Frequently Asked Questions

• We impose the highest international standards of accountability and transparency on ourselves – all our activities are measurable, accountable and realistic. 
• We are listed on the Charities Regulatory Authority’s Register of Charities (Charity Reg. No. 20009946) in the Republic of Ireland and on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland’s Register of Charities (Charity No. NIC100848). 
• We focus on reducing costs while delivering the best impact in our work worldwide – emergency responses, long-term development programmes and campaigning.  
• All our financial information is on our website, including detailed accounts, breakdowns of where money goes, CEO salary, information about board members, etc. 
• Our staff members receive a basic salary, without any perks or bonuses. All permanent staff have the opportunity to join a defined contribution pension scheme.  
• We have over 150 paid staff and over 900 volunteers. 
• All of our board members are volunteers. We are one of a handful of charities to publicly advertise for board members. Information about each one is on our website. 
• Last year Oxfam directly reached 15.3 million people in 81 countries. The contribution of the public across the island of Ireland is a part of that response. 

Oxfam Ireland directly and indirectly reached 2.3 million people across 11 countries through our own programme work. This includes our development and humanitarian work, including programmes funded by Irish Aid and the European Union. It also includes the number of people reached through our influencing, campaigning and global citizenship education work across the island of Ireland. 

100% of your donation goes to that specific appeal, providing vital and practical supports such as clean water, sanitation and food vouchers. 

The most effective way to help our work with clothes and other physical items is to bring them to your local Oxfam shop or donation bank. The proceeds of our shops fund our three areas of work: emergency responses, long-term development programmes and campaigning/advocacy. 

We source any required emergency items from the affected regions themselves in so far as possible, because this is the most cost effective, time efficient and energy saving way. 

Shipping or flying a random and unsolicited selection of items from Ireland, however well intended, can be unnecessarily expensive. It may result in the transport of items that are unsuitable to the local context and won’t be used. It can even result in the duplication or oversupply of certain items and undermine the local price of goods and livelihoods of the very producers and retailers who we strive so hard to support after an emergency, causing even greater injustice and vulnerability. We call this the “Do No Harm” approach. 

The best way we can help is to turn people’s goods into cash through our shops and use that money to help people fast. 

79% to programme work:  

• Emergency responses,

• Long-term development programmes,

• Campaigning and advocacy that changes the policies and practices which cause poverty in the first place.

16% to generating future income:  

•Makes every cent or penny go further,

•Ensures we are doing everything we can to raise funds from different types of donors and to let the public know about our work,

•Encourages people to support what we do, meaning we can reach even more communities.

5% to admin and governance:  

•Ensures we work in the most effective and efficient way, and that the money donated is spent wisely. 

Our local shops are a vital source of funding for our work around the globe. Last year, we made an income of over €9 million, with a contribution of over €2 million being delivered. This figure excludes the generous cash donations made in store by our supporters, i.e. through emergency appeals and our Unwrapped alternative gift range.

All net income goes directly into one of four specific programme funds (saving lives, livelihoods, women’s rights or health and education, depending on which gift you bought). The remainder covers the cost of running the appeal, such as printing catalogues and advertising.  

The CEO is paid €140k. There are no benefits (e.g. no company car) other than a pension contribution (which is available to all full-time employees) and no bonus is paid. 

The CEO reports to our Board of volunteer trustees on the strategic leadership of the organisation on the island of Ireland and the delivery of high-quality emergency response and long-term development programmes overseas. As part of this role Jim Clarken is also a member of the Board of Oxfam International, which means sharing strategic responsibility for the entire Oxfam global network in 79 countries.  

The CEO’s salary is set by the remuneration and performance committee which is made up of three members of the board, known as the Council. All of our board members are volunteers.  

Oxfam benefits greatly from volunteer support – over 900 people across the island generously give their time to help our work. 

Given the large scale of our programmes overseas and also our operations at home such as our 46 shops, we have a relatively small team of full and part-time staff who ensure that we work in the most effective and efficient way, and also ensure that the money donated to Oxfam is spent wisely. The people employed by Oxfam are those who are best qualified and experienced to do the job. We strive to be professional and operate to the highest standard to make sure we have a positive impact on the lives of the people we serve. 

We have three main sources of funds – public fundraising, shops and funding from institutions including governments. In the last financial year, we received funding from Irish Aid, the official aid programme of the Irish Government, and the European Union (EU). This funding is for humanitarian assistance in countries like Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan and for long-term development programmes in countries such as Malawi and Zambia. 

We don’t fund governments. Your donations go to our own Oxfam programmes, or the programmes of carefully selected and monitored local partner organisations. We have extremely tight financial procedures in place and apply these same high standards to all our partners. 

We provide essential services such as water, sanitation, health and education in the following circumstances: 

1. In emergency situations such as natural disasters when local infrastructure has been damaged. 
2. When services provided by governments are inadequate, i.e. of poor quality and not reaching the most vulnerable such as women and girls, people affected by HIV, people with disabilities, etc.  

We don’t just simply provide the services in these situations – we build the necessary infrastructure and train local people to run them, along with showing governments and State bodies best practice in the provision of essential services. We believe that States have a responsibility to provide these services and citizens have a right to receive them. A lot of our work supports communities to stand up for their rights and demand these services from their governments.  

All our programmes are continually monitored and evaluated to determine their impact and effectiveness. We do this through financial and project reporting, including regular monitoring visits, partner audits and formal evaluations.  

We give particular emphasis to feedback from community members when assessing the success of our work. All our programmes are designed to improve their capacity to meet their own needs so that the benefits of the project continue long after we leave.  

“Charity begins at home, but does not end there,” is the full version of the quote from Thomas Fuller (1608-1661). Supported by people across the island of Ireland, Oxfam offers the Irish public a way to support our work with the world’s poorest people. Our shops play a key role in connecting communities here with others overseas. They’re a place where local people can donate the things they no longer need in an eco-friendly way, buy clothes and other items at reduced prices and learn new skills through volunteering. 

We are an independent and secular organisation not connected to any religion and carry out of work free from any party-political agenda. Our guiding principles are based on advancing human rights and we provide help and support to people of all beliefs and none.