Oxfam Canada

About Oxfam Canada:

Founded in 1963, Oxfam Canada (OXC) is an affiliate of Oxfam Confederation, an international charity based in Oxford, UK. It works with over 100 partners in local communities to tackle the root causes of poverty and inequality in the Americas, Africa and Asia. OXC believes that ending global poverty begins with promoting women's rights. The charity spent $16.0m on international programs and program management in F2016, making up 92% of program costs. In its 2016 annual report, OXC reports sending $5.1m to the Horn of Africa, $4.3m to Asia and the Middle East, $1.2m to Latin America and the Caribbean, $1.2m to Southern Africa and $178k to Canada. The charity’s work includes emergency response and tackling long-term problems with education, health, poverty, gender inequality and water. OXC also campaigns to raise public awareness of causes of poverty and encourages people to take action. The charity spent $1.3m on education and public affairs programming in Canada in F2016, making up 7% of program costs.

Syria Refugee Crisis: OXC estimates that in Syria, 13.5 million people are in urgent humanitarian need, 7 million people do not have enough food and 60% of the population needs healthcare. OXC provided 1.6 million people with clean drinking water, hygiene and sanitation programs, as well as cash and other necessities like blankets and stoves for the winter months.

Nepal 2015 Earthquake: Oxfam Canada’s first response teams delivered 2.5 tons of relief supplies to those in need. In its 2016 annual report, the charity reports building 50,000 emergency shelters and 7,200 latrines. In its most recent April 2017 update, the charity states that it distributed almost 60,000 emergency and shelter kits to over 322,000 people, helped 17,000 farmers access rice seeds to replenish destroyed supplies, helped 25,000 people access clean water, gave grants to over 2,300 families to restart or regenerate their local businesses, and helped over 14,000 families with short-term employment. Overall, Oxfam Canada reports reaching over 534,000 people in need.

Yemen Crisis Work: OXC has worked in Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, for over 30 years, with the goal of improving water and sanitation services as well as the livelihoods of poor people. Since 2011, OXC has helped nearly 600,000 people affected by the crisis. Since 2012, Oxfam restored water systems in 41 rural communities in western Yemen, providing more than 125,000 vulnerable people with safe drinking water.

South Sudan Crisis: Since rebel forces erupted in 2013, OXC reports that nearly 7.5 million people are in urgent need of help. In its most recent March 2017 update, OXC states that in 2016 it reached over 600,000 people with emergency and longer-term support.

Financial Review:

Oxfam Canada is a big-cap charity with donations of $15.7m in F2016. Administrative costs are 8% of revenues and fundraising costs are 15% of donations, excluding amounts contributed by other Oxfam entities. Per dollar donated to the charity, $0.77 goes to its programs, which falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. OXC holds funding reserves of $4.9m, of which $1k are endowed. Excluding endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover only 28% of annual program costs, indicating a funding need.

Oxfam Canada uses external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. In its most recent F2016 T3010 CRA filing, OXC reports paying external fundraisers $296k that raised $183k on behalf of the charity. This produces an external fundraising cost ratio of 162%, meaning that per dollar donated  to external fundraisers, Oxfam Canada paid $1.62.

This charity report is an update that is currently being reviewed by Oxfam Canada. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 1, 2017 by Katie Khodawandi.