts whose job it is to make sure we are not just ‘putting the money in an envelope and sending it overseas’ – we know you trust us to do better than that.
You have the right to hear how your support is making a difference, and rightly expect us not to take the money and disappear. You have told us you like to hear what your money is achieving on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Youtube. You also appreciate our e-newsletters. This is an investment in your support for our work!
Investing in growing the numbers of people who believe in a world without poverty and support our work means maintaining and growing the support and impact we have, all around the world. For every $1 spent on raising more funds, we get almost $6 back – so it’s money well spent.
Costs that fall under fundraising and admin include:
- Credit card processing fees
- Technology to process and receipt donations securely
- Bank fees
- Audit and transparency fees
- Legal costs
- Salaries for admin support staff
- Telecommunications and computer equipment
- Insurance
- Office rent and maintenance costs
- Oxfam New Zealand is a registered NZ charity (registration CC24641) and a current member of:
Council for International Development
oxfam.org.nz/what-we-do/about/accountability-finances/
Fundraising Institute of New Zealand (FINZ)
Public Regulatory of Fundraising Association (PRFA)
Our full audited accounts for each year can be found on the Charities Services website.
If you enjoyed this BFD article please consider sharing it with your friends.