Photo: Bryson Sayuni/Oxfam

A hand holding a basil seedling.
A hand holding a basil seedling.

How we spend your money

When it comes to running a huge world-changing operation, we make every penny count.

Oxfam spends all of its money directly or indirectly fighting the injustice of poverty.

On average, for every £1 Oxfam spends, 79p goes on our emergency and development work, 10p is spent on running costs, and 11p is invested to generate future income.

Of the 79p spent on emergency and development work, the breakdown is as follows:

  • 42p went towards humanitarian emergencies
  • 37p on longer-term development projects

These figures are based on Oxfam GB's 2024/25 Annual Report, and do not include our retail operations.

How every £1 we spend breaks down

Oxfam's life-changing work would not be possible without generous people like you. We appreciate every single gift we receive and we work hard to ensure that not a penny is wasted in our fight to end poverty and injustice.

Oxfam staff member Ghada Alhaddad collects notes and reflections from people in the Al-Mawasi area. Photo: Alef Multimedia/Oxfam.

42p: Emergency response

Your donations help provide life-saving humanitarian assistance and support people to rebuild their lives with strength and fairness in some of the toughest and most fragile places on earth.

Photo: Elizabeth Stevens/Oxfam

37p: Development work

Your donations support our work beating poverty in 81 countries, where we work as part of a confederation, in partnership with communities. We support them with the resources they need to thrive, not just survive.

Photo: Sam Flynn / Oxfam

11p: Fundraising costs

11p is invested to generate future income. For every £1 that we spend on fundraising, we aim to raise £5.

Photo: Kishor Sharma / Oxfam

10p: Support and running costs

Just 10p in every £1 you spend is used to keep Oxfam alive, paying our staff and our running costs.