Poverty reduction charity Oxfam is hoping a new iPhone app will rejuvenate mailer-weary donors and offer the public a better glimpse into its global operations at a time when aid organizations in the U.K. are searching for new ways to generate public giving.
Overall charitable giving in Britain fell from 10.1 billion pounds ($12.2 billion) in 2015 to 9.6 billion pounds in 2016, according to a report by the Charities Aid Foundation, while public trust in U.K. charities fell to an all-time low in 2016, consistent with a downward but slowing overall trend toward less public giving. Alleged financial misconduct in the sector, concern over charity executives’ high salaries as well as tiresome fundraising tactics were all cited by survey takers as reasons for stagnated giving, a study conducted last year by the U.K. Charity Commission found.
In hopes of bringing donors closer to charity value chains, as well as offer a more efficient way to control and regulate giving, Oxfam this week launched the My Oxfam smartphone app, which allows users to monitor payments and donations, track sponsorship funds and respond quickly to new funding appeals in the wake of humanitarian disasters.
About the author
Molly Andersmollyanders_dev
Molly Anders is a former U.K. correspondent for Devex. Based in London, she reports on development finance trends with a focus on British and European institutions. She is especially interested in evidence-based development and women’s economic empowerment, as well as innovative financing for the protection of migrants and refugees. Molly is a former Fulbright Scholar and studied Arabic in Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Morocco.