With so many options for end-of-year-giving, why should you give to Oxfam—and how will your gift make a difference?
As 2018 comes to a close and you’re considering where to make your year-end tax-deductible donation, we know a lot of organizations are competing for your support. If you choose to give to Oxfam, you might be wondering: How will your donation impact the lives of people around the world in the coming year and beyond?
Oxfam believes poverty is not an inevitable fact of life. We see a future in which no one lives in poverty. And we believe the only way we’ll get there is by taking an integrated approach, fighting poverty at all levels.
Here's how we tackle the root causes of poverty
We save lives in disasters
Oxfam provides immediate relief and helps local leaders devise response and resilience plans so that their communities can weather current crises and the ones on the horizon.
Right now, we’re taking that approach in Yemen, where more than 10 million people are on the brink of starvation. There, Oxfam is providing aid to at least 3 million people. We’re trucking water into hard-to-reach places, repairing water systems, delivering filters and jerry cans, and building latrines as well as providing cash assistance and food vouchers. But that’s not all. For years, we have called on the US government to end its support for the Saudi coalition’s war in Yemen, and we are finally seeing progress on that front.
We hold the powerful accountable
Decision-makers rarely consult poor people about major issues such as international trade, climate change, or foreign aid programs. From the halls of Congress to the World Bank, we make sure the voices of the world’s poorest people are heard loud and clear. And you play a large part in our campaigning—through our advocacy and campaigning work, we aim to inspire the American public to pressure the US government, companies, and others in power to change policies and practices that keep people in poverty.
This year, we launched our Behind the Barcodes campaign to amplify the voices of people who produce the food we buy from supermarkets, such as seafood, to ensure they are treated and paid fairly. We’ve called on major grocery stores, such as Whole Foods, to end the suffering behind the food they sell. In October 2017, we delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures from shoppers to Whole Foods’ US headquarters in Austin, Texas. You can read more about our journey to Austin here.
We work with communities to build lasting solutions
By developing partnerships with organizations on the ground, we foster innovative solutions that transform communities for the long term.
A prime example of this type of work is Saving for Change, a program Oxfam started in 2005 that empowers women economically. About 20 to 25 women meet weekly in groups to save money, ranging from a few cents to a few dollars. With initial training provided by Oxfam and our partners, members learn to manage their money, collectively establishing group rules on savings, loans, fines, and repayment. In El Salvador, for example, there are 18,000 women in groups, and their effectiveness has made a strong case for El Salvador’s government to replicate savings groups using government resources—so there will be even more groups set up in 2019.
Your support today helps us continue our programming into the new year and for years to come. Join us.