Frequently Asked Questions
General
Our goal is to continue to grow our financial resources and increase the impact of our programs. In this way, together we can help people living in poverty exercise their rights and improve their lives. For more information please visit our Finances and Accountability page.
Pour obtenir des renseignements et des ressources d'Oxfam en français, veuillez communiquer avec Oxfam Québec à oxfam.qc.ca ou appeler au 1-888-785-8023.
For Oxfam resources and information in French, please contact Oxfam Quebec at oxfam.qc.ca or call 1-888-785-8023.
At Oxfam, it is vital that everyone who works for us maintains the highest standards of conduct, integrity and ethics, and complies with local legislation.
If an employee, volunteer, partner, consultant or contractor suspects that misconduct has, or is about to occur, we encourage you to communicate your suspicions without fear of reprisal and in the knowledge that you will be protected from victimization and dismissal.
To report misconduct, please fill out our confidential reporting form here, email us at or call 1-613-627-8699.
All reports are confidential, and we will only share the details with those who will help to progress your complaint. Reporters, survivors and complainants can choose to stay anonymous throughout the process.
Donations
Oxfam Canada's Charitable Registration Number is 129716866 RR0001.
Your gift saves lives, creates lasting change and tackles the root causes of poverty and inequality. Together, with your help, we mobilize the power of people against poverty. Your financial support brings hope to families facing hunger, poverty and injustice in 87 countries around the world. You support disaster survivors in rebuilding stronger than ever. You keep communities healthy by preventing the spread of disease. You provide safety from violence. You help farmers adapt to climate change and feed their families and so much more.
When you donate to Oxfam, the money will be allocated to "general funds", which allows us to focus on where the need is greatest and respond immediately to changing priorities and emerging crises. It is vital that we are able to spend money where it is most needed at any given time.
However, it is possible for you to specify if you would like your donation to be spent on a particular emergency or program by selecting the appropriate donation page. Should the donations we receive for specific emergencies or projects exceed the amount needed, funds will be redirected to our Emergency Response Fund or General Support Fund.
Our most recent audited financial statements show that we spend at least 90% of funds raised from emergency appeals on our emergency response programs. The remaining 10% covers costs associated with advertising and promoting our appeals, processing and receipting donations and audits for financial accountability. For all combined income, an average of 84 cents of every dollar has helped to fund our development programs around the world. The remainder is spent on administration and fundraising costs, advocacy work or is reserved for future program work.
How it works:
The Oxfam Impact Fund is a designation for specific donations that can be leveraged for matching gift campaigns. This is used twice a year, in the Spring and for Giving Tuesday, as a way to inspire more funding support from Oxfam donors and the general public.
We have other matching campaigns that are part of Oxfam’s Global Affairs Canada project funding as a way to co-finance specific long-term development projects that advance women’s rights.
Match campaigns have proven to be an extremely successful and highly effective way to incentivize donors, increase funding and bring more resources to Oxfam's partners and the organizations fighting poverty and inequality around the world.
The idea of a "2X match" to "double your impact", comes from the concept that the dollar donated by the match-source together with the public donation becomes a double donation. This doubles the potential funds in campaigns to advance women’s rights through programs and advocacy.
Impact Fund donors:
Impact Fund donors are a small group of Oxfam Canada supporters, including our Board of Directors, who specifically designate their donations to the Impact Fund. Anyone can become an Impact Fund donor by giving $100 or more to this donation page.
Match campaigns:
In our match campaigns, we share stories that communicate our impact and actions, illustrating how giving a gift to Oxfam during the campaign has twice the impact.
Where the money goes:
Match campaign funds either go to designated projects or are used in general support of Oxfam’s work to end the global injustice of poverty and inequality.
Thank you very much for your generous support of Oxfam Canada through a monthly gift. Your ongoing contribution is helping to change lives every day by providing communities with clean water, enough food to eat, an education, safety from violence and the chance to grow and thrive. If you would like to update your credit card details, change your payment information or if are unable to maintain your current contribution, please contact our Donor Relations Team at 1-800-GO-OXFAM (1-800-466-9326) or at .
If times are tough, we certainly understand, and there are several things you can do. If you would like to continue to support Oxfam’s life-changing work, but need to cut down on your expenses, we can reduce your monthly gift to something more comfortable. If you have a temporary situation where you need to pause your gifts for a month (or a few), we can put a hold on your gifts and restart your contribution when you are ready. If you are unable to contribute anymore, or wish to change from monthly payments to periodic giving, you can do that as well. For all of these changes, please contact our Donor Relations Team at 1-800-GO-OXFAM (1-800-466-9326) or at .
