How do we work?

Oxfam works with partner organisations in the countries in which we work to develop effective, appropriate and enduring solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice. We use our experience, knowledge and ingenuity to make resources and money work harder. From practical work supporting communities' efforts to help themselves, through to influencing world policy, we work to empower the world's poorest people to achieve their right to a future without poverty.

We strive to ensure that our work is high quality, and to foster a culture of honesty, accountability and transparency. We aim to constantly improve our effectiveness by learning from our own experience (and that of others) and continuously monitoring and evaluating the long-term effectiveness of our work.

Oxfam is a global movement of PEOPLE. People such as the volunteer in the local Oxfam shop; the community leader in Kenya helping local farmers find ways to grow more crops; the water engineer working in an emergency drought; the campaigner lobbying their local political representative on trade rules. All of these individuals make up the organisation that is Oxfam.

How do we fund our work?

In 2006-2007, Oxfam Ireland spent just over €7.6/ £5.7 million on our overseas, campaigning and Fair Trade work. This was raised via three sources:

Shops: We have 46 shops throughout Ireland selling goods donated by the public as well as 4 shops dedicated to selling Fair Trade crafts and food products. During 2006-2007, income from retail activity amounted to €7.3/£5.5m

Government: The Irish government allocated over €2.5m to our work in 2006-2007.

Donors, Corporate and Institutional funding: We have a database of committed supporters who donated €3.8/£2.3 million (net income) to our work last year.

We strive to keep administration costs to a minimum. In 2006-2007, the percentage of our programme spent on administrative support costs was 12.81%.

How are we structured?

Oxfam Ireland is the public title of the two, separate, legal bodies registered in the respective jurisdictions as Oxfam Northern Ireland and Oxfam Republic of Ireland. Oxfam Ireland operates coherently on an all-island basis by means of a single management structure and shared membership of associations and councils.

Who does the work?

We have over 40 full-time staff working in our two head offices (Dublin and Belfast), and over 75 staff involved in running the shops around the country. Our work in Ireland would not be possible without over 1000 volunteers who help run our shops and support our office staff.

We also have a field office in Tanzania with four full-time staff.

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