AIGA awards Oxfam America Best of New England design award

Boston, MA - International development and humanitarian organization Oxfam America has won an AIGA Best of New England (BoNE) design award for its constituent magazine, OXFAMExchange.  AIGA, a national professional association for design, runs this prestigious and nationally recognized competition and lauds design that helps solve key communications challenges.

“I think the redesign of our magazine transformed the Oxfam experience for our supporters,” said Stephanie Kurzina, vice president for development and communications at Oxfam America.  “Previously, supporters responded to the publication, but we wanted to ensure they were truly engaged in our work – OXFAMExchange is first and foremost an educational piece.”

The overhaul of the magazine design and production resulted in a full color, low-cost piece that provides readers with depth, while enabling them to easily scan stories, so they can more easily connect with and stay up-to-date on Oxfam’s work.

“We have seen a wealth of anecdotes from constituents expressing that they feel more deeply connected to the difference their support makes as well as a dramatic increase in donations per issue,” said Kurzina.

All of these benefits were achieved with an increase in production cost of less than a penny per copy.   In addition, more environmentally friendly materials and production processes are being used, including 100% recycled, FSC-certified stock and printing.

As part of the redesign, Oxfam also relocated the printing to a local printer, slashing shipping costs and decreasing the environmental impact of shipping.

Oxfam America seeks to operate efficiently and to minimize fund-raising and administrative costs. In 2010, we allocated 80 percent of our expenditures for development programs and emergency relief—a number that is well above the standard recommended by the American Institute of Philanthropy, one of the leading charity rating organizations in the US. During this same period, at least 90 percent of funds designated by donors for humanitarian emergencies directly supported our relief efforts for those emergencies.

To learn more about Oxfam America and OXFAMExchange, please visit www.oxfamamerica.org.