Oxfam the charity whose goal is to reduce poverty has a new app for the iPhone that it hopes will rejuvenate donors who have grown tired of mailers a better insight into the organisation’s global operations. This comes at a time when most UK charitable operations are looking for new ways to solicit donations from the public. Overall charitable giving in Britain has fallen from £10.1 billion in 2015 to £9.6 billion last year. The results come from a report authored by the Charities Aid Foundation which also suggests that last year overall public trust in UK charities fell to an all-time low. The results are consistent with the downward trend in public giving.
hoping to change the way people see charities
Allegations of financial misconduct in the non-profit sector combined with high salaries of charity executives and fundraising tactics which have proven to be irritating were reasons those polled by the UK Charity Commission last year said giving had stagnated. Oxfam hopes this can be changed by bringing those who give closer to the charity value chain. The organisation wants to empower donors with a more efficient way to regulate giving. As a result, Oxfam has launched the My Oxfam smartphone app which enables users to monitor their donations and track, track sponsorship funds and respond quickly when there is a humanitarian crisis by making a donation.
“Charities are striving to meet the public’s demand for a closer, more modern and responsive relationship with the charities they support,” Paul Vanag, Oxfam’s head of fundraising said in a statement. “My Oxfam provides a window on to the lives changed by our supporters’ generosity and allows users to control their giving from the palm of their hand.”
Getting a better understanding of what Oxfam does
The designers of the app wanted to give users a better understanding of the work Oxfam actually does in the field. This means including video diaries produced by aid workers as well as testimonials from those that have benefited from the work Oxfam does. The app will also provide updates on what is going on with the latest humanitarian crisis as well as track funding pledges.
