Change not Charity

For many years, Oxfam America’s slogan was “Change, not charity.” It was a slogan that was meant to distinguish Oxfam America from more mainstream development organizations, and it pithily captured the notion that Oxfam America was focused on changing the structures that perpetuated poverty, not simply giving handouts.

This volume takes us from Oxfam America’s founding, in 1970, to Oxfam America’s 40th anniversary and documents an organization that was constantly evolving, often ahead of trends—such as with its very early emphasis on partnership and its current pathbreaking work on and with the private sector—while sometimes scrambling to adapt to new realities.