Yes, Oxfam Canada is a Registered Charity under the Canada Revenue Agency and, as such, we are able to issue receipts for all eligible charitable gifts. For the most part, if you are an individual making a simple donation online or through the mail, your gift would be eligible for a receipt. If you are an organization, foundation or other kind of group, your gift may not be eligible for a receipt. We are happy to connect with you to discuss the details before you make your gift. Please contact our Donor Relations Team at 1-800-GO-OXFAM (1-800-466-9326) or at .
If you have made a one-time gift online, your receipt will be issued by email within 30 days of making your gift. Note that you will receive an immediate confirmation that your gift has been received, but your official tax receipt will be sent in a separate email. If you made a gift by sending a cheque through the mail, a paper receipt will be issued and sent to you via post once your gift is processed. If you would prefer an e-receipt, please include a note and your email along with your cheque. If you are a Shareplan (monthly Oxfam) donor, you will receive a consolidated tax receipt at the beginning of each calendar year. If you do not receive your tax receipt, please contact our Donor Relations Team at 1-800-GO-OXFAM (1-800-466-9326) or at
Thank you very much for your generous support of Oxfam Canada. Your support is helping to change lives every day by providing communities with clean water, enough food to eat, an education, safety from violence and the chance to grow and thrive. If you require a duplicate tax receipt, please contact our Donor Relations Team at 1-800-GO-OXFAM (1-800-466-9326) or at .
We will happily accept donations over the phone at 1-800-466-9326 during business hours (9am-5pm ET, Monday to Friday) or via cheque sent to Oxfam Canada, Attn: Donor Relations, 39 McArthur Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario, K1L 8L7.
When you donate to Oxfam, the money is allocated to 'general funds', which allows us to focus on where the need is greatest and respond immediately to changing priorities and emerging crises. It is vital that we are able to spend money where it is most needed at any given time. However, it is possible for you to specify if you would like your donation to be spent on a particular emergency appeal or specific program by selecting the appropriate fundraising appeal and clicking through to the appeal's specific donation page.
Learn more about the emergencies we are currently responding to here.
You can buy a huge range of symbolic gifts through our Oxfam Unwrapped store, our unique gift-giving program, where you place an order online, choose a card, and transform lives. You can also call 1-800-466-9326 during business hours (9am-5pm ET, Monday to Friday). Thank you very much for your support in helping overcome poverty and suffering. For more information, please view the Unwrapped store here. Happy shopping!
Most of our supporters like to hear from Oxfam Canada several times a year. Some respond to every mailing. Others simply like the diversity of information, and selectively choose which mailing they wish to respond to, either by making a gift or by taking another action in support of our work.
Oxfam is known around the world for its ability to respond quickly and efficiently to deliver aid, support, and protection to people who’ve lost everything when disaster strikes. Separate appeals are also made in these situations so that our supporters have the opportunity to contribute to specific emergencies and help those affected to rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
There are several options as to why you received a mailing from Oxfam Canada...
- You have donated to Oxfam Canada in the past, either by mail or online, or you have purchased a symbolic gift at our Oxfam Unwrapped store.
- You attended one of our events.
- You have received a “prospect” appeal – a mailing sent to members of the Canadian public in the hopes that you will see what a life-changing difference you can make in supporting Oxfam's work to combat poverty, hunger and injustice.
As a general rule, Oxfam Canada will not externally disclose any of your personally identifiable information, except when we have your permission. Oxfam is bound by the principles outlined in our privacy policy in the administration, management and evaluation of the personal information in our care.
In rare cases, Oxfam Canada may make individual identifying information available to affiliated third parties or our agents for marketing purposes. From time to time, we also make agreements with other like-minded organizations to contact some of each other's supporters, for the mutual benefit of both groups.
Volunteering
Volunteers play a key role in helping Oxfam achieve its mission to reduce poverty and injustice around the world. This could include providing support for our events, campaigning or hosting fundraisers. There are a number of ways you can use your time and skills to support our work. Some volunteer roles require only a few hours on a single weekend while others involve a longer, ongoing commitment.
We understand that your time is precious so we suggest that before undertaking any volunteer position you find out what the time commitment will be.
We do not have an overseas volunteer program as we focus on supporting the existing work and movements of local people and organizations overseas – this encourages the ongoing building of local capacity.
You don’t need any specialized skills to volunteer. Our volunteers come from a diverse range of backgrounds, professions and ages with a wide range of skills and experiences. From students to retirees, current or former refugees, professionals and people looking for work, volunteering is open to everyone.
Throughout Oxfam Canada’s history, volunteering has been a hallmark of the way that we undertake our work. Volunteerism is part of our commitment to community engagement, and it also greatly increases our work capacity.
Oxfam campaigns for changes that will make the world safer and more just for its poorest and most vulnerable people. Working with a global team of campaigners and allied organizations and partners, we are currently campaigning in these main areas: food and climate change; safety and dignity when affected by conflict and disaster; extreme economic inequality; and tax on the financial sector. For more information on Oxfam Canada campaigns, please Get Involved and take action now.