Oxfam’s annual income has risen to £401.4m, up £12m, despite the charity seeing a fall in money from its shops.
The 3% rise in total income in the year to 31 March included £100.8m from public fundraising, which rose 2.5%, according to Oxfam’s annual report.
But there was a 2.5% fall to £22.9m in shop income, which Oxfam blamed on a shortage of high quality donated goods.
Oxfam GB’s head Mark Goldring said the scale of disasters during the year had “stretched” the organisation.
The charity said it cut administration and fundraising costs during the period, with 84p in the pound now spent on emergency and development work, up 2p from the previous year.
In its annual report, Oxfam said that it responded to an unprecedented number of emergencies including the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa and ongoing conflicts in Syria and South Sudan.
It supported 8.1 million people across 39 humanitarian disasters over the year, providing clean water, sanitation and food, compared to 6.1 million across 24 emergencies in 2013-14, according to the report.
‘Challenging year’
Mr Goldring said: “Oxfam has been stretched responding to natural disasters, the terrifying Ebola epidemic and people left vulnerable by conflicts.
“The earthquake in Nepal and a surge in fighting in Yemen show that this year could be just as challenging. Increasing food prices, the impact of climate change and ongoing conflicts continue to threaten the lives of poor people the world over.”
The fall in income from high street shops was blamed on people donating fewer items. Pressure on household incomes meant that consumers were buying fewer new items and holding onto their existing clothes and household goods longer.
Source: BBC